Alternative Fuels

SunGas Renewable to build its first facility to produce green methanol bunker fuel for Maersk

Green methanol produced by Central Louisiana plant is expected to be used to fuel Maersk fleet of methanol-powered boxships and will utilise wood fibre from local forests, says SunGas Renewables.

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2023

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SunGas Renewables Inc. (SunGas Renewables) on Wednesday (26 July) announced the formation of Beaver Lake Renewable Energy, LLC (BLRE), which will construct a new green methanol production facility in Central Louisiana.

The BLRE project is SunGas Renewable’s first facility to produce green methanol for Maersk.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of SunGas Renewables, BLRE is expected to generate from the facility nearly 400,000 metric tonnes (mt) of green methanol per year for marine fuel.

Green methanol produced by BLRE is expected to be used to fuel A.P. Moller – Maersk’s (Maersk) fleet of methanol-powered container vessels and will utilise wood fibre from local, sustainably-managed forests. The methanol will have a negative carbon intensity through sequestration of nearly a million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide produced by the project, which will be executed by Denbury Carbon Solutions.

SunGas Renewables anticipates BLRE will invest approximately USD 2 billion to construct the project at the former International Paper facility in Rapides Parish. The BLRE facility is expected to begin construction in late 2024 with commercial operations commencing in 2027.

“As the only state in the Gulf South with a climate action plan, Louisiana is a global leader in the energy transition, and companies like SunGas Renewables have taken notice,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said.

“I applaud SunGas Renewables for pursuing this massive investment that would create quality, high-paying jobs in central Louisiana for our talented workers. If it moves forward, this project will be another milestone in our efforts to grow and diversify our economy. The state will continue to support the company’s efforts to bring it to completion.”

Emma Mazhari, Head of Energy Markets at Maersk, said: “A.P. Moller – Maersk is excited to be partnering with SunGas Renewables, which is pioneering a truly large-scale pathway to green methanol with its Beaver Lake Renewable Energy facility. We would like to thank SunGas Renewables for showing great leadership and for its commitment to the green transition of energy. This is helping Maersk to deliver valuable services to our customers and is aligned with our aim to reach net zero greenhouse emissions by 2040. Together, as pioneers in the field, SunGas and Maersk are driving a much-needed transition in a heavy pollution industry. We hope that work can be accelerated further in the years to come.”

Robert Rigdon, CEO of SunGas Renewables, said: “Using biomass from sustainably managed forestry along with carbon capture allows our project to generate green marine shipping fuel while simultaneously removing carbon from the atmosphere. This new low-carbon marine fuel facility also helps strengthen communities and create sustainable economies right here in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.”

“As we continue our mission to make a meaningful impact in the energy transition, we look forward to collaborating with all our project partners and the State of Louisiana to construct and operate this important project. This incredible effort happening right here in Pineville will be an innovative and industry leading low-carbon energy solution that will help fuel a better world.”

In late 2022, SunGas Renewables announced a strategic green methanol partnership with Maersk to produce green methanol from multiple facilities around the country.

SunGas Renewables chose Central Louisiana for the BLRE project due to its long history of sustainably managed forests, available infrastructure to support the facility, and strong local and State support.

Yesterday, Manifold Times reported Maersk and Hong Lam Marine Pte Ltd have successfully conducted the world’s first ship-to-containership methanol bunkering operation of a Maersk’s container vessel at the Raffles Reserved Anchorage in Singapore. This was also Singapore’s first methanol bunkering operation.

Photo credit: A.P. Moller – Maersk
Published: 28 July, 2023

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Methanol

Chimbusco completes bunkering op of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

“COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU” was supplied approximately 900 metric tonnes of methanol marine fuel by Chimbusco in Shanghai on 11 May.

Published

15 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Chimbusco completes bunkering of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co Ltd (Chimbusco) completed a bunkering operation of the first domestically manufactured methanol dual-fuel container ship in Shanghai on 11 May, according to COSCO Shipping on Thursday (15 May).

COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU was supplied approximately 900 metric tonnes (mt) of methanol marine fuel by Chimbusco at Pier 1 of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry.

The operation started on 7 May but was postponed due to unfavourable weather from the Jianghuai Cyclone.

Chimbusco completes bunkering of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

COSCO Shipping said the operation marked an important achievement in green and low-carbon transformation in shipping, from ship construction and ecological layout of the entire green fuel industry chain of the company.

