INTERVIEW: Fratelli Cosulich Sees Strong Prospects for Methanol Bunkers in Asia

Guido Cardullo expects the emergence of green methanol supply in Asia to help develop the bunker market there. Image Credit: Guido Cardullo / LinkedIn

Marine fuel supplier Fratelli Cosulich is expecting to see stronger prospects for methanol as a bunker fuel in Asia as new production facilities come online.

The firm has been one of the most proactive conventional bunker suppliers when it comes to the shift to alternative fuels, ordering delivery vessels for LNG and methanol, as well as preparing to do so for ammonia.

The company is seeking to position itself in a market where it is not yet clear which fuels will see the highest demand in the coming decades, Guido Cardullo, the firm's head of marine energy, said in an interview with Ship & Bunker on Monday.

"We have been investing significant amounts of money to build bunker barges that are capable of supplying different kinds of biofuels and fuels," he said.

"At Fratelli Cosulich we do not know which fuel will be the dominant one in the future, and we want to be ready to serve our customers whatever fuel they choose to use."

The company currently has two LNG bunker vessels on the water -- one in Rotterdam and one in Malaysia -- as well as a methanol delivery vessel in Singapore.

Methanol

While methanol bunker sales have been limited in Singapore so far -- the MPA has noted just 1,600 mt of methanol deliveries this year -- Fratelli Cosulich is keen to be ready for when these sales emerge.

"The barge at the moment is used to supply traditional fuel and biofuels, but with a very short lead time we can clean the tanks and convert the barge to supply methanol," Cardullo said.

"At the moment we don't see much on the demand for methanol, but then again, these are long-term investments, so of course we are not really worried if for the first year or two the barge is going to supply conventional or biofuels.

"We just want to be ready the moment methanol will be in demand."

Asia currently has stronger prospects for methanol production capacity than Europe, Cardullo argued, and this will help the market there to emerge.

"This year, I think there was a little bit of a reckoning on the availability and the cost of green methanol," he said.

"We have seen some shipowners shifting their focus from methanol to LNG, for example.

"But particularly in Asia, in the Middle East and China, we see that there is a lot of interest in projects to produce green methanol.

"Projects have been approved and there will be production soon.

"So while in Europe we'll probably see a bit of a slowdown, we expect availability of green methanol to come mostly from Asia, the Far East in particular."

Ammonia

When it comes to ammonia, the company expects it to take a longer time for this alternative fuel to join the mainstream. Fratelli Cosulich has plans to order an ammonia bunker delivery vessel, but these plans are currently at the feasibility study stage.

"There are as far as I know around 30 vessels that can burn ammonia as fuel at the moment, and this number is of course too small to justify the investment in an ammonia bunker vessel," Cardullo said.

"But if you combine this in a major hub like Singapore with some small-scale [cargo] activity for ammonia, then probably you might have a business case.

"Saying that, I think it's unlikely that we are going to order this vessel before the middle of next year."

IBIA Convention

Timothy Cosulich, CEO of Fratelli Cosulich and former IBIA chairman, will be speaking at the industry body's annual convention in Athens next month.

The IBIA Annual Convention 2024 will be held at the Marriott Hotel Athens from November 4-7.

For more information on the agenda and training courses, as well as to register for the event, click here.