LNG

Ascenz Marorka, a subsidiary of French storage tanks technology company GTT, has been awarded two contracts by the Chinese natural gas and LNG player, the JOVO Group, to provide two LNG carriers with smart-shipping equipment.

JOVO is based in Guangdong province of southern China where it is one of the main suppliers of LNG and other fuels in the Pearl River Delta area.

The Chinese company is involved in LNG importing, trading and the city-gas business as well as pipeline gas deliveries and natural gas filling stations for vehicles.

GTT smart-shipping unit Ascenz Marorka has emerged from the joint branding of Singapore-based Ascenz and Icelandic firm Marorka, which was acquired by GTT.

These contracts for JOVO’s two LNG carriers cover the installation of automatic data collection systems and software for managing and optimising the energy and environmental performance of the ships.

Voyage management

“Crew on board and personnel ashore will benefit from a comprehensive set of modules such as voyage management, LNG cargo optimisation, machinery optimisation, trim optimisation and fuel monitoring,” said GTT.

“In addition, JOVO will also benefit from exclusive LNG features developed through GTT’s unique expertise such as LNG cargo monitoring, boil-off gas management and heel optimisation,” stated the Paris-based parent company.

“We are honoured by the trust that JOVO places in us to support them on their journey towards digitalisation, operational optimisation and effective decarbonisation,” said Anouar Kiassi, Vice-President of Digital and Information at GTT.

“We are delighted to work hand in hand with a shipowner committed to operational and environmental excellence,” stated Kiassi.

Lu Yuan, Managing Director of LNG International Business for the JOVO Group, said the company was delighted to extend its cooperation with GTT and Ascenz Marorka.

“The deployment of these innovative and unique solutions and services on board our LNG carriers will enable us to better operate our vessels, unload larger volumes of LNG cargoes, improve general safety, assist crews in their demanding tasks and achieve our environmental goals,” Lu declared.

Woodside Energy, the Western Australian liquefied natural gas plant operator, has highlighted the record-breaking production achieved in 2020 at its Pluto LNG plant amid the worst cyclone to hit the Burrup Peninsula in half a century and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Air Liquide, the French industrial gases company, said it was marketing an exclusive, patented technology that is perfectly suited to the needs of liquefied natural gas carriers and LNG bunkering vessels. 

Nov 26 (LNGJ) - Swiss company Burckhardt Compression, whose LNG offerings include its Laby brand of compressors and boil-off gas solutions, has acquired a US field services firm, the Arkos Group, by purchasing the 60 percent of Arkos it did not already own. The Arkos workforce numbers 250 employees.

   Burckhardt initially acquired a 40 percent interest in Arkos Group in December 2015. “With the purchase of the remaining ownership of Arkos, Burckhardt Compression together with Arkos Field Services will be the only independent one-stop provider for equipment and service in the upstream, midstream and downstream business,” said Burckhardt.

   “The US has the world's largest installed base of reciprocating compressors,” it noted. The previous estimate of Burckhardt’s full-year sales for fiscal year 2019 ranged between 600M Swiss francs ($601M) and 640M francs and with the acquisition will increase by 20M-30M francs.

Air Liquide, the France-based industrial gases company, said it was continuing to develop its latest boil-off gas reliquefaction technology onboard a second LNG carrier newbuild after successful trials on a first vessel at a shipyard in South Korea.

Sept 20 (LNGJ) - GTT, the French maritime LNG storage technology company, said it recently received general approval from the American Bureau of Shipping, the US classification society, for its newest version of the Mark III Flex tank with a lower boil-off rate of gas. “This latest variant of the sea-proven Mark III Flex technology benefits from an improved insulation performance through an increase in thickness and an enhanced secondary membrane solution,” said GTT.  The company said the new tank has a daily boil-off rate of 0.07 percent volume per day compared with 0.085 percent volume per day for the previous version.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US classification society and marine technical services, said it completed a joint development project with Monaco-based LNG fleet owner GasLog focusing on boil-off gas efficiency in operations.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, one of the world’s leading builders of liquefied natural gas carriers, has lost a court case filed against its South Korean rivals over a patent for reliquefaction technology.

Qatar National Bank analysts expect the Emirate's hydrocarbon production and export capacity to "continue plateauing in the medium term", amid rising domestic demand. There's little room for more Qatari volumes beyond the current 77 mtpa, as cargoes have to compete against an upswing in Australian exports and new ventures in North America and east Africa.