How Lenders Treat Jet A-1, EN590 and Mazut Differently
Jet A-1, EN590 and Mazut M100 are all liquid hydrocarbons, and that is exactly where the similarity ends for a credit file. They are specified against different standards, they serve different buyers, and they carry different compliance and handling problems. A capital provider.
Jet A-1, EN590 and Mazut M100 are all liquid hydrocarbons, and that is exactly where the similarity ends for a credit file. They are specified against different standards, they serve different buyers, and they carry different compliance and handling problems. A capital provider that will look at an aviation-fuel cargo will not automatically look at residual fuel, and the reverse is also true.
This guide is for traders, importers, airlines, refiners and industrial end-users who need to understand that difference before they ask for a facility. It is not a substitute for the existing product primers on what you need to know about Jet A-1 and what you need to know about EN590, and it is not a trading manual. The group site already has an EN590, mazut and jet fuel trading guide. The question here is narrower: what changes in the finance discussion when the grade changes. Financely is an advisor and arranger, not a lender and not a supplier.
Three standards, three products
Jet A-1 is aviation turbine fuel. Civil grades are specified in ASTM D1655, which covers both Jet A and Jet A-1, and in the UK Ministry of Defence standard DEF STAN 91-091. Jointly operated systems often require product that meets the Aviation Fuel Quality Requirements for Jointly Operated Systems checklist, which takes the more restrictive combination of those two specifications. AFQRJOS Checklist Issue 33 (April 2022) sets a maximum freezing point of -47.0 °C, a density at 15 °C between 775.0 and 840.0 kg/m³, and a minimum flash point of 38.0 °C. Those figures belong in the contract and the inspection scope. They do not belong in a vague offer that only says jet fuel.
EN590 is the European standard for automotive diesel, formally EN 590, Automotive fuels, Diesel, Requirements and test methods. The current edition, EN 590:2025, applies to marketed diesel containing up to 7.0 percent by volume FAME. Separately, EU fuel-quality law caps the sulfur content of diesel placed on the EU market at 10 mg/kg, with limited exceptions. That is why EN590 in European trade is ultra-low sulfur diesel, and why a higher-sulfur gasoil is a different product, even if someone calls it diesel in an email.
Mazut M100 is residual fuel oil, commonly furnace mazut 100 under GOST 10585-2013. Viscosity is measured at 100 °C and is limited to 50.00 mm²/s for that mark. Sulfur is specified in bands up to 3.50 percent by mass, which is a different world from 10 mg/kg. Water, flash point and impurities have their own limits. The Mazut M100 trade finance page sets out why that grade needs its own finance discussion.
| Point of comparison | Jet A-1 | EN590 | Mazut M100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual standard | ASTM D1655 and/or DEF STAN 91-091, often to the AFQRJOS checklist | EN 590, with EU sulfur at 10 mg/kg for product placed on the EU market | GOST 10585-2013 furnace grade 100, with a named sulfur band |
| Typical buyer | Airports, into-plane agents, airlines, aviation traders | Importers, distributors, filling-station networks, industrial diesel users | Power plants, industrial boilers, specialist residual-fuel users |
| Quality sensitivity | Aviation limits are tight. Off-spec product is rarely blended away in the same system. | Cold-flow, density, cetane and FAME content matter, especially in winter grades. | Viscosity, water, sediment, metals and heating needs can change fitness for a named plant. |
| Compliance emphasis | Product integrity and airport or joint-system rules, plus ordinary sanctions and vessel screening | Sanctions, origin and the usual petroleum KYT, with less residual-fuel stigma | Origin and restrictive measures are often the first filter, before quality is even debated |
What that means in a credit file
For Jet A-1, capital providers want to see that the product can actually enter the aviation chain the buyer claims. Inspection, conductivity, water and dirt limits, and the handling chain matter. A term supply into an airport has a different repayment story from a single cargo sold to a trader, which is why the existing jet fuel trade finance page and the airport supply note still matter. For EN590, the file is closer to a standard distillate trade: specification, winter or summer grade, terminal or voyage, and a buyer who can take automotive diesel. The group site already has a dedicated EN590 trade finance page, and the blog has a note on terminal-to-buyer EN590 transactions.
For mazut, the first questions are often origin, routing and end-use, then whether the named plant can burn or blend that sulfur and viscosity, then whether custody and heating are real. A residual-fuel offer that looks like a distillate procedure, complete with a discount and a long broker chain, should be read against the discount petroleum scam notes and the fake buyer and unqualified broker material. The three grades also use the same families of instruments, documentary LCs and SBLCs, collateral management and, where stock is held, a borrowing base, but the eligibility and the document list change with the grade.
Do not mix the grades in the contract or the LC
A credit or a sale contract that says gasoil when the buyer needs EN590, or jet fuel when the airport needs Jet A-1 to a named checklist, is an avoidable dispute. The same is true of a mazut contract that never states the GOST mark and the sulfur band. If you are financing a mixed book, the facility can cover more than one grade, but each drawing should still point to a named specification, a named inspection scope and a named offtake.
What to say in the first submission
Name the grade, the standard, the volume, the Incoterms, the load and discharge or the tank, the counterparties, and the instrument or facility you think you need. Do not describe a residual-fuel cargo as diesel to make it sound easier. Do not describe a gasoil as EN590 if the specification is not EN 590. And do not bundle a fuel request with an unrelated gold or chemicals story in the same paragraph. Mixed companies exist, but mixed files that cannot be screened as one trade usually get sent back.
If you already have a supplier contract and a confirmed buyer, the petroleum products placement page is the broader packaging overview. If you still need a legitimate supplier, use commodity sourcing rather than forcing a finance discussion onto an incomplete offer. To take a live file to capital providers, use deal submission and say which grade you are actually moving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one facility cover Jet A-1, EN590 and mazut together?
A capital provider may finance a mixed book, but each drawing still needs a named specification, inspection scope, and offtake. Residual fuel is often treated more tightly than Jet A-1 or EN590, or excluded, depending on the provider's policy. Do not treat the three grades as interchangeable in one contract.
Is EN590 just another name for diesel?
EN 590 is the European automotive diesel standard. In the EU, diesel placed on the market is also capped at 10 mg/kg sulfur. Other diesel or gasoil grades exist and should be named as what they are, not assumed to be EN590.
Why do lenders ask more origin questions on mazut?
Mazut is residual fuel oil, often associated with corridors and origins that attract restrictive measures and bank-policy screens. Origin and routing have to be evidenced before quality is even the main debate. This is not legal advice on any cargo.
Where should I start if I have a live cargo?
Use Financely's deal submission form on financely.io, name the exact grade, and attach the contract, the specification, and the inspection plan. Financely is an advisor and arranger for bankable counterparties. It does not lend, supply the cargo, or promise that a given provider will accept the file.
Financely is an advisor and arranger, not a lender and not a supplier. If you have a real transaction and need a lender-ready file, submit the mandate through the intake form.
You can also read how structured trade finance advisory is scoped before you send the file.
Sources and references
- ASTM D1655; DEF STAN 91-091; AFQRJOS Checklist Issue 33 figures for freeze point, density and flash point.
- EN 590:2025 scope, including FAME up to 7.0% (V/V). EUR-Lex summary: diesel sulfur not above 10 mg/kg in the EU.
- GOST 10585-2013, furnace mazut 100.
- Financely deal submission: https://www.financely.io/deal-submission