Authorities at Port Hedland in Western Australia have advanced plans to develop new LNG production and bunkering infrastructure to support the world’s largest iron ore export port.
Specialists from Pilbara Clean Fuels, Oceania Marine Energy and Italian classification society RINA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work on a joint study defining technical options and preparing the way for a world first electrified plant.
“The partnership has the ability to demonstrate an attractive commercial development strategy to meet not only the immediate needs of IMO 2030 emissions compliance, but the engineering step-change needed to create a practical path to IMO 2050 net-zero emissions objectives,” PCF Managing Director, Robert Malabar said.
Electrified production
One of the first steps for the partners will be the creation of plans for a new, mid-scale, low carbon footprint liquification plant that will convert pipeline natural gas to LNG and provide the basis for so called eLNG, which is expected to have significantly lower overall life-cycle emissions.
“A key feature of the project is an electrified plant with outsourced power supplied predominantly from renewable sources,” a spokesperson for the partners said. “The design intent is to significantly reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions compared to conventional LNG plants. Thereby providing an ability for round-trip voyages bunkering in Port Hedland to achieve substantially lower overall GHG life-cycle emissions than other options.
The current proposals suggest a base-case capacity for the plant of 0.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), with market analysis for Port Hedland alone indicating potential demand of 1.0 Mtpa by 2030.
“We know the maritime community is happy with LNG as a marine fuel. We believe the outcome of the studies should provide compelling argument in support of the Western Australian Government’s May 2020 announcement to ‘Create an International LNG Fuelling Hub in the Pilbara’,” Malabar added.
LNG Fuelling Hub
Pilbara Clean Fuels aims to fuel dry-bulk iron ore carriers operating ‘round-trip’ voyages between the Pilbara and Asia, utilising ship-to-ship bunkering of vessels while at anchor off Port Hedland. The firm has signed an exclusive development partnership with French energy group Technip Energies and selected Air Products as preferred liquefaction technology licensor and core equipment supplier.
“Together we are excited to participate in developing Australia’s primary green corridor for shipping,” Oceania Managing Director, Nick Bentley commented, “supporting significant emission reductions in the short term, and in the future, for a maritime trade route critically important to Western Australia’s economy.”
