Asia/Pacific News
LNG Bunker Demand to be 77 million tonnes in 2035
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is set to become a significant portion of the global transport market share, with LNG bunker demand rising to 35.7 million tons in 2025 and 77 million in 2035, Bloomberg reports.
"The cost advantage of LNG relative to diesel currently provides a strong economic incentive," reads a report from Cedigaz, the France-based international association for natural gas.
The spur towards LNG was said to be mostly driven by the new Emission Control Area (ECA) regulations, which requires that from January 1, 2015 fuel used within the ECA does not have a sulfur content exceed 0.10 percent by weight.
At present, companies aiming to meet the requirements will have to turn to scrubbers, lower-sulfur content marine gas oil, or invest in LNG-capable engines.
"However, the development of LNG as a transport fuel faces a number of challenges, and will have to go hand in hand with the development of fueling infrastructure," Cedigaz writes.
The association also singled China as the country having the the largest head start in the LNG market, due to its prolific use of LNG in other transport sectors such as trucking.
LNG is also expected to gain market share in US, Europe and the rest of Asia.
Earlier this year, Asia was predicted to be the biggest driver of LNG adoption.
