Residual Fuel Oil Market: Risks and Opportunities for the Maritime Sector

Abstract

The Transportation Sector, and by extension, public and private oceangoing shipping, is on track to become effectively the only remaining consumer of residual fuel oil (RFO) over the next several years in the United States. This work examines this changing demand and analyzes implications for the shipping industry and refiners. It develops an RFO demand prediction model using multiple regression. It also makes recommendations for increasing efficiency in the marine bunkering supply chain - improving corporate efficiency is one approach to managing cost and risk in this changing marketplace.