Gazprom Neft planning to develop new LNG bunkering business
MOSCOW. May 18 (Interfax) - Gazprom Neft is planning to develop a new business - liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering.
"Harsh regulations have been entering into force starting in 2015 on the sulfur content in fuel in ECA zones. Demand is growing for low-sulfur fuel. Because of this, we are focused on developing in the new market segment of liquefied natural gas bunkering. We are also hoping to have solid positions in this area by 2025," Andrei Vasilyev, the CEO of LLC Gazpromneft Marine Bunker, a Gazprom Neft subsidiary, is quoted in Gazprom Neft's annual report as saying.
Gazpromneft Marine Bunker is the operator of Gazprom's LNG bunkering projects in the Baltics.
Vasilyev added that Gazpromneft Marine Bunker was working with ship owners in St. Petersburg on a low-tonnage LNG program with the possibility of reequipping engines on small tour ships to use gas, which "will significantly improve the city's ecology and the economy for ship owners."
He added that ship owners in the Far East are very interested in the gas project, as they see savings opportunities. "There's already a company from the United Arab Emirates that has decided to invest $2 billion in this area. The vessels will go from Rotterdam to Korea and from Korea to the U.S. LNG flow per one ship will be around 40,000 tonnes per year, which will offer a total of around 400,000 tonnes," Vasilyev said.
Gazpromneft Marine Bunker includes six subsidiaries: Gazpromneft Shipping (with four vessels in St. Petersburg, four in the Black Sea and one in the Far East); Gazpromneft Terminal Spb; Gazpromneft Marine Bunker Balkan S.A., which sells marine fuels in Romania at the Constanta port; AS Baltic Marine Bunker (Tallin and Riga); Novorosnefteservice and the Novorossiysk oil refining complex.