BP Marine will begin selling very low sulphur fuel oil at locations worldwide ahead of the IMO 2020 regulations.
The fuel will be compliant with the regulatory body's 0.5% sulphur cap, set to kick in next year. BP said the fuel was trialed at its Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Antwerp (ARA) and Singapore hubs.
"Following the success of these sea trials, and working closely with our customers, we believe we now have a robust commercial offer that will support customers in complying with MARPOL," BP Marine's global head Eddie Gauci said in a statement.
The fuel will be available in Seattle, Balboa, Cristobal, ARA, Cape Town/Durban/Richard Bay, China and Hong Kong, Singapore, Freemantle, Gladstone Brisbane and in three sites in New Zealand.
The company said the fuel was developed alongside the IMO and "customers and partners." It said the move required changes at the bunkerer's refineries to handle the fuel storage.
The move comes with the regulations less than nine months away, pushing the shipping industry to firm up plans on exactly how they will deal with the new limits.
Among the oil majors, ExxonMobil announced they would sell compliant fuel at ports in Northwest Europe, the Mediterranean and Singapore last year. Both Shell and Exxon have obtained patents for their low sulphur fuel oil products.
BP also intends to provide marine gas oil, another IMO 2020-compliant solution, at the same locations they sell the low sulphur fuel, plus Valencia, Senegal, Fujairah, Dampier, Broome, Darwin and Hobart.
For scrubber users, the high sulphur fuel will still be available in the ARA, Cape Town/Durban/Richards Bay, Fujairah, China and Hong Kong, Freemantle, Brisbane and the New Zealand sites.
