Russian natural gas major Novatek announced that its joint venture Yamal LNG has reached full capacity at the plant’s three LNG trains. The Yamal LNG project was implemented in record time and on budget with the launches of the second and third trains made ahead of schedule by six months and more than a year.
The Chinese Ministry of Transport issued a notice to ensure the safety and security of maritime transportation of LNG. Namely, the notice requires all relevant actors to implement safety measures for LNG transport and improve supervisions and inspections.
Australia became the world’s largest exporter of LNG, for the first time in November, as it surpassed Qatar. This comes after the beginning of several export projects in the country over the past three years, such as the Ichthys LNF project off Australia’s northern coast.
ABS signed an MOU with the Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute (KOMERI) to create a new facility for improving the safety of LNG as fuel. It aspires to enable shipowners to test fuel gas and bunkering systems, under actual loading conditions, before installation onboard.
The demand for Europe small-scale LNG market is projected to grow from 1,902.60 million Euros in 2020 to 5,818.75 million Euros by 2030, while actuating at an estimated CAGR of 11.8% from 2020 to 2030, according to Energias Market Research.
Port of Rotterdam’s Cees Boon spoke about LNG bunkering licenses that the Port will provide. Namely, he estimates that by 2020, the Port will have granted nine licenses to LNG bunker providers.
A feeder container ship loaded with 130 LNG tank containers sailed from the Port of Yangpu of Hainan Province to the Port of Jinzhou in November. This is part of an LNG trial project; China’s first-ever attempt to transport the surplus capacity of Hainan terminal to its northern part via LNG tank containers.
Petronas and Vitol signed binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) for long-term LNG sale and purchase (SPA) agreement, on 1 October 2018. According to the agreement, Petronas will supply Vitol with approximately up to 0.8 million tonnes per annum for a period of up to 15 years on both Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) and Free on Board (FOB) basis, as from 2024.
Mr. Antonis Trakakis, Chief Technology Officer at Forward Ships, talks about methane slips from LNG fueled engines. Mr. Trakakis notes that these emissions are not inherent to the natural gas. The problem lies at the applied heat cycle, making the amount of methane slip depend on the technology of each engine.
