With the export of its first parcel of IMO 2020 grade Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) from Kochi to Singapore, Bharat Petroleum has become the first oil marketing company to export this cleaner shipping fuel from the country.

The tanker MT Alnic MC carrying the first parcel of 15 TMT VLSFO to Singapore was flagged off by Cochin Port Trust Chairperson M Beenafrom the Cochin Port on Friday, a BPCL press release said here on Saturday.

Stringent International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards aimed at preventing pollution from marine and shipping operations are re-shaping the marine fuels landscape and the global cap on sulphur content for general shipping stands reduced from 3.50 per cent wt to 0.50 per cent wt effective January 1, 2020, it said.

P Murali Madhavan, Executive Director (Kochi Refinery), BPCL, who was present, said VLSFO is an IMO 2020 compliant marine fuel and in view of emerging market for VLSFO, Kochi Refinery started production from December 2019.

“We also started supplying VLSFO to the tankers calling at Kochi from then. VLSFO is produced mainly using the vacuum residue of low sulphur crude oils with suitable blending streams.

“Now that the global demand is increasing, we have entered into exports of VLSFO, after saturating indigenous demands. The first export that was flagged off today also marks the first export from the country by any Oil Marketing Company in India,” he said.

Top BPCL officials including K Suresh Nair, Executive Director (Supply Chain Optimisation), MR Subramoni Iyer, Chief General Manager (Operations), A Mohanlal Menon, Chief General Manager (Engineering & Advisory Services), N Chandrasekar, General Manager (Oil Movement & Stock) and V R Rajan, General Manager (Technology) were president.