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Total launches first LNG bunkering vessel
PIPELINES & TRANSPORT
FRANCE’S Total has developed its rst large- sized LNG bunkering vessel, hoping to capture a share in a market primed for rapid growth over the next decade.
e vessel will be delivered in 2020 and supply LNG to commercial ships in Northern Europe. is includes the provision of 300,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of the super-cooled fuel over a ten-year period to French shipping group CMA CGM to bunker nine ultra-large newbuild containerships handling trade between Europe and Asia.
“Developing infrastructure like this giant bunker vessel is essential to allow LNG to become a widely used marine fuel,” Total’s presi- dent for marketing and services, Momar Nguer, said. “ is rst ship demonstrates our commit- ment to o ering our customers both more envi- ronmentally friendly fuels and the associated logistics. anks to this pioneering investment, Total is making a positive contribution to the sustainable evolution of global shipping.”
Shipowners across the world are scrambling to prepare for stricter IMO environmental rules on marine fuel coming into force on 1 January, 2020. e regulations require shippers to reduce the sulphur content in the fuels to 0.5%, down
from the current cap of 3.5%. ere are several ways they can achieve this, including fitting scrubbers to cleanse emissions of sulphur or switching to low-sulphur fuel oil and gas oil.
LNG is also seen as a favourable option, as its use not only cuts sulphur emissions by 99% – far more than is necessary under the IMO rules – but also reduces ne particle emissions by 99%, nitrogen oxide emissions by 85% and green- house gas (GHG) emissions by around 20%, according to Total. Advocates also point to its cost competitiveness.
France’s Total has been steadily growing its natural gas business in recent years, estab- lishing itself as the second-largest private LNG player with a supply portfolio expected to reach 40mn tpy in 2020. But it has been relatively slow to move into LNG bunkering, with its Anglo- Dutch rival Royal Dutch Shell launching its rst LNG refuelling vessel two years ago.
Total’s ship was built by Hudong-Zhong- hua Shipbuilding at a shipyard near Shanghai and is equipped with 18,600 cubic metre tanks provided by French LNG engineer GTT. The 135-metre vessel also has the ability to re-liquefy boil-o gas.
Hungary could buy LNG from Qatar from 2021
POLICY
LNG deliveries to Hungary would be supplied via a new terminal being built in Croatia.
HUNGARY could start taking deliveries of LNG from Qatar from 2021, Minister of For- eign A airs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told the state news agency on October 22. Hungary’s top diplomat met QatarGas CEO Khalid bin Khalifa Al ani and Qatari ministers during a trip to Qatar.
e Qataris expressed their clear-cut open- ness to start negotiations with Hungary on LNG deliveries via Croatia and Qatari gas could appear in Hungary’s energy mix as soon as 2021, improving the security of the country’s energy supply and contributing to more favourable prices, he said.
The LNG terminal Croatia is building off the coast of Krk would be completed in January 2021, providing the infrastructure necessary for Hungary to take deliveries of Qatari gas. Qatar exports more than 100bcm of gas a year at pres- ent and wants to raise that volume to an annual 145bcm, he added.
e government is in talks on the acquisition of a stake in the terminal. Hungary made an o er to buy a 25% stake to further diversify its energy supply but only if the country can acquire gas
from the terminal at a competitive price. Washington has pushed Hungary and coun- tries in the region to buy US LNG via the Krk terminal as it is worried about Russia’s in uence in the region. e US government says Russia uses gas pipelines to solidify its control over the security and the stability of Central and Eastern
Europe.
The Croatian LNG terminal will have an
annual capacity of 2.7bcm, while interconnec- tor capacity at the Croatian-Hungarian border stands at 1.6bcm a year. Gas consumption in Hungary is about 9.5bcm a year.
Szijjarto said an agreement had been reached on the text of a bilateral investment protec- tion agreement with Qatar that could soon be signed, paving the way for joint investments and improved trade. Hungarian audiovisual technol- ogy has been installed at a number of stadiums in Qatar which will host football matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Supplying drinking water is a challenge in Qatar, something which presents an opportunity for Hungarian water management companies, he added.
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