Top Asian refiner Sinopec's fuel oil trading subsidiary is offering cheaper marine fuel than its competitors as it looks to grab a bigger share of China's growing marine fuel oil market, oil industry sources said on Friday. As shipping traffic into China grows with the country's economy, so has the business of supplying fuel to the vessels. China, the world's second largest oil consumer, imports more fuel oil than any other refined oil product.
Sinopec has big ambitions and aims to be the market leader in Chinese bunker fuel in a few years, Chinese oil traders said. A Sinopec official declined to comment on whether the company was aiming for a leading market share. "We aim to grow our market share steadily," he said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly.
Sinopec Fuel Oil Trading Co is offering marine fuel at about $10 per tonne less than competitors in eastern China, traders said. The market for bonded bunker fuel in China was expected to rise to 11 million tonnes this year from around 8.5 million tonnes last year. The company set up the fuel oil subsidiary in June last year to consolidate its fuel oil businesses for a push into China's expanding market.
It aims to wrest market share from top players Chimbusco, a joint venture of PetroChina and COSCO Group, and Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum . Chimbusco holds around 60 percent of the market, Brightoil has about 30 percent, and Sinopec the rest. There are only five licenses to sell marine fuel from bonded storage in China, and Sinopec holds three of them. Lack of competition means that ship owners filling up in China often have to pay a premium for marine fuel compared with other ports in the region.
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