Asia/Pacific News
SIBCON 2024: Singapore Needs More LNG Barges as Demand Projected to Quintuple
LNG bunker market participants are anticipating a deficit of bunker delivery infrastructure in Singapore with significant expansion in demand predicted in the coming years.
Singapore is heading for LNG bunker sales of about 450,000 mt this year, up from 111,100 mt in 2023 and 16,300 mt in 2022.
Speaking at a Sibcon panel session in Singapore last week, one LNG bunker market participant suggested Singapore's LNG bunker demand could rise fivefold from its current level by 2030 as more gas-powered tonnage enters the fleet and regulations from the IMO and EU incentivise consumption of lower-carbon fuels.
A large energy producer said it estimates global LNG bunker demand may reach 31 million mt/year by 2034, more than tripling over the decade between now and then.
A repeated concern expressed at Sibcon was that the market will need much faster growth in LNG bunker delivery vessel ordering to keep up with the rise in global demand.
One participant estimated the Singapore market alone would need to add at least one LNG bunker vessel a year to keep up with increasing sales.
Global commodity trading firm Vitol has recently ordered three LNG bunker delivery vessels, and told Ship & Bunker last week it expects to deploy at least one of them in Singapore.
