Petronas Exec Sees Number of LNG-fueled Ships Doubling by 2030

Jessica Jaganathan
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Image Credit: Avenir LNG

The number of ships fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to more than double by 2030, driven by the shipping industry's desire to cut emissions, a senior executive at Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said on Wednesday.

Currently, less than 400 out of a total of more than 80,000 registered ships, run on LNG as fuel source. This number could increase to 1,000 vessels globally by 2030, said Mohd Rafe Mohamed Ramli, head of global LNG bunkering at Petronas Marine.

The shipping industry has been under pressure to reduce carbon emissions, after also introducing new rules this year to cut the sulphur content in marine fuels, also know as bunker fuels. This in turn is prompting demand for LNG as a bunker fuel by tanker operators and cruise liners.

While Europe is the main consumption region for LNG as a bunker fuel, demand in Singapore and Malaysia, already global oil bunker fuel hubs, is also expected to increase, Ramli said during the virtual Platts APPEC 2020 conference.

"Malaysia and Singapore share the same marine traffic. There are more than 80,000 transits in the Malacca Strait alone every year, so this is a huge market to serve," he said, referring to the waterway between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra that is a key shipping lane.

As LNG production capacity builds globally, the availability of the super-chilled fuel will continue to keep prices low and competitive against other fuels, he said.

Petronas plans to use the tanker Avenir Advantage to provide LNG bunkering services in Malaysia once the ship completes its final commissioning exercise in China.

Petronas has been exploring ways to promote LNG as a marine fuel at a time when spot prices have been depressed by new capacity from the United States and Australia. Malaysia is the world's fourth-largest LNG exporter.


(Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Categories: LNG Bunkering Marine Fuel

Related Stories

Sapura Energy Nets $22.6M in Offshore Support Vessel Contracts

Sapura Energy Nets $22.6M in Offshore Support Vessel Contracts

EnerMech Names APAC Regional Chief

EnerMech Names APAC Regional Chief

Woodside Inks Long-Term LNG Supply Deal with China Resources

Woodside Inks Long-Term LNG Supply Deal with China Resources

CNOOC Discovers ‘Vast Exploration Prospects’ in China’s Beibu Gulf Basin

CNOOC Discovers ‘Vast Exploration Prospects’ in China’s Beibu Gulf Basin

ADNOC Signs 15-Year LNG Supply Deal with Osaka Gas for Ruwais Project

Tokyo Gas Enters LNG Market in Philippines

CNOOC Starts Production at Offshore Oil Filed Equipped with CCUS Tech

Japan's Mitsui Eyes Alaska LNG Project

European LNG Imports Up with Asian Influx

Abu Dhabi's NMDC Group Gets $1.1B Subsea Gas Pipeline Job in Taiwan

Current News

The Future of Long-Idle Drillships: Cold-Stacked or Dead-Stacked?

TMC Books Compressors Orders for FPSO and LNG Vessels

MODEC, Sumitomo Partner Up for Delivery of Gato do Mato FPSO

Chuditch Gas Field Up for Summer Drilling Ops as Sunda Reshapes Ownership Structure

EnQuest Bags Two Production Sharing Contracts off Indonesia

Hanwha Drilling’s Tidal Action Drillship En Route to Petrobras’ Roncador Field

China's ENN, Zhenhua Oil Ink LNG Supply Deals with ADNOC

MODEC Wins ExxonMobil Guyana’s Hammerhead FPSO Contract

India Stretches Bids Deadline for 13 Offshore Deep-Sea Mineral Blocks

Indonesia Awards Oil and Gas Blocks to Boost Reserves

photo

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com