Shell wants to cash in on cheap LNG for shipping
Royal Dutch Shell Plc wants to expand its sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for marine fuel and other transportation uses to more than 5 million tonnes per year over the next decade, Bloomberg reports.
The plan would take advantage of the price differential between oil and gas in the U.S. About half the LNG would be used for shipping in the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Baltic Sea. "This is a global opportunity," said Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser.
Shell predicts world demand for LNG will jump to 500 million tonnes per year by 2025, five times as much as in 2000.
Increased use of LNG in Asia will provide a market for the high volumes of natural gas being produced from shale projects in North America, according to some observers.
"In North America, projects to export low-cost gas to premium markets are now becoming a reality, which should add considerable value to the otherwise stranded resource that has been unlocked from the continent's shale," Jefferies International Ltd. wrote in a recent report.
Many in the industry see LNG bunkers as a clear solution to the need to reduce ship emissions, particularly in the North American and European Emissions Control Areas (ECAs).
Siim Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, recently said LNG offers the only viable way for ships to meet the new requirements.
