QP-Shell venture forming LNG bunker ...

Citing sulfur limits tightening in 2020, representatives of Shell Gas & Power Developments BV and Qatar Petroleum’sWave LNG Solutions have signed a shareholder agreement to form a company providing global LNG bunkering services.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the 50-50 company will procure LNG, set up storage and bunker vessels in key locations, and facilitate sales of LNG as a marine fuel.

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, minister of state for energy affairs and president and chief executive officer of Qatar Petroleum, said demand for LNG as a bunker fuel might reach 35 million tonnes/year by 2035. That’s about 11% of Shell’s estimate of worldwide LNG deliveries last year.

Ben van Beurden, Royal Dutch Shell chief executive officer, noted the International Maritime Organization’s 0.5% cap effective in 2020 on sulfur in bunker fuel.

"An increasing number of ship owners and operators are turning to LNG over traditional marine fuels in response to tighter sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions regulations," he said.