The company last bought via tender 25,000 mt of 540 CST LSFO with maximum 0.3% sulfur for delivery to Ulsan over Jan. 22-26 , CFR, S&P Global Platts reported previously.

The company last bought via tender 25,000 mt of 540 CST LSFO with maximum 0.3% sulfur for delivery to Ulsan over July 31-Aug. 4, CFR. Buyer details could not be confirmed.

MRPL last sold 25,000 mt of IMO-compliant fuel oil loading over Aug. 6-8 to Shell.

Firming sentiment of tightened supply in the regional bunkers market failed to offset concerns of more crude oil returning to the global scene, after bunker prices dropped on the week in response to the OPEC+ supply announcement.

Brazil's Petrobras boosted output of diesel, gasoline and bunker fuel 6% on the year in the second quarter, as Latin America's biggest economy continued to rebound from the world's second-deadliest coronavirus outbreak.

India has been looking to procure more North and Latin American grade crudes, Kapoor said.

Ample availability of barges plying the delivered bunkers trade in Singapore stiffens price competition too, another bunker supplier said. Data by the Maritime and Port Authority, or MPA, of Singapore showed a registry of 210 bunker barges as of March 2021, slightly down from the 215 registered barges reported in July 2020.

The second quarter saw significant price increases across distillates and light ends, with outright values reaching 1.5-year highs amid a tightening of the crude oil market and global demand recovery hopes.

Maritime industry players in Singapore are keeping a close watch on bunker fuel quantity disputes, as a slew of pandemic-related restrictions including contactless bunkering potentially reduces the scope for checks on bunker tankers and tough markets may tempt some unscrupulous players to benefit from the situation.

New regulations overseeing the use of various types of heating oil in Northwest Europe look set to further shrink its 0.1% sulfur gasoil market, as the region continues its push toward lower sulfur alternatives, with the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany already having banned 0.1% material for heating outright.

This deepwater supply point complements Vitol Bunkers' existing presence in port locations across the US.

"Our supply chain has been impacted primarily by the industry-wide driver shortages across the UK," BP said.

The company's board has approved a plan to divest 90% interest in Hyundai Oil Terminal to J& Private Equity Fund, a company official said.

**Merger forms second-largest US-listed tanker company by vessel count **Firming bunker prices stifle margins

It will also be possible to retrofit two of the new ships with battery cells to achieve further reduction in fuel consumption, the company said, adding that all four LNG ships will have shore power connections, which means they can eliminate all local emissions in ports providing this facility.

In their July 21 protest, Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf argued Driftwood Pipeline's single precedent agreement must be made public.

The jailing of Zuma on July 8 led to widescale protests, which began in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal and has now spread to other regions.

"We need much stronger policies, and faster," van Hulst said at a Euractiv virtual panel debate.

Heavy industries are concentrated in the northern provinces that may need to buy carbon allowances from southern provinces, Peng Wensheng, Chief Economist at China International Capital Corp, said.

The EU carbon allowance prices under the EU Emissions Trading System rose to an all-time high on July 1, after leaked draft documents showed details of EU legislation to revamp the carbon market, which was to be unveiled by the European Commission on July 14.