The new ship fuel regulations coming into force at the start of 2020 are set to create an initial confusion on the refining market and crude oil and oil product trade flows, analysts and industry experts say. We are now just 14 months away from January 1, 2020—the start date which the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set for the new rules on using only 0.5-percent or lower sulfur fuel oil on ships, unless said ships have installed the so-called scrubbers—systems that remove sulfur from exhaust gas emitted by bunkers. Analysts, experts, and industry representatives are divided as to how great of an impact those new rules will be and whether there will be enough middle distillates—which include diesel and the lower sulfur marine gasoil—to meet demand for both land use, in road transportation, agricultural machinery and industry, and for use on ships at sea. One way to comply […]