Tighter rules set to boost LNG role in shipping: Shell
The International Maritime's 0.5% global sulfur cap on marine fuel will boost the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in shipping and trucking, driving transport to become a "major new sector," according to Maarten Wetselaar, integrated gas and new energies director at Royal Dutch Shell. LNG demand could increase from 250 million tonnes to 420 to 450 million tonnes annually by 2025, with 35 to 60 million tonnes of LNG used in transport by 2025, increasing to more than 100 million tonnes by 2030.
Shipping to Help Transport Become "Major New Sector" for LNG Market, Says Shell

by Ship & Bunker News Team

Shell says IMO's decisions on shipping emission's supports the company's confident LNG market outlook.

Maarten Wetselaar, Director Integrated Gas and New Energies at Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), says that shipping and trucking will drive transport to become "a major new sector" for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, Australian Financial Review reports.

The comments come following last week's decision at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that a 0.5 percent global sulfur cap on marine fuel will be implemented from 2020 - a development that Wetselaar says supports Shell's confidence in the future demand for LNG.

"These sectors have good affordability," said Wetselaar, adding: "the alternative is oil, and that's a price link that we like competing with in the gas side."

35 to 60 million tonnes of LNG each year could be used by transport by the year 2025, and more than 100 million tonnes by 2030 says Wetselaar.

“ The alternative is oil, and that's a price link that we like competing with in the gas side Maarten Wetselaar, Director, Integrated Gas & New Energies, Shell

Overall, LNG demand could swell from the current 250 million tonnes as much as 420 to 450 million tonnes annually by 2025, suggests Shell.

Despite Shell's confident assessment of future LNG demand, not everyone agrees that LNG should be the go-to solution for shipping in light of tighter sulfur emission controls to be implemented by the IMO.

While LNGs performance in terms of reducing emissions of SOx and NOx are not in question, industry veteran Ian Adams yesterday said it was a "myth" that the use of gas could reduce shipping's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.