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Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), South Korea's state-owned natural gas company, is reported to have entered into a long-term agreement to purchase 380-centistoke (cst) bunker fuel for its ships calling at Singapore and three South Korean ports.

The bunker deal with SK Energy and ExxonMobil is contracted to last for three years and will cover the fuel purchasing requirements of 23 LNG vessels chartered by KOGAS.

KOGAS is one of the largest LNG import companies in the world operating three LNG regasification terminals and 2,721 kilometres of natural gas pipelines in South Korea.

Each of the LNG vessels chartered by the company is estimated to require approximately 3,000 metric tonnes of bunker fuel at one replenishment with the company consuming around 60,000 tonnes of fuel per month in total.

The LNG vessels are scheduled to load bunker fuel in Singapore between April and October, which will be supplied by ExxonMobil. For the remainder of the year, KOGAS will load 380-cst in the South Korean ports of Inchon, Pyongtaek and Tongyoung, with SK Energy acting as the supplier.

The size of the South Korean marine fuels market is estimated to be around 14 million tonnes per year with the country's largest bunker port, Busan, accounting for approximately 60 percent of sales with annual volumes of some 8 million tonnes.

Singapore is the largest bunker port in the world with sales volumes expected to exceed 40 million tonnes for the first time this year. ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. was named the city-state's second largest supplier in 2009 by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) with BP Singapore Pte Ltd. retaining the position of leading supplier for the seventh year in a row.