If power rejects the limits placed upon it, what next? From 23 to 25 October this year, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia will be the host city for the Future Investment Initiative. Billed as a “Davos in the Desert” this meeting is intended to bring together a global forum of industrialists, politicians, power brokers and futurologists. The meeting includes sessions hosted by the big multinational management consultancy firms. It includes discussions on population, urbanisation, globalisation, finance, trade, technology, the relationship between governments and business, and ethics. Supported by the Saudi Arabian government under its Vision 2030 program, the conference is in part at least intended to s

Shipping Strategy MD Mark Williams joins Lloyds List's Richard Meade in conversation on the Lloyds' List Podcast. The two of them talk trade outlook, Chinese-fuelled optimism and why 2020 is much like ordering a decaf macchiato. Listen

The retreat of globalisation and the rise of smaller club deals President Trump has praised his own efforts in replacing NAFTA with USMCA – the US-Mexico-Canada arrangement, which will increase costs for US consumers by cutting the amount of cross-border part finished movements especially in automobile manufacturing. The deal is supposed to create more jobs for blue-collar Americans. Time will tell: US auto labour numbers peaked in the late 1970s and have been slowly trending lower ever since. The deal also contains a poison pill in the form of a clause that obliges Canada and Mexico to ‘fess up should they enter trade talks with a “non market economy”. The term itself does not appear to be

Continued availability issues of compliant IMO2020 fuels continue to concern the shipping industry. Article link here

According to Eastport the IMO2020 rules could knock some six years off the lifespan of their chemical tankers as it proves too expensive to retrofit or fix scrubbers on old vessels. Click here for full article

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Exxon Mobil is considering investing billions of dollars into its Singapore refinery so as to be able to comply with IMO2020 rules and regulations. Should the investment proceed Exxon Mobil will be able to offer LSFO as a fully compliant bunker fuel to the maritime sector. Exxon Mobil joins the ranks of other oil majors such as; Shell, Chevron and BP, in offering alternative fuel options in the run up to implementation date (1st January 2020) of IMO2020. Link Here

A recent survey into the compliance costs of IMO2020 has revealed that 75% of respondents are unsure of how their providers will meet the costs. Alarmingly the survey also found that a third of participants had a limited understanding and awareness of the forthcoming regulations. Link Here

OPEC has anticipated a potential 30% non compliance from shipowners on IMO2020 sulphur cap. LINK HERE

Iraqi oil minister, Jabbar al-Luaibi, announces the relaunch of Basrah Light at Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC). Iraq has set its sights on launching a new Light Crude in 2019. At time of writing only two grades are available on the Iraq oil market; Basrah Heavy (API 23-24) and Basrah Light (API 29-30). However, plans announced this week are to rebrand Basrah Light as Basrah Medium and launch a new Basrah Light with an API 34-40. While no timeframe has been announced it is understood that the new Basrah Light will come from oil fields in the Yamama formation and other prioritised reservoirs. With an export goal of 1 mb/d in 2019 there is significant hope this will raise further rev

According to OPEC (based on 2015 data) 60 per cent of the world’s marine fuels are supplied in just six countries: Singapore, China, the US, the UAE, the Netherlands and South Korea.[1] Rotterdam and the wider ARA range remain the foremost bunker physical supply location in Europe, delivering a full range of marine fuels ex-pipe, ex-truck and by barge. Investment in new fuels such as synthetic marine fuel oil and LNG has been taking place. Similarly investment in improvements to current supply such as mass flow measurement have improved the quality and efficiency of supply while digital documentation has cut administrative costs. In advance of the changing emission regs entering force on 1st