Gas Exporting Countries Target 33% Bunker Market Share for LNG by 2050

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday February 25, 2021

LNG bunker demand may take up as much as 33% of the total marine fuel market by 2050, according to a forecast from producer coalition the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

In its latest GECF Global Gas Outlook 2050 report, the organisation forecasts LNG bunker demand rising from 11 bcm/year as of 2019 to more than 90 bcm/year by 2050, with its share of the overall bunker market climbing from 3% to 33% over that period.

"Demand will accelerate post-2025, as in the mid-term LNG propulsion will face competition from low-sulfur oil products as well as from the installation of scrubbers," GECF said in its report.

"Moreover, the widespread adoption of LNG is currently hindered by a lack of refuelling infrastructure in ports across the world, but infrastructure is unlikely to remain a serious constraint given the significant market potential."

The report gives no forecast for how other marine fuels will fare over the coming decades. The GECF forecast for LNG is towards the more bullish end of the bunker demand forecasts made in recent years.

DNV's 'Maritime Forecast to 2050' report, published in September 2019, puts LNG's share of the overall bunker market at just over 40% by 2050, while ABS's 'Pathways to Sustainable Shipping Report', published last year, sees LNG taking just 10% of the market by then.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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