EN590 diesel, Mazut, and jet fuel are among the most traded refined petroleum products in the world. They power road transport, power plants, and aviation, and they sit at the center of many commodity trading portfolios. At the same time, they attract an unusual amount of misinformation, unrealistic expectations, and non bankable procedures. Anyone trying to build a real trading book in this segment needs to understand how these products are specified, priced, financed, and risk managed.
This guide gives a practical overview of EN590, Mazut, and jet fuel trading, the financial resources and skills required, and the misconceptions that waste time or create avoidable risk.
EN590 is the European standard for automotive diesel. It defines key properties such as cetane number, density, sulfur content, cold flow properties, and FAME content. In trade, counterparties talk about EN590 10 ppm (low sulfur) and specific climate classes. The standard gives a framework, but commercial contracts still need clear specs and tolerances.
Mazut is a heavy fuel oil used mainly in power generation and industrial boilers. Quality varies widely by origin, with key parameters such as viscosity, sulfur content, and metals. It is less standardized than automotive diesel or jet fuel, which increases quality and emissions risk if specs and inspection regimes are loose.
Jet A-1 is the most common aviation turbine fuel. It has tight specifications around freezing point, flash point, energy content, and cleanliness, driven by safety requirements. Aviation buyers care about both physical quality and documentation, including certificates of analysis and clear custody trails.
For all three products, laboratory specs drive price, off take acceptance, and liability. Deviations can lead to price penalties, rejection, or serious technical and safety problems. Real traders focus on refineries, terminals, and inspection companies with predictable quality control, not just on email offers.
Most EN590, Mazut, and jet fuel trades follow a consistent structure:
Typical documentation includes:
Payment is commonly secured through letters of credit, standby letters of credit, confirmed credit lines, or for strong counterparties, open account terms backed by credit insurance or balance sheet assessment.
| Product | Typical pricing logic | Common hedging tools |
|---|---|---|
| EN590 Diesel | Premium or discount to gasoil or diesel benchmarks, adjusted for location and quality. | ICE gasoil futures, diesel swaps, crack spreads versus crude futures. |
| Mazut | Pricing often linked to fuel oil benchmarks, freight, and local supply-demand balances. | Fuel oil swaps, in some cases hedged at crude level with wider basis risk. |
| Jet Fuel | Premium to jet benchmarks, often quoted as spreads to crude or gasoil with location differentials. | Jet fuel swaps and cracks versus crude or gasoil, sometimes combined with airline hedging programs. |
Traders hedge to stabilise margins between purchase and sale. Risk teams track both flat price risk and basis risk between the hedge instrument and the actual physical product and location. For larger books, daily mark to market reporting is standard.
EN590, Mazut, and jet fuel cargoes represent high dollar values per shipment. Structured trade finance is often used to support working capital and manage counterparty risk. Common structures include:
Credit providers look at counterparties, documentation quality, control over product (in tank, in transit, or at terminal), and hedging discipline before committing capital.
Offers of EN590 or jet fuel at double digit percentage discounts to market benchmarks are inconsistent with how liquid refined product markets behave in normal conditions. Small discounts based on location, quality, or credit terms are possible. Large, stable discounts for standard grade product are often either misrepresented, tied to problem cargoes, or not backed by any credible seller.
Real refineries and major traders prefer to work with a short list of counterparties that can pass compliance checks and post security. Chains of brokers forwarding soft offers rarely control title, tanks, or credit. They add noise, not real deal flow, and serious buyers and sellers bypass them.
Unbankable offers often focus on procedure and acronyms: ICPO, RWA, MT799, POP, and so on. Banks and real trading houses start with KYC, financial statements, sanctions checks, and credit approvals. A clean procedure does not fix weak counterparties, missing financials, or dubious origins.
A single EN590 or jet cargo can represent tens of millions of dollars. Even with trade finance lines, traders need equity capital to absorb margin calls, operational losses, and credit events. Expecting full external funding with no capital at risk and no track record is not realistic.
Serious participation in EN590, Mazut, and jet fuel markets requires:
On the skills side, teams need:
Financely works with credible traders, distributors, and industrial buyers in refined products to design trade finance structures that match real EN590, Mazut, and jet fuel flows. Structures are built around contracts, documents, risk controls, and counterparties that credit teams can approve.
If you are building or expanding an EN590, Mazut, or jet fuel book and want to explore structured trade finance options, you can request support through our platform.
Request Trade Finance SupportIn stressed situations or for off spec or distressed cargoes, meaningful discounts can appear. For standard grade EN590 or aviation fuel in normal conditions, stable double digit discounts to mainstream benchmarks are not consistent with a liquid market. When headline discounts look extreme, either the product is problematic or the offer does not represent a firm, financeable position.
Refineries and large traders operate under strict sanctions, AML, and credit policies. They need to know who they are dealing with, whether the buyer can pass compliance checks, and whether the buyer has funds or bank lines. This screening comes before detailed procedures or sensitive information, because regulation and risk management demand it.
Letters of credit can reduce payment risk if they are clean, irrevocable, and confirmed by acceptable banks. They do not remove all risk. Traders still face performance risk, quality risk, political risk, and operational risk. Banks also look at the underlying trade, counterparties, and documentation before issuing or confirming LCs.
Local or regional Mazut trading can be viable when product specs, logistics, and payment risk are well understood. The challenge is transparency and standardisation. Prices are more local and quality varies, which makes bank or fund support harder. Many smaller Mazut flows are financed off balance sheet by the trader rather than through structured facilities.
Hedging is not mandatory for every deal, but it is central to managing a portfolio of trades. Even short voyages can see meaningful price moves. Most professional traders use futures and swaps to keep their P&L closer to the commercial margin rather than to flat price speculation, especially for larger positions.
