The Maersk Group, Shell and Qatargas have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel in the Middle East region.
The joint relationship will facilitate further exploration into the development of new markets for LNG as a fuel for propulsion for merchant ships. The partnership hopes to reduce the environmental footprint of ships as the majority currently rely on heavy fuel oil (HFO), the combustion of which emits harmful pollutants including sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).
The MOU marks an important milestone as Qatargas has recently provided LNG as a marine fuel in a converted diesel engine on the MV Rasheeda, a Qatargas LNG carrier.
The MOU was signed at a ceremony attended by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Chairman of Qatargas Board of Directors, Qatargas Chief Executive Officer, Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Maersk Group Chief Executive Officer, Nils S. Andersen and Shell International Trading Middle East Limited General Manager, Danny Leek.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Chairman of Qatargas Board of Directors, commented: “We are very proud to continue to pioneer new and novel opportunities to utilize Qatar’s LNG.
We are also proud to partner with industry leaders such as Maersk and Shell to create potential new market opportunities for Qatar’s LNG and, at the same time, provide ship operators around the globe with a cleaner fuel alternative to the heavy fuel oils currently in use.”
The partners have stated they are to continue their work together to develop LNG as a marine fuel in order to supply the merchant fleet with the quantity required throughout the next decade.
Fathom News
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