EMEA News
Dual-fuel Engines Offer Opportunity for Methanol Use
Duel-fuel engines offer an opportunity for methanol use despite the general lack of fuelling infrastructure, price reporter S&P Global Platts has said.
According to Methanex's Stuart McCall reported by the agency, the fuel could be a viable feedstock but not without support from a robust infrastructure.
So far in Europe, the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam are developing methanol bunkering infrastructure.
But according to Platts data, methanol consumption is competitive in Emission Control Areas amid a recent increase in price of conventional bunker fuel.
Assuming an additional $400 a metric tonne on top of current methanol costs for biomethanol, daily earnings for owners would likely be negative, the data showed.
However, dual-fuel engines offer a way out of the impasse.
"Duel-fuel engine vessels are providing the opportunity to utilize methanol, bridging the gap between traditional fuels and renewable fuels," a trader was quoted as saying in the report.
