LNG

Woodside plans LNG truck loading facility expansion

Australian oil and gas company Woodside Energy is reportedly planning to quadruple the size of its Pluto LNG truck loading facility, following the signing of its first customer this week. Sheffield Resources signed an agreement for the equivalent of five terajoules of LNG per day for 15 years as part of the Thunderbird mineral sands project. Woodside plans to expand its LNG truck-loading operations at Pluto to extend its virtual pipeline concept serving mines in the region.

India makes headway on LNG infrastructure

Authorities in India are to introduce close to 20 LNG fuelling stations on some of the country’s main heavy transportation routes next year, according to energy major Petronet LNG. Tenders are currently under consideration with the aim to establish a pilot project base of some 5,000 LNG-fuelled trucks travelling five leading national highways. “Following its successful experiment, this exercise would have a repeat in subsequent year of 2020 for another estimated 5,000 trucks that can run on national highways on LNG with a fuel cost saving of nearly 25 percent as well effectively addressing the issue of fuel pollution,” V. K. Mishra, director at Petronet, said. Indian manufacturers including Tata and Mahindra are also expected to produce LNG-fuelled vehicles and buses helping to drive demand growth.

Study points to “strong investment case” for LNG

A study commissioned by industry coalition SEA\LNG has revealed a strong investment case for LNG as a marine fuel in the container shipping market. The research analyses usage for a newbuild 14,000 TEU container vessel operating on an Asia-US West Coast (USWC) liner routing and compares six fuel pricing scenarios. “The study unequivocally shows that for this vessel type, on this trade route, LNG as a marine fuel delivers the best return on investment on a net present value (NPV) basis over a conservative 10-year horizon, with fast payback periods ranging from one to two years,” Peter Keller, Chairman of SEA\LNG, said. The study was produced by independent simulation and analytics firm Opsiana and indicates that LNG provides a greater ROI than alternative compliance solutions, including the installation of Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS), or scrubbers, across 5 out of 6 of the fuel scenarios explored. It also reveals a diminishing CAPEX hurdle, competitive energy costs, the stability of LNG pricing, and the realistic cost of scrubbers.