Platts launches bunker fuel assessments for Mumbai ports

Energy information company Platts has announced the launch of daily spot market assessments for the Mumbai bunker fuel market.

The assessments are available as of 1 July 2010 and reflect the price of 180 centistoke bunker fuel, 380 centistoke bunker fuel, and marine gas oil delivered at both the Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) ports on the western coast of India.

The two ports handle about 2,000 vessels and collectively account for around 180,000 metric tons (mt) of bunker fuel sales per year.

India's total bonded bunker sales volume is currently estimated at 1.2 million mt per year.

Sharmilpal Kaur, managing editor, Asia oil products markets, Platts', said, "With the country's major ports projected to see a strong growth in traffic in the coming years - an increase of nearly 40 per cent estimated in the cargo tonnage handled annually in the next five years - bunker fuel sales are bound to rise, and with it, the need for a strong domestic pricing benchmark." 

The Mumbai bunker assessments reflect bids, offers and trades for cargos delivered at the Mumbai and JNPT ports between three to seven days from the date of publication. The typical trading lot size ranges from 300 mt to 2,500 mt.