Asia/Pacific News
Towngas and Royal Vopak Join Forces on Green Methanol Bunkering for China and Asia-Pacific
The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) and Vopak China Management (Royal Vopak) have signed a strategic framework agreement to jointly develop a green methanol supply chain for shipping.
The partnership will cover green methanol production, storage, trading and bunkering, with a focus on mainland China, Hong Kong, and the broader Asia-Pacific region, Towngas said in a statement on Monday.
Key areas in focus include the Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou), East China (Shanghai, Ningbo), and the Bohai Bay region, where Tianjin will serve as a strategic hub.
Green methanol produced at Towngas’s northern China facility will be transported to Royal Vopak’s Tianjin tank farm for regional and international distribution via Vopak’s network.
The two companies also plan to expand their green methanol footprint to key export markets such as Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea.
Sham Man-fai, COO of Towngas, highlighted a recently completed 6,000 mt green methanol bunkering in Shanghai, which was Asia’s largest with the help of Vopak’s Tianjin terminal.
“Towngas’s Inner Mongolia green methanol plant is set to increase its annual capacity from 100,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes by the end of this year, with plans to further expand to 300,000 tonnes by 2028,” he said.
Towngas ultimately targets 1 million mt/year of production capacity, with the partnership positioning both companies to meet rising demand for green methanol across the region.
