Oil markets don’t need more uncertainty right now. There’s plenty of concern already about crude oil supply disruptions to make the market skittish. But looming regulations mandating the use of marine low-sulfur diesel fuel in global shipping are a coming problem all the same.
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) decision to slash sulfur emission limits for bunker fuel from 3.5% to 0.5%, effective at the beginning of 2020, doesn’t grab headlines like Iran sanctions or the economic meltdown in Venezuela, but the regulations could have the most significant impact of all on oil prices in coming years.