Trade finance is designed to support working capital, not to fully replace equity. Lenders expect traders to have capital at risk and to absorb potential losses. Facilities are sized and priced based on equity, risk systems, and track record. Approaching credit providers without audited numbers, risk reporting, or capital usually leads to rejection.
Disclaimer: This page is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, investment, or regulatory advice. Trading EN590, Mazut, jet fuel, and other refined products involves price, credit, operational, legal, environmental, and sanctions risk. Suitability and appropriate structures depend on the counterparties, contracts, and jurisdictions involved. Financely is not a bank or lender. Any facility referenced on this page is provided by regulated institutions under their own licences, approvals, and documentation, subject to eligibility, KYC, AML, sanctions screening, and credit decisions.
Submit your deal using our secure intake form, and receive a quote within 1-3 business days. Existing clients can connect with their relationship manager through our secure web portal.
All submissions are
promptly reviewed, and all communications are conducted through the intake form or the client portal for a seamless and secure process.
Thank you for considering working with us. A nominal fee of US$500 is required upon completion of each form. This fee covers the time and effort we invest in reviewing your submission and crafting a thorough proposal. We receive numerous inquiries and prioritize those that carry this fee, ensuring serious applicants receive prompt attention.
Tap into solutions like letters of credit, bank guarantees, and payment facilitation. We address the challenge of global transaction risk through structured strategies that foster cross-border growth. Complete the form to unlock streamlined funding aligned with your commercial objectives.
Submit a RequestAccess non-recourse funding for infrastructure, renewable energy, or other capital-intensive ventures. We mitigate capital constraints by isolating project assets and focusing on risk management. Provide your details to receive a structure that drives growth and maximizes returns.
Submit a RequestSecure financing for business or real estate acquisitions. We ease transaction hurdles by reviewing cash flow, synergy opportunities, and exit plans. Complete the form for a customized proposal that supports your strategic investment objectives.
Submit a RequestFinancely assists banks facing Basel III pressures by distributing trade finance deals and providing collateral for letters of credit. We reduce capital burdens while preserving client relationships and fostering service expansion. Submit your request to optimize your trade finance offerings.
Submit a RequestOnce we receive your submission, our team will review your information to determine feasibility. If eligible, you will receive a proposal or term sheet within 1–3 business days. Visit our FAQ and Procedure pages for more information.
Disclaimer: Financely provides financing based on due diligence and feasibility. Approval is not guaranteed, and past performance does not predict future outcomes. All terms are subject to review. Financely primarily assists with structuring and distribution. Qualified parties carry out the project if the client approves the proposal.
Financely advises growth-focused businesses on accessing capital by introducing their opportunities to professional investors. Financely is not a securities broker or dealer. Where appropriate, engagements are coordinated with regulated broker-dealers, investment banks, legal counsel, and other specialists.
Financely does not solicit, offer, or accept orders to buy or sell securities and makes no assurance regarding capital-raising outcomes.
Services are strictly business-to-business. Financely does not provide personal finance, consumer credit, or retail advisory services.
Advisory services are reserved for post-revenue companies that recognize the time and resources required for professional underwriting.
All mandates start with an RFQ. We review submissions, issue a brief Go/No-Go memo, and where bankable, release a Term Sheet that leads to funding. We arrange capital across Senior Secured, Unitranche, Second Lien/Mezzanine, Preferred Equity, and Gap Solutions. We do not process deals by email or chat.
Letters of Credit, Standby LCs, Confirmations, Receivables Finance, and Inventory Lines with control.
Funding arranged for trade flows with instruments sized to your cycle and aligned to delivery and settlement.
Move forward to secure working capital and keep goods moving. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting for funding.
Limited or non-recourse structures for energy and infrastructure with lender-ready materials.
Funding solutions aligned to project cash flows with credible covenants and conditions to reach notice to proceed.
Advance the file to termable status. Submit the RFQ so we can underwrite and secure funding.
Debt and Preferred solutions anchored on cash flow, Quality of Earnings, and clear closing mechanics.
Funding across senior, unitranche, and preferred to match stable cash flows and acquisition timelines.
Get financed on workable terms for closing. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting.
Acquisition, development, bridge, and refinance with lender-ready packs and third-party reports managed.
Funding calibrated to DSCR, leverage, and tenancy with terms designed to close.
Move to a financeable package. Submit the RFQ to initiate underwriting for funding.
KYC and Source of Funds required. Engagements are best-efforts and subject to underwriting. Preference for operating companies with meaningful revenue. See our FAQ and Procedure.
Financely Inc. (“Financely”) provides corporate-finance advice and is wholly owned by Aurora Bay Trust, a trust formed under Bahamian law, together with its authorized affiliates. Depending on deal structure, jurisdiction, and local rules, engagements may be carried out through Financely Group LLC, a non-deposit-taking, non-banking financial company; Ashford Capital Advisory LLC; or another related entity.
Financely and its affiliates are not registered as securities broker-dealers and do not execute securities transactions or hold client funds or securities. When a mandate involves the purchase or sale of securities and a registered intermediary is required, any orders are introduced to and executed by one or more independent U.S. broker-dealers registered with the SEC and FINRA. Those broker-dealers are solely responsible for trade execution, custody, and related regulatory obligations. Nothing in this material constitutes an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security or to engage in any specific transaction. Before engaging Financely Group LLC, Ashford Capital Advisory LLC, or any affiliate, you are responsible for confirming that such engagement complies with your own legal, regulatory, tax, and other requirements. In the United States, certain advisory activities may be conducted in reliance on exemptions available under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, including the “foreign private adviser” exemption where applicable. Our services and regulatory status may vary by jurisdiction and by transaction type.
Click
here to download our brochure.
