Shipping/Refining: Shell Traders Post $1 Billion Profit in Fuel Oil Market Ahead of January 1 Low-Sulfur Rules

Someone's taking advantage of the opportunity.
From Bloomberg via gCaptain, November 15:

Shell Traders Post $1 Billion Profit in Fuel Oil Market Ahead of IMO 2020

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has made $1 billion from trading fuel oil this year, making it one of the standout winners from rules designed to make the shipping industry greener.
Shell said last month that it made substantial money in fuel-oil trading in the third quarter, but the company didn’t disclose the size of the profits. Shell traders celebrated hitting the $1 billion mark so far, likely the biggest by any one company in fuel oil this year, by ringing a bell on the company’s trading floor in London earlier this month, people familiar with the matter said.
Shell declined to comment.

The fuel-oil market has been shaken this year by the so-called IMO 2020 new regulations that ban the use of high-sulfur fuel oil, known as HSFO, to power ships. The rules are aimed at combating human health conditions such as asthma and environmental damage including acid rain. Prices are collapsing because the global shipping fleet, which burns more than 3% of the world’s oil, will instead have to consume very low sulfur fuel-oil, or VLSFO.

Although better known for its oil fields, refineries and pump stations, Shell runs an in-house trading business that’s larger than the better-known independent oil traders like Vitol Group, Glencore Plc and Trafigura Group, handling 13 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company describes itself as “one of the largest and most experienced energy merchants in the world” with major trading floors in Houston, London, Dubai, Rotterdam and Singapore....

....MORE

The British company that became 40% of Royal Dutch Shell Group was Shell Transport and Trading.
We haveve mentioned the company's corporate structure a few times, usually while wearing the academic hat and lecturing on the misuse of the word "arbitrage":

"Even the old Royal Dutch and Shell Transport trade was not an arb, 
just a fairly good pair trade."

And we've had a few posts on the IMO 2000 oil/refining trade. Here's one from June 2018:
Shipping: The New Low Sulpher Rules Will Have A Huge Impact On the Oil Business (shipping and world economy too)

And one from October 2019:
Shipping/Refining: Ahead of the 2020 Low-Sulfur Rules The Diesel – Crude Spread Blows Out (FRO)

And a few in-between:
August 25
Shipping Magnate John Fredriksen Goes ‘All-In’ With IMO 2020 Wager (FRO)
August 21
Shipping/Trucking: "Diesel prices will spike due to IMO 2020: Fitch"
August 6
Shipping/Refining: "Is A Diesel Crunch Coming?"
July 12
Shipping: First Signs of 2020 Low-Sulpher Rules Starting to Rock the Oil Market
Have I mentioned the IMO 2020.... oh who am I kidding, fascination became idée fixe some time ago.
July 8
Shipping: 2020 Low Sulphur Rules Less Than 6-Months Away - There's A Trade For That

And previously on this aspect of the big change:
Rich Rewards Await Top Oil Refiners as Ships Make Low Sulphur Switch Fuel
Top Norwegian Oil Analyst Quitting DNB to Pursue 2020 Low Sulphur Fuel Rule Riches 
Oil/Shipping: "Where will all the residual fuel go after ships barred from using it?"
Shipping’s 2020 Low Sulphur Fuel Regulation to Hit Airlines
"Shipping: 2020 Low Sulfur Fuel Requirements Will Disrupt Oil/Refined Markets Up to Five Years".  Shipping: First Signs of 2020 Low-Sulpher Rules Starting to Rock the Oil Market