Methanol as a marine fuel will play a leading role in supporting the country's climate goals
Methanol producer Trinidad and Tobago and Swiss petrochemical firm Proman plan to develop a methanol bunkering facility as part of the country's plans to decarbonise its shipping industry.
"We are aiming to make [the country] a major refuelling hub for ocean-going vessels," prime minister Keith Rowley says.
The use of methanol as a marine fuel will be one of Trinidad and Tobago's responses to climate change, Rowley adds, without giving further details about the project such as timeline or capacity.
"These are details to be worked out in forthcoming discussions with prospective investors," the energy ministry tells Argus.
Proman is Trinidad and Tobago's biggest methanol producer and has been pushing the fuel as "the marine fuel of the future", the firm's chief executive David Cassidy says.
Methanol will play a leading role in the energy transition and there is an opportunity for both the company and the country to benefit, he says.
Proman recently launched the Stena Pro Patria vessel, the first of three delivered this year to be powered by methanol in the country, the company says. Three further vessels are set for delivery in 2022-24. The 49,990t Stena Pro Patria will consume 12,500 t/yr of methanol marine fuel.
Trinidad and Tobago's methanol production of 492,230t in August was 2.6pc below July's output and 1.5pc below production in August 2021, according to the country's energy ministry.
The country has a methanol capacity of 6.6mn t/yr, the ministry says.
