Page 7 - NorthAmOil Week 13 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

FueLNG’s Bellina LNG
bunkering vessel refuels
CMA CGM’s Scandola
containership in late
March in Singapore.

become a major destination for vessels in need which loaded and unloaded cargo at Singapore’s
of fuel for long-haul journeys. This is likely to Pasir Panjang Terminal.
change as marine LNG demand rises, especially FueLNG – a joint venture between Keppel
since Coega’s location is convenient for ships Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) and Royal
travelling from the South Atlantic to the Indian Dutch Shell – aims to carry out 30-50 ship-to-
Ocean on the way to Asia and vice versa. ship bunkering operations this year.
The next African state to offer LNG bunker- Attending the event, Singaporean Senior
ing services may be Egypt. Yahia Zaki, the chair- Minister of State for Transport Chee Hong Tat
man of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ), said LNG’s lower carbon emissions compared to
said last November that foreign operators might fuel oil made it an attractive and viable transi-
receive their first licences for LNG bunkering tion fuel. Chee said Singapore was committed to
within the canal zone in the first quarter of 2021. meeting the IMO’s target of halving the shipping
These plans may not be a high priority in the industry’s carbon emissions by 2050.
short term, given the urgent need to clear the “The industry will need to transition, and
marine traffic jams that followed the ground- in the meantime, we want to choose a solution
ing of the Ever Given in the canal on March 24. that is better than what is traditionally available,”
However, they may gain traction as Egypt pro- The Straits Times quoted him as saying. “We
ceeds with efforts to boost LNG production. are actively working with industry partners and
Algeria has also looked into LNG bunker- research institutions to try to find even better,
ing, and officials in Algiers said in 2014 that the even cleaner fuel sources. In order for these solu-
country hoped to become a hub for ships seek- tions to be commercially viable, it will take time.”
ing this fuel. So far, however, the North African Pavilion Energy, one of three licensed term
state does not appear to have taken any concrete LNG importers in Singapore, has forecast that
action on this front. It is not likely to do so in the the city will command around 20% of an esti-
near term, as domestic natural gas demand has mated 30mn tonnes of global LNG bunkering
been rising quickly enough to reduce the volume demand by 2030. But Singapore is far from alone
of gas available for export. in its efforts to develop itself as an LNG bunker-
ing destination, with neighbouring Malaysia also
Asia making moves in the space.
The Asian LNG bunkering scene has been gain- Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas carried out
ing momentum in recent months as various its first LNG bunker delivery in November 2020,
players within the space strive to gain an edge. supplying 1,150 tonnes of LNG from MV Avenir
While several ship-to-ship transfers have Advantage to the Siem Aristotle vehicle carrier at
already been successfully completed, March saw the Pasir Gudang Port. Petronas leased the bun-
the region’s first successful ship-to-containership kering vessel, which will provide bunkering and
refuelling operation. related services to vessels passing through the
The operation, which took place on March Strait of Malacca, from Future Horizon.
24, saw FueLNG’s Bellina LNG bunkering ves- The state major signed a memorandum
sel refuel CMA CGM’s Scandola container ship, of collaboration with Japan’s Sumitomo in

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