Page 11 - NorthAmOil Week 38

NorthAmOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT NorthAmOil

Cryopeak, Sumitomo sign LNG bunkering MoU

BRITISH CANADA-BASED Cryopeak LNG Solutions, Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations
COLUMBIA a portfolio company of BP Energy Partners, has restricting sulphur content in marine fuel to
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) 0.5%. LNG is just one of several options available
with Japan’s Sumitomo on the development of to ship operators, and there are various obstacles
an LNG bunker fuel supply chain in the Pacific to uptake, including the cost of converting ves-
Northwest. According to a September 21 press sels to run on the fuel, as well as the fact that there
release, the partners would target ports in West- is little infrastructure currently in place for LNG
ern Canada, such as Vancouver, Fraser River bunkering in ports. Nonetheless, some projects
Port, Roberts Bank and Prince Rupert. are advancing, with their supporters touting the
This follows an MoU that Cryopeak signed environmental benefits of using LNG as a fuel,
with Island Tug & Barge (ITB) in July to deliver among others. Indeed, this is one of the benefits
LNG bunkering services in southwest British mentioned by Cryopeak and Sumitomo execu-
Columbia. The two companies said at the time tives in their joint statement.
that they had developed a design for a 4,000 “Both companies are driven by a desire to
cubic metre articulated tug and barge (ATB) that make purposeful and significant contributions
is due to be brought into service in 2023. to environmental improvement and sustaina-
This week’s statement about the MoU with bility,” said Cryopeak’s CEO, Calum McClure.
Sumitomo noted that the ATB would provide “Offering a safe and efficient LNG bunkering
ship-to-ship transfers of LNG to vessels that use solution is critical to the adoption of LNG as a
it as a fuel source and ship-to-shore transfers to marine fuel to the shipping industry.”
small-scale marine distribution infrastructure “We are very proud that the co-operation
in the Pacific Northwest. Under the latest MoU, between Cryopeak and Sumitomo is paving
Sumitomo has agreed to offer Cryopeak’s end- the way towards the development of LNG as a
to-end LNG fuelling services to existing and cleaner marine fuel, especially in Vancouver,
potential customers in ports in the region. one of the most eco-friendly ports in the world,”
LNG bunkering is increasingly being pursued added a Sumitomo department general manager,
following the implementation of International Shu Nakamura.™

Massachusetts senators call for shutdown

of Weymouth compressor station

MASSACHUSETTS THE US Senators for Massachusetts, Ed Mar- an issue with a piece of equipment at the Wey-
key and Elizabeth Warren, called this week for mouth compressor station and followed the
Enbridge to halt operations at its Weymouth proper safety procedures to remove natural gas
compressor station. The senators argued that from the station in order to address the issue,” an
the facility should not enter service so soon Enbridge spokesperson, Max Bergeron, said in
after it experienced an equipment failure ear- emailed comments to the Boston-based WBUR
lier this month that resulted in a release of nat- radio station. “We are continuing testing and cal-
The Weymouth ural gas. ibrating activities to ensure the facility is fit for
compressor station is The unplanned release occurred on Sep- service before becoming operational and pro-
a part of Enbridge’s tember 11 as a result of a gasket failure at the ceeding with health and safety as our priority.”
Atlantic Bridge project. unfinished compressor station. The incident The 7,700-horsepower compressor station is
caused an emergency shutdown to be triggered, a part of Enbridge’s Atlantic Bridge project. Once
according to a filing submitted by Enbridge to completed, the station will connect two existing
the Massachusetts Department of Environmen- pipelines and allow gas to be delivered to parts
tal Protection (MassDEP). The exact volume of of northern New England and to Maritime Can-
gas released during the incident was not speci- ada. Enbridge still hopes to start up the com-
fied, though Enbridge estimated that 35 lbs (16 pressor station on October 1, but Markey and
kg) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were Warren contend that this is premature given the
released. gas release, as well as an ongoing court-ordered
This week, the company told local media that reassessment of the facility’s turbine.
it is moving forward with plans to ensure the sta- Their calls for a shutdown come after US
tion, which is scheduled to undergo testing until Representative for Massachusetts Stephen
October 1, is fit to enter service from the start of Lynch demanded the “immediate suspension”
next month. of operations at the Weymouth compressor sta-
“On September 11, 2020 we experienced tion last week.™

Week 38 24•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11