Manifold Times previously reported the naming ceremony of China’s first 16,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship, COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU in Yangzhou.

The methanol dual-fuel container ship named was the first in a series of vessels from COSCO Shipping Holdings, constructed by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Yangzhou.

Photo credit: Cosco Shipping
Published: 23 May, 2025

LNG Bunkering

Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Milestone was achieved by Shell’s LNG bunker barge “Haugesund Knutsen” supplying the “Mein Schiff Relax” cruise ship at Port of Barcelona, says Dexter Belmar of Shell.

Published

15 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Energy giant Shell recently conducted its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona, according to Dexter Belmar, General Manager and Head of Global Downstream LNG on Thursday (22 May).

He said the milestone was achieved by Shell’s LNG bunker barge Haugesund Knutsen supplying the Mein Schiff Relax cruise ship.

“Barcelona, one of Europe and the Mediterranean’s leading cruise ports, is also a key LNG bunkering location for Shell as we help more cruise ships transition to lower-emission fuels,” he said in a social media post.

“A huge thank you to Royal Caribbean Group for their trust, and to Knutsen and Port of Barcelona for their collaboration in making this bunkering safe and efficient.”

Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Belmar said LNG is leading the way as the preferred alternative bunker fuel in the cruise industry.

“At Shell, we’re proud to support LNG fuelling needs at 26 locations worldwide, including major cruise ports like Bahamas, Barcelona, Canaveral, Everglades, Jamaica, Miami, Singapore, Southampton, and Tenerife,” he added.

Photo credit: Shell
Published: 23 May, 2025

LNG Bunkering

IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

LNG bunkering fleet is concentrated in Europe with the highest capacity of operational bunkering vessels, followed by Asia/Asia Pacific and North America, according to 2025 World LNG report by IGU.

Published

15 hours ago

May 23, 2025

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IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

The global operational LNG bunkering and bunkering-capable small-scale vessel fleet reached 56 units at the end of December 2024 with further support from expanding infrastructure and regulatory drivers such as the IMO’s ban of heavy fuel oil in Arctic shipping and the EU’s FuelEU Maritime regulation.

This was nine more vessels than in 2023, with a total added capacity of 82,900 cubic metres (m3).

This was one of the major highlights in the 2025 World LNG report by the International Gas Union (ICU), which was launched at the 29th World Gas Conference (WGC2025) in Beijing on Thursday (22 May).

IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

The LNG bunkering fleet is concentrated in Europe with the highest capacity of operational bunkering vessels. This is followed by Asia/Asia Pacific and then North America, both of which have seen rapid expansions in the past five years.

As of the end of 2024, Europe has the highest bunkering capacity, with a total of 190,757 cm across 25 vessels currently in operation within the region.

Asia/Asia Pacific has the second-highest bunkering capacity, with a total of 179,700 m3 across 17 vessels in operation. From that, China currently has five operational LNG bunkering vessels while South Korea currently provides STS bunkering services with four bunkering vessels. Singapore currently has three bunkering vessels in operation.

North America continued its progress toward becoming a significant region in the LNG bunkering market in 2024, reaching a total capacity of 86,400 m3 across 10 operational vessels by year-end.

The report noted: “2024 was a significant year for LNG bunkering. Bunker users were quick to capture the reductions in both fuel costs and carbon emissions from using LNG, taking advantage of lower LNG prices relative to other marine fuels in 2024. Lower prices and an emerging LNG-fuelled fleet were catalysts in the large uptake in LNG bunker volumes.”

The Port of Singapore, which is the largest bunkering port in the world, recorded 463,900 tonnes of LNG bunkered in 2024, almost four times the 110,900 tonnes in 2023. The Port of Rotterdam, the second-largest bunkering port in the world, also recorded a 52% increase in bunkered LNG, from 620,000 cm in 2023 to 941,366 cm in 2024.”

IGU also said the newcomer in STS LNG bunkering is the Middle East with the LNG bunkering vessel Green Zeebrugge.

“The ship moved at the end of 2024 to Dubai and has performed the first ever LNG bunkering in the Middle East. This area is identified as a potential new LNG bunkering hub with Oman, the UAE, and Qatar as the main bunkering locations.”

Note: The ‘2025 World LNG Report’ can be downloaded here.

Photo credit: International Gas Union
Published: 23 May, 2025