Marine fuel market enters troubled waters
Ripple effect from Russia’s war in Ukraine may result in significant supply disruption
The global marine fuel market could face significant supply disruption caused by the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is particularly vital to the bunker market’s supply chains, accounting for 14pc of global fuel oil and 58pc of vacuum gas oil (VGO) shipments in 2021, according to shipbroker Arrow. Russian fuel oil exports are already down by around a third already this month, says David Wech, chief economist at energy intelligence firm Vortexa. VGO is used as a feedstock to produce gasoline and very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), prices for which spiked in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion, reaching “record levels” in early March and remaining high, according to s

Also in this section
21 August 2025
The administration has once more reduced its short-term gas price forecasts, but the expectation remains the market will tighten over the coming year, on the back of
19 August 2025
ExxonMobil’s MOU with SOCAR, unveiled in Washington alongside the peace agreement with Armenia, highlights how the Karabakh net-zero zone is part of a wider strategic realignment
19 August 2025
OPEC and the IEA have very different views on where the oil market is headed, leaving analysts wondering which way to jump
15 August 2025
US secondary sanctions are forcing a rapid reassessment of crude buying patterns in Asia, and the implications could reshape pricing, freight and supply balances worldwide. With India holding the key to two-thirds of Russian seaborne exports, the stakes could not be higher