The event was attended by 166 people, with over 20 of them being owners or CEOs of companies. Specialists came from Moscow, Novorossiysk, Kazan, Ufa, Murmansk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Rostov-on-Don, Vladivostok, and other cities. Employees of foreign companies located in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Cyprus were also present.

Vitaly Kovalev, the President of Russian Bunker Association, delivered an opening speech in which he briefly analyzed the current state of the market and outlined the trends of its development. According to him, external macroeconomic factors remain unfavorable, but the industry is successfully adapting and achieving results that provide grounds for cautious optimism.

During the forum, Konstantin Samarin, Senior Strategist for Commodity Markets at SberCIB Investment Research, shared a presentation on the return of export prices for petroleum products to historical average levels. He mentioned that in the medium-term perspective, the profitability of domestic and export deliveries will equalize again. The discount reduction on Urals blend puts pressure on margins, while the reduction in damping is passed on to the consumer. It is worth noting that China's production volume of petroleum products increased by 9.8% in January-May 2023.

Kirill Rodionov, an expert from the Institute of Energy Technology Development, gave a presentation titled "Prices for Petroleum Products: How Significant is the Export Alternative? The Russian Fuel Market in the Conditions of Embargoes and Ambiguous Discounts." He disagreed with the common opinion that export prices for oil and petroleum products directly affect the cost of fuel in the domestic Russian market. He explained that such dependence is mainly of countries that are net fuel importers, while in Russia, fuel exports have always exceeded imports. He also presented the factors that have the strongest influence on wholesale and retail pricing, as well as the measures that regulators can use to stabilize the Russian fuel market.

Marina Lobashova, the Quality Director of CMNT, discussed the current issues of production and quality of marine fuels. She touched upon the main questions regarding the use of marine fuels under MARPOL 2020 restrictions and additional requirements in ECA zones. The audience was presented with an overview of methods for obtaining marine fuels that meet these requirements, including hydrodesulfurization of residual components, blending high-sulfur heavy and low-sulfur distillate components, and the use of alternative marine fuels, along with their advantages and disadvantages.

Nikolay Shablikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nordic Engineering, speaking at the forum, noted that according to the Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers, the average age of the bunkering fleet is 35 years or more. In total, there are over 350 vessels in operation with a total deadweight of about 7 million tons.

Kirill Aristov, the Technical Director of Litum Company, shed light on the issue of corrosion protection for bunker industry facilities. Information was presented on the specifics of protecting various equipment and vessels.

The busy day of the forum concluded with a dinner at the magnificent restaurant-ship "Blagodat" on Petrovskaya Embankment.

The second day of the forum started with a business breakfast. The workshop conducted by Sberbank specialists, using the example of an offer for oil trading companies, was held in a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. It should be noted that the new financial products developed by Sberbank are urgently needed in the market right now, given the fast and unpredictable changes.

The final agenda included topics such as insurance, regulatory control, legislative novelties, and so on.

Strategic partner of the forum: Sberbank

Partners: Gazpromneft Marine Bunker LLC, Baltic Fuel Company LLC, InterFerum-Metal, Record Group, Infotek Flex LLC.

Some feedback from participants about the forum:

Sberbank: "During the forum, we had the opportunity to communicate with industry representatives - current and potential clients. We received feedback from clients on Sberbank's existing product line, which helped us identify directions for product development and improvement. Agreements on cooperation within financial instruments for petroleum products were reached with many company representatives."

Pavelin Pavel, "EnergoTrade": "I really liked everything! Warm, interesting, fun, and useful! Thank you."

Victor Tsuker, "Morskoy Petersburg," moderator: "I participated in the forum's work with great benefit. There were many interesting reports and presentations that revealed the current situation and prospects of the domestic bunkering market. Thanks to the organizers for the high-quality preparation of both days of the forum. Keep it up."

View pictures