Fracking Quakes Have Surged Near 

Fort St. John, B.C.

By Andrew Nikiforuk, originally published by The Tyee

May 8, 2024

Experts tracking a tremorous trend in northeastern B.C. notched another data point on April 13. In the early morning hours that day, a fracking-caused earthquake tripped the British Columbia Energy Regulator’s drilling shutdown switch.

The BC Energy Regulator confirmed that 4.2 magnitude quake rattled Wonowon, a small community 88 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John, B.C., in the early hours of April 13.

A fracking operation conducted by U.S. firm ConocoPhillips triggered the tremor, felt by more than 20 Wonowon residents. Fracking involves injecting water or other chemicals underground in order to crack open tight formations containing oil or gas.

The regulator told The Tyee that ConocoPhillips “immediately suspended hydraulic fracturing operations” as per regulations. “Those operations remain suspended and will not resume until further measures are put in place and a plan is submitted to the BCER, focused on mitigating future seismic events.”

The BCER has “advised the company to engage Wonowon residents about these events and the company is actively working on its engagement strategy.”

Many people reported the shaking as “strong” to Earthquakes Canada.

In 2020 seismic hazard expert Gail Atkinson concluded that a 4.5 quake caused by fracking could damage roads and homes located within a five-kilometre radius of the quake’s origin.

According to the regulator’s Northeast B.C. Seismicity Map, the 4.2 quake was preceded by a swarm of smaller tremors as the company injected great volumes of sand, chemicals and water into the Montney formation to fracture rock in order to release hydrocarbons trapped there.

The drilling and completion of one fracked well in the Montney can require as much as 500,000 barrels of water. That’s 79.5 million litres or nearly 80,000 cubic metres.

ConocoPhillips injects nearly three times as much water per fracked well compared with other companies operating in the region.

The Houston-based oil company did not reply to a Tyee query.

Dramatic upsurge of seismic activity

The ConocoPhillips quake is but the latest significant fracking-triggered earthquake in the Montney area. Over the last two years earthquake data from Natural Resources Canada shows a dramatic upsurge in seismic activity there, noted Allan Chapman, a geoscientist who worked for the BC Energy Regulator as its first hydrologist from 2010 to 2017.

“Overall, earthquake frequency in the B.C. Montney has increased over the past two to three years, with 2022 and 2023 having the largest number of NRCAN-measured earthquakes — about 300 per year,” Chapman told The Tyee. “Based on data to April 13, 2024 is projected to possibly experience more than 400 earthquakes in the Montney, which would be a record high.”

The recent increase in drilling-triggered