OREANDA-NEWS. August 20, 2013. Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum started supplying bunker fuel from the port of Zhoushan in east China, said a company source.

It delivered 850 mt of 380 CST grade bunker fuel to Zhoushan, said the source.

The company had earlier planned to start deliveries in the first half of July, but delayed to August.

"Since it is a new port, we are quite cautious for the first order," said the source.

The supplier had also planned to start bunker fuel supply from Qingdao in east China in the second half of July, but this has not yet started because of the delay in the arrival of an import cargo, said the source.

The company will start supply from Qingdao in the second half of August, according to the source.

Besides Zhoushan, Brightoil currently supplies bunker fuel from the ports of Shenzhen in south China, and Shanghai and Ningbo in the east.

The start of supply from Zhoushan is a part of the company's expansion plans.

It has leased a tank with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters at Zhoushan and a 60,000 cu m tank at Qingdao to store bunker fuel, the source said.

Brightoil will use a barge with a capacity of 3,200 mt to deliver bunker fuel at Zhoushan, and a 3,600 mt barge at Qingdao, both of which are owned by the company.

Platts in mid-June reported that Brightoil had awarded a construction contract for new oil storage facilities in Zhoushan. The Yuan 13.2 billion (USD2.16 billion) contract was signed with China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau, which will build a 3.2 million cu m facility on Weidiao island in two phases.

Bunker demand at Zhoushan is typically 40,000-50,000 mt/month, said a bunker supplier in China, while there is about 50,000 mt/month of bunker demand at Qingdao, industry sources estimated.