CNOOC to fuel 50 new LNG vessels in China

China's state-controlled CNOOC has signed a deal with China State Shipbuilding (CSSC) and Guangdong Shipping Group to provide LNG as bunker fuel for 50 bulk carriers that the Chinese shipping firms will design and build.

The firms did not state when the LNG bunker supply agreement will start or when construction of the vessels will be completed. The vessels are expected to ply the Pearl river delta area that is one of a few emissions control areas in China, including the Yangtze river delta and the Bohai bay region, where sulphur content in marine fuels has been capped at 0.1pc since 2020 in line with the International Maritime Organisation's global regulations on sulphur limits.

CSSC will be responsible for the construction of the fleet, of which 25 vessels will have a 2,000 deadweight tonne (dwt) capacity, while the remaining 25 vessels will have a 3000dwt capacity. The vessels will run solely on LNG. They will be expected to meet the latest standards in energy consumption indicators, environmental performance and reliability requirements set by the China classification society, helping to curb air pollution in the country.

CNOOC began developing its LNG bunkering business in 2018. It remoulded pipelines at its 3.5mn t/yr Zhuhai LNG in south China's Guangdong to prepare for LNG refuelling operations in December 2018. Together with CSSC it signed an agreement with the Guangdong provincial government in June 2020 to convert 1,500 inland waterway vessels to LNG by 2025. This included the construction of 19 LNG bunkering stations in the province by 2025 to replace fuel oil consumption.

By Subethira Ahrumugam