It's a bunkering business

Jeff Pollack and Peyton Heinz, Port of Corpus Christi, USA, provide an overview of how LNG bunkering is advancing decarbonisation, focusing specifically on port infrastructure developments.

The maritime industry is under mounting pressure to accelerate the energy transition in support of aggressive decarbonisation objectives. The sobering outlook in the Sixth Assessment Report, issued on 7 August by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will further this imperative. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has announced the ambitious goal of reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping by at least 50% by 2050. This climate action complements more stringent air quality regulations, such as the IMO 2020 global sulfur

Figure 1. The Port of Corpus Christi ended June 2021 with a record first half of the year, moving nearly 80.5 million t of cargo, largely due to a 72% y/y increase in LNG exports.

cap, which are targeted at protecting community airsheds and human health.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, growing concerns have been seen regarding both health and environmental issues and how the two intersect. This has not gone unnoticed by the public and private sector and as such will serve as a major determinant for viable port activities moving forward. The maritime industry has an opportunity to coalesce around new operational standards and efficiencies to capture public trust. While there is no one silver bullet for addressing the environmental challenges of the industry, there should be a strong focus on increased utilisation of LNG as a cleaner, more efficient fuel.

LNG fills a niche as a transitional marine fuel in a market where there is a shortage of commercially viable alternatives to diesel. Natural gas is one of the cleanest burning fuels available with negligible sulfur or ash content. Worldwide reserves of natural gas are thought to be significantly higher than for petroleum, and the International Energy Agency estimates there is sufficient supply for 250 years of consumption.

As compared to diesel-powered vessels, vessels powered by LNG reduce emissions in every major category: Sulfur oxide (SOx) by almost 100%. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) by 85% or more. Particulate matter (PM) by up to 99%. GHG by approximately 21%.

In contrast, diesel-powered vessels and equipment account for nearly half of all NOx and more than two-thirds of all PM emissions from US transportation sources. Its composition frequently includes a multitude of chemical elements, including sulfates, ammonium, nitrates, elemental carbon, condensed organic compounds, and even carcinogenic compounds and heavy metals such as arsenic, selenium, cadmium, and zinc. In addition to air quality and decarbonisation benefits, LNG offers 24% more energy output per tonne than heavy fuel oil. The transition in the world fleet is well underway. The world fleet currently includes 191 LNG-powered vessels, and an additional 251 LNG-powered ships are on order. The world fleet also includes another 146 LNG-ready (e.g. dual-fuel and/or plumbed for LNG but requiring moderate modification) vessels either in operation or on order. This active LNG fleet includes 44 LNGpowered tankers in operation; another 53 are on order as of April 2021. There is also a strong market for dual-fuel engines that can burn conventional fuels, biofuels, LNG, LPG, and ammonia, all with a high and consistent thermal energy efficiency. These fuels will require some modifications to accommodate changing fuels, but these modifications are relatively simple compared to the need to replace the engine and fuel system. Dual-fuel diesel engines can achieve nearly zero methane slip if LNG is injected while pressurised. The low-pressure engines inject LNG as a gaseous methane by utilising a low-pressure nozzle that allows LNG to revert back to a gaseous form, thereby reducing NOx emissions.

Figure 2. A VLCC enters the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, currently under construction to deepen to 54 ft. The Port hopes to attract LNGcapable vessels and encourage the transition to LNG fuelling solutions. Figure 3. As a major energy hub, the Port of Corpus Christi is committed to providing a clean energy source for its customers and vessels that call at the port.

As ships take between three and five years to build, it is incumbent upon the Port of Corpus Christi, as the largest energy export port in the US, to send a clear signal to ship builders that it is committed to this clean energy source by investing in LNG infrastructure.

In April, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority announced that it will be partnering with Stabilis Energy to begin offering LNG bunkering for vessels calling at the gateway. This partnership signals the Port’s broader commitment to sustainability and comes on the heels of the recent announcement that the Port joined the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership. Several other ports within the US already offer LNG bunkering, including Jacksonville, Tacoma, and Port

Fourchon, and several others, including Galveston, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Geismar, and Ontario, Canada, have LNG bunkering projects in development. There are approximately 40 ports that use barges to bunker LNG in ship-to-ship bunkering operations worldwide and another 21 additional ports bunker LNG via either truck or tank.

The Port of Corpus Christi is endowed with abundant, affordable natural gas, due to multiple direct connections to production fields in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. The primary natural trading hub for natural gas in South Texas is Agua Dulce, right outside of Corpus Christi, which affords the Port of Corpus Christi with some of the most cost-competitive natural gas prices in the world.

LNG bunkering operations at the Port of Corpus Christi will begin in 4Q21, but the Port and Stabilis are partnering on targeted outreach with the hope of attracting more LNG-capable vessels to the gateway and to the western Gulf of Mexico overall, with the ultimate objective of accelerating conversion of the world fleet.

Stabilis initially will provide shore-to-ship LNG bunkering, deploying its existing fleet of mobile cryogenic assets from its LNG production plant in nearby Three Rivers, Texas. The nimble, on-demand approach will allow the Port and Stabilis to scale LNG fuelling operations as demand grows with the potential to invest in additional fixed or floating infrastructure assets as needed.

In February 2021, the Port of Corpus Christi announced an exciting collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s leading industrial deep seaport, around a shared customer base and a shared commitment to environmental stewardship. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two ports defines pathways for co-developing trade and commercial opportunities, fostering an exchange of information, and advancing the development and deployment of innovative technologies specifically related to navigational safety and environmental protection.

The Port of Rotterdam is recognised globally for its high-quality infrastructure, connectivity, and economic development including a strong support of LNG bunkering. The Port of Rotterdam is Europe’s first and largest LNG bunkering port. Every year, approximately 11 million m3 of bunker fuel is supplied to vessels in Rotterdam from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to biofuels.

The Port of Rotterdam also is capitalising on the density of carbon emitters and the existing infrastructure at the Port to develop centralised carbon capture and storage infrastructure; the Port of Corpus Christi – which has a comparable industrial customer composition – has been declarative about its intention to develop a similar hub in the Coastal Bend region of Texas.

Dr Tip Meckel from the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin, one of the world’s top experts on industrial carbon capture and underground storage, has mapped the geology of Gulf State Waters (up to nine nautical miles from shore) and has determined this area to be uniquely suited for injection and storage of pressurised CO2. The Port, a political subdivision of the state, hopes to partner with the Texas General Land Office to establish a centralised hub for carbon capture and geologic storage.

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DECEMBER 5-9, 2021 | HOUSTON, USA #23WPCHOUSTON