Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Players Looking to Trade LNG Bunkers
In preparation for Singapore's commencement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering in 2017, local players are looking to trade LNG bunkers and are in talks with Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel) and BG Group (BG), and Pavilion Gas, according to reports.
As Ship & Bunker has previously reported, in January the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) awarded its first licences for LNG bunkering to Pavilion Gas, and a joint bid from Keppel and BG.
"We are keeping our options open. Commodity prices are cyclical and we are now in a down-cycle. Once prices start moving up, it could become viable to trade LNG fuel," one trader is reported to have told IHS Fairplay, noting that their company was looking into LNG bunkers not just in Singapore, but also the U.S.
Another trader was said to have noted that the short term outlook for LNG bunkering was however "uncertain" given the current low price for traditional fuel oil bunkers, echoing comments made last week by International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) chief executive Peter Hall, who also pointed to other obstacles such as a lack of LNG bunkering infrastructure in Asia, plus higher LNG prices in Asia compared to both Europe and the Americas.
Even so, the new LNG bunker suppliers, together with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), are looking to develop the world's biggest bunkering port into Asia's LNG bunkering hub.
Pavilion Gas and Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) - which recently acquired BG - were said to have declined to comment on the matter.
Last week, Ship & Bunker reported that an International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) forum heard that a shift toward LNG bunkers in Asia is still an uncertainty, but it is nevertheless important for Singapore to develop the appropriate infrastructure for the alternative fuel.
