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Brazilian bunker supplier Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) has announced that it will be resuming its bunkers-only delivery service at the port of Paranagua next month.

As from 5th January, vessels will be able to lift bunkers from the Brazilian port without calling to load or unload cargo.

Petrobras requires orders to be placed at least 96 hours before the supply date; bunker stems are also subject to port authority approval.

Paranagua is located approximately 280 kilometres south of Santos - Latin America's leading container port.

According to an annual ranking of container volume throughput by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in June, Paranagua was listed as the 20th biggest port in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2015. Container throughput last year at the Brazilian port was 782,346 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

In terms of bunker sales volumes, it is the third-biggest supply port for Petrobras in Brazil - after Santos and Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras sells more than 5 million tonnes of marine fuel per year domestically, with Paranagua making up around 10 percent of the total.

In regard to price, intermediate fuel oil (IFO) in Parangua is currently $15 higher than in Santos, whilst marine gas oil (MGO) is $33 more expensive. On Thursday, IFO 380 was priced at $347-$348 per tonne and MGO was being quoted at $685.50-$686.50 per tonne.