Gazprom Neft has doubled marine bunker fuel sales according to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) by 3.5 times to reach 1.1 million tons (mmt) in 2020 and providing 20% of market share in low-sulphur and ultra-low-sulphur bunkering fuel in Russia, according to Russian publication Neftegaz.RU.

Gazprom Neft expanded its fleet in Murmansk, and Archangelsk by relocating its Gazpromneft Nord-East bunkering vessel from St Petersburg to service seagoing vessels covering Arctic projects and the Northern Sea Route. Third of environmentally friendly fuel sales occurred at ports in the Baltic Sea, Barents Sea, and White Sea.

Additionally, Alexey Medvedev, Director General of Gazpromneft Marine Bunker, stated that “the MARPOL regulations that came into force in early 2020 have changed the fuel landscape for the entire shipping industry: instead of traditional heavy marine oil – mazut, petroleum products with a sulphur content below 0.5% are increasingly in demand. Investments in modernising refining had been planned well in advance at Gazprom Neft, meaning the Omsk Refinery could start producing environmentally friendly fuels ahead of this, covering the growing demand for petroleum products meeting high ecological standards.

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It is worth noting, that Gasprom Neft Marine Bunker continues to build a new market sector in Russian shipping of liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering with the company joining the International Society for natural gas as a Marine Fuel, dedicated to developing technologies for the production, storage and transport of LNG. The company’s bunkering-fuel portfolio contains high-quality, environmentally friendly petroleum products for different types of marine engines and navigation zones.