Page 14 - GLNG Week 10 2021

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Shell, Gazprom deliver Europe’s

first carbon-neutral LNG

ENERGY ROYAL Dutch Shell and Russia’s Gazprom have
TRANSITION delivered the first ever cargo of carbon-neu-
tral LNG to Europe, as both companies look
to improve their environmental credentials to
make their gas more attractive to buyers.
Shell announced taking delivery of the cargo
from Gazprom on March 8. The shipment was
unloaded at the Dragon LNG terminal in Wales,
in the UK.
LNG cargoes can be classified as neutral if
their lifecycle CO2 emissions from wellhead
to combustion are offset with the use of carbon
credits, third party-verified certificates issued to
projects that capture or avoid emissions. Several
such cargoes have been delivered to Asia but this
is the first to arrive at a European market. (See:
Carbon-neutral LNG picks up momentum, page
4) According to Shell, a typical 70,000 tonne
LNG cargo emits around 240,000 tonnes of CO2
equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. but shipowners are now turning to LNG and
“We are grateful to Gazprom for partnering other alternatives in the face of increasingly
with us in delivering the first carbon-neutral stringent environmental regulation.
LNG cargo in Europe. We have already deliv- Shell said on March 4 it had chartered an LNG
ered seven carbon-neutral cargoes in Asia and bunkering vessel under construction in Spain
are very excited to be able to now offer this to to provide its customers greater flexibility along
customers in the UK,” Steve Hill, vice president the key trade routes. The company already has
at Shell Energy, commented. “Carbon-neutral six LNG bunkering ships in operation or about
LNG cargoes are another choice we are offering to enter service, making it the biggest LNG bun-
our customers as they seek to reduce their net kerer in the world, and it aims to double that
carbon footprint well-to-wheel and also offer number by 2025.
the same choice to their end customers. The latest vessel will be operated by Norway’s
“Using natural-based carbon credits to com- Knutsen and will use the Enagas LNG terminal
pensate for emissions that cannot be avoided or in Barcelona for loading and supplying LNG. Its
reduced is an important step as we find more LNG storage capacity is 5,000 cubic metres.
ways to reduce emissions across the LNG value Spain has seen a rapid growth in LNG bun-
Gazprom chain,” he continued. kering in recent years, with the number of refu-
Gazprom Export head Elena Burmistrova elling operations off its coast reaching 741 last
confirmed earlier added that the deal “confirms once again the year, up from a mere 199 in 2019, Iberian gas
this month that ability of the gas industry to contribute to association Gasnam estimates. LNG bunkering
achieving climate goals.” Natural gas is the is becoming more popular not only with local
it was working cleanest fossil fuel and with further efforts to shipping but also across the Mediterranean and
decarbonise and offset the fuel underway, it for trade between Asia and Europe.
Shell has so far completed ship-to-ship LNG
with Shell to “will remain a key element of global energy for bunkering 400 times in seven countries and
decades ahead,” she said.
dispatch the Gazprom confirmed earlier this month that eight ports, including Rotterdam, Barcelona,
carbon-neutral it was working with Shell to dispatch the car- Tenerife, La Spezia, Gothenberg and most
bon-neutral LNG cargo. The two companies recently Jacksonville in Florida. It plans to start
LNG cargo. are partners at the 11mn tonne per year (tpy) providing the service in Singapore and Florida’s
Sakhalin LNG plant in the Russian Far East, Port Canaveral this year, and recently obtained
but neither has said where the cargo originated. a bunkering licence in Gibraltar.
However, Argus Media reported that it origi- Gazprom Neft, meanwhile, is just about to
nally came from Novatek’s Yamal LNG. make its foray into LNG bunkering. It launched
Russia’s very first LNG bunkering vessel in
LNG bunkering December, with sea trials scheduled for this
Shell and Gazprom’s oil arm Gazprom Neft are spring. The ship will join Gazprom Neft’s con-
also promoting the use of LNG as a shipping fuel ventional bunkering fleet in the second half of
as a means of combatting emissions. Heavy fuel the year, operating at ports in the Gulf of Fin-
oil has dominated global shipping for decades, land and in the Baltic Sea.™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 10 12•March•2021