Rising RINS prices alter distillates, fuel oil balance

摘要

Houston—For the past several years, the conventional wisdom in medium and heavy distillate markets has been that global consumption and production of fuel oil would gradually but inexorably decrease, edged out by ULSD in response to regulatory pressure on sulfur limits. But the sudden surge in the price of US renewables credits, known as RINs, and the related impact on ULSD prices, may be challenging that argument and breathing life into ultra low sulfur fuel oil (ULSFO) as a more cost-efficient competitor.