LNG

Puget LNG, the LNG terminal operator in the port of Tacoma in the US northwest state of Washington, and GAC Bunker Fuels have signed an accord to cooperate on the supply and sale of LNG marine fuel in the Pacific Northwest.

Pilot LNG, a US infrastructure company planning the first dedicated liquefied natural gas bunkering facility to serve the Texas Gulf Coast ports of Galveston, Houston and Texas City has signed a cooperation deal with GAC Bunker Fuels (GAC) for the supply of LNG.

The bunker terminal will be located on Pelican Island in the Gulf of Mexico with a final investment decision scheduled for the second half of 2021 and operations starting in 2024.

Pilot LNG and GAC have signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA), which outlines the terms of the partnership.

It prepares the ground for Pilot to provide LNG marine fuel to GAC on a Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) basis for its customers in the Galveston Bay Port complex, as well as Galveston Offshore Lightering Area.

“The Galveston LNG Bunker Port will provide the LNG to supply GAC’s growing market for cleaner marine fuel, particularly as its customers seek economic ways to comply with tightening emissions regulations, including IMO 2020,” said Pilot LNG Chief Executive Jonathan Cook.

“The opportunity to work with such a strong global player like GAC is a very exciting step forward for Pilot and the Galveston project,” added Cook.

The facility infrastructure will be designed around floating liquefaction (FLNG) technology to be engineered, and constructed by Wison Offshore & Marine of Nantong in China.

The Chinese yard is best known for constructing the FLNG barge “Tango FLNG” built in 2017 and other floating LNG vessels.

GAC Global Director for Bunker Fuels, Nicholas Browne, said his company had a proven track record of more than three decades supplying quality marine fuels to the shipping sector.

“This agreement with Pilot will allow us to grow our portfolio of alternative fuels, with LNG as the cleanest and most cost-effective way for shippers to meet compliance,”added Browne.

GAC Bunker Fuels is the world’s only bunkering company with an integrated ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certification for bunker procurement that also covers LNG as a marine fuel.

In September 2020, GAC acted as the bunker broker for the Swedish dual-fuelled vessel “Fure Ven” when it became the first non-US flagged vessel to bunker LNG in the United States, taking on supplies at the Port of Jacksonville in Florida.

Pilot has filed regulatory applications with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and other relevant regulatory agencies, paving the way for a Final Investment Decision on the project in 2021.

As international regulators tighten emissions standards, the maritime industry is increasingly turning towards LNG as the marine fuel of choice due to its significantly lower emissions profile and cost competitiveness.

Analysts said the Galveston Bay area was an ideal location to add LNG bunkering infrastructure.

It had more than 10,500 deep-water vessel visits in 2019 and over 133,000 tug/tow movements on the Houston Ship Channel and is the nation’s fourth busiest cruise terminal.