21 November, 2019
With new rules on fuel emissions from ships poised to come into effect in 2020, Singapore is developing LNG infrastructure to reinforce its position as the world’s largest bunkering location.
New emissions regulations due to take effect in 2020 will spur a sea-change in the global marine fuel market.
As shipowners scramble to modify their fleets to comply with the new rules, several countries are gearing up to tap into the lucrative opportunities that are sailing into view.
Amongst those leading the revolution is Singapore, which has stolen a march on its regional rivals to reinforce its status as the world’s pre-eminent bunkering hub.
LNG has been penetrating deeper into the country’s energy mix for several years. Singapore’s LNG regasification terminal on Jurong Island came into operation in 2013 and has been expanded to 6 million tonnes per year of capacity in 2014, with work under way on a fourth storage tank.
Now the Asian city state is rapidly rolling out infrastructure that will make it the leading LNG bunkering facility in Southeast Asia by the start of the next decade.
The country’s evolution in this new sphere has been hailed by the industry. “With typical vision, Singapore is set to enhance its position as the world’s largest bunkering hub with its creation of LNG capacity since 2013,” said Cameron Ford, Partner at Squire Patton Boggs. “LNG would appear to be the beneficiary of the International Maritime Organization’s [IMO’s] sulphur cap on marine fuel, taking effect from 2020, and it seems only natural that Singapore would become a LNG hub.”
