Page 9 - AsianOil Week 35 2022

AsianOil EAST ASIA AsianOil

Shell pens $1bn LNG bunkering

deal with ZIM

PROJECTS & SHELL has signed a 10-year deal to provide LNG particular, its use leads to virtually no sulphur
COMPANIES as bunkering fuel to global containership opera- oxide and particulate matter emissions, and sig-
tor ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, valued at nificantly reduces nitrogen oxide emissions.
LNG bunkering is going more than $1bn. The agreement will support the “With the addition of significant LNG-pow-
global. use of LNG in trade between Asia and the US ered capacity to our fleet, beginning in 2023, we
East Coast, reducing emissions. have positioned ZIM as a leader in carbon inten-
The LNG will be provided to 10 LNG-fuelled sity reduction among global liners,” the compa-
vessels that will be deployed on ZIM’s flagship ny’s CEO Eli Glickman said in a statement. “We
ZIM Container Service Pacific route between are pleased to execute this long-term supply
China and South Korea and the US East Coast. agreement with Shell to secure LNG at competi-
The 15,000-TEU vessels are expected to enter tive terms and look forward to partnering with a
into service during 2023 and 2024. global industry leader such as Shell as we take an
LNG bunkering is a fast-expanding sector, important step to ensure our fuel sourcing is well
with shippers increasingly looking to use the planned and of the highest quality.”
fuel not only for localised shipping but also In spite of the current soaring global cost
transglobal trade. In a statement, ZIM noted of natural gas, advocates for LNG as a bunker-
that the container segment accounted for 23% ing fuel note that it has historically been a very
of total shipping emissions. It cited a recent cost-competitive option for shippers looking to
study by Sphera, commissioned by LNG bun- curb their emissions. Conventional LNG can also
kering association SEA-LNG, that showed that be switched at a later stage for bio-LNG, resulting
LNG produced 20% less greenhouse gas (GHG) in further emissions reductions without shippers
emissions than conventional marine fuels. In having to invest in new equipment.™

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Philippines open to talks with China

on joint oil, gas exploration

POLICY THE Philippines is open to discussions with of the entire South China Sea as its exclusive terri-
China on oil and gas exploration in the South tory, has refused to recognise that decision.
The two sides broke off China Sea, in areas that the two countries con- Nevertheless, the two sides in 2018 pledged
talks earlier this year. test, Bloomberg reported, citing the former’s top to jointly explore oil and gas assets in the Philip-
diplomat. pines’ EEZ, despite the disagreement over rights.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s government Chinese officials have also expressed hope
stands ready to resume talks with Beijing, but in recent weeks that talks with Manila on these
any deal reached would have to comply with joint projects can be revived. Liu Jianchao, head
Philippine law, the Southeast Asian country’s of the Chinese Communist Party’s diplomatic
foreign affairs secretary, Enrique Mannalo, told arm, the International Liaison Department, told
lawmakers during his agency’s budget hearing reporters in Manila earlier this month that talks
on August 31. could continue if both sides showed “some kind
“We will not be agreeing to anything not in of flexibility.”
accordance with the Philippine Constitution,” he “It seems that there are some legal barriers or
said. “That will be our guiding principle.” legal factors that are standing in the way of a final
Marcos’ predecessor Rodrigo Duterte had in consensus,” said Liu, who was formerly China’s
June halted talks with Beijing on South China Sea ambassador to the Philippines. “I hope that both
exploration, and at the time, the then foreign affairs sides will move about this issue in a way that is
chief Teodoro Locsin said that discussions had gone feasible and practical so that cooperation could
as far as “it is constitutionally possible to go.” be continued and realised.”
The Philippines has on its side a 2016 inter- Liu stressed that disputes over maritime
national arbitration ruling which stated that the borders should not hinder bilateral relations
country had sovereign rights to exploit oil and gas between the two countries, as Beijing strives
within its 200-mile (322-km) Exclusive Economic towards a “golden era” in ties with Manila under
Zone (EEZ). But China, which claims around 90% the premiership of Marcos. ™

Week 35 05•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9