LNG

Peninsula, the leading independent global supplier of marine fuel in the West Mediterranean and Gibraltar, has carried out a fuel operation on the LNG-powered car carrier “Thor Highway” in the port of Gibraltar.

French LNG storage designer GTT will supply the tanks for six more LNG-powered containerships ordered from South Korea by France’s Marseille-based shipping group CMA CGM.

The six containerships are being constructed at the Korean shipyard of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

The vessels, each capable of carrying 8,000 containers, will be equipped with an LNG fuel tank with a capacity of 6,000 cubic metres. Each LNG tank will be fitted with GTT’s Mark II Flex membrane containment technology.

The deliveries of the vessels are scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2025.

GTT noted that the CMA CGM order brings the total number of containerships to 80 that will have LNG capability and be equipped with the Paris-based firm’s storage tanks.

“This order underlines the renewed confidence of our partner CMA CGM in GTT's technologies to equip its LNG-powered container ships,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

“The GTT group is proud to put its technological innovation at the service of the decarbonisation of global maritime transport,” added Berterottière.

China-built vessels

CMA CGM is a pioneer of LNG-powered containerships and has about 12 more of the vessels being built in China.

The shipping line has said it aimed have a fleet of 44 LNG-fuelled containerships by 2024.

The 12 China-built vessels will be delivered between the last quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024.

The construction contracts for those CMA CGM newbuilds were awarded to Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard Co.

Each of the Chinese yards is building six vessels able to carry between 13,000 and 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of containers.

The first ever LNG-powered containership was delivered to CMA CGM from the Hudong-Zhonghua yard and entered commercial operation in September 2020.

The 23,000 TEU “CMA CGM Jacques Saadé” was named after the late Lebanon-born founder of the shipping line and father of current Chairman Rodolphe Saadé.

The United States will remain the world’s largest natural gas producer throughout the period through 2050, reaching 43 trillion cubic feet per annum, a nearly 50 percent increase from now with US shale-gas resources continuing to expand in the Appalachian region and in formations in and around Texas.

According to the International Energy Outlook 2019 just released by the US government, Middle East natural gas production increases 15 Tcf from 2018 to 2050, reaching 37 Tcf per annum in 2050, an increase of around 70 percent.

After 2030, countries in the Middle East increase production of low-cost, abundant hydrocarbon resources to meet growing demand worldwide.

“Natural gas production in Russia is forecast to increases about 40 percent during the projection period, reaching 34 Tcf in 2050 and most of the increase is exported to Asia and Europe,” said the US Outlook.

Canada also continues to produce relatively large amounts of natural gas per annum, reaching 6.8 Tcf in 2050, a nearly 20 percent increase from 2018.

World natural gas consumption increases more than 40 percent from 2018 to 2050, with growth in non-Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries outpacing growth in the OECD, which groups the 36 wealthiest countries.

The US report said that global natural gas consumption increases by 2050 to a total of nearly 200 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu).

“Natural gas use accelerates the most in countries outside of the OECD to meet demand from increased industrial activity, natural gas-fired electricity generation and transportation fueled by LNG,” said the report.

“Natural gas consumption in non-OECD countries grows from about 70 quadrillion Btu in 2018 to 120 quadrillion Btu in 2050, a 70 percent increase,” stated the Outlook.

Despite strong growth in LNG trade, natural gas pipeline flows continue to account for most of the inter-regional natural gas trade during the projection period as pipeline infrastructure is further developed around the world.

“Non-OECD Europe and Eurasia (primarily Russia) remains the largest net exporter of natural gas in 2050, followed by the Middle East. During this time, OECD Europe increases its dependence on Russian pipeline natural gas, and non-OECD Asia imports a growing amount of LNG,” the Outlook explained.

“The Americas grow as a net exporter of natural gas, driven mostly by LNG shipments from the US to countries outside the region” stated the report.

“During this time, the non-OECD share of global natural gas consumption increases from about 51 percent to 61 percent,” it added.

“In OECD countries, natural gas consumption increases 17 percent between 2018 and 2050, reaching 78 quadrillion Btu,” said the report.

Most of this growth is forecast in the non-OECD industrial sector.

“In non-OECD countries, industrial sector natural gas consumption increases nearly 50 percent, from 32 quadrillion Btu in 2018 to 46 quadrillion Btu in 2050,” said the report.

“Chemical and primary metals manufacturing, as well as oil and natural gas extraction, account for most of the growing demand,” it added.

Natural gas consumption for electricity generation in non-OECD countries increases more than 60 percent, at 1.5 percent per year, accounting for part of the 2.2 percent per year growth in electricity demand in those countries.

Consumption of natural gas in the transportation sector remains the smallest of the end-use sectors throughout the projection period, and yet this sector shows relatively strong growth in non-OECD countries. Increases in demand are driven mostly by LNG use to move freight by truck and rail.