BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 11
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
A further 70 ports will have liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering facilities within the next three years, Trend reports with reference to the International Gas Union (IGU).
Clarksons Research Services estimates that 128 ports worldwide now offer LNG bunkering services, compared with 60 five years ago and 12 a decade ago.
“The fact that LNG is dominating among the non-oil fuels is no surprise. As noted in The climate case for LNG in shipping, those shipowners that opt for LNG are in a good position to comply with everstricter rules on emissions due to come into force in the coming years. Meanwhile many of the alternatives, though offering potentially CO2 -neutral propulsion, are yet to be proven feasible. And whereas LNG bunkering facilities can take advantage of existing gas infrastructure and supply chains, those for some of the other fuels would have to be built from scratch,” IGU said in its latest report.
LNG is also amply available and at competitive prices, not only compared with alternative future fuels but also oil-based fuels in use today, said the company.
“Facilitating the uptake in LNG use in maritime propulsion, some of the world’s leading oil and gas companies are developing large bunkering fleets. Shell, for example, already has six bunkering vessels in operation or about to enter service, and expects to double this number by 2025. Among the zero-carbon future fuels, Shell sees liquid hydrogen as having the best chance of success, despite its high cost today,” reads the report.
Hydrogen has a lower heating value of 120 MJ/ kg, versus 50 MJ/kg for LNG, according to IGU’s estimates. “It can be produced cleanly from water using electrolysis, with the process powered by renewable energy, or from natural gas, in which case the resulting CO2 emissions are captured and stored.”
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