Strategies for Low Sulfur Marine Fuels

This session will discuss strategies for meeting future pending marine bunker fuel sulfur limit specifications which aim to reduce sulfur emissions from ships in the Open Sea and in Emission Control Areas (ECAs). The new MARPOL regulations, Marpol Annex VI, will come into effect in March 2010 with the first reduction in Open Sea and ECAs to come into effect in 2012 with later more stringent specifications for ECAs in 2015 and Open Sea in 2020. Refiners will be challenged to produce fuels which meet the proposed MARPOL regulations. Potential strategies may include crude selection changes, bottom of the barrel upgrading investment, and hydrocracking/hydrotreating investment, to name a few. Various logistical and technical solutions will be presented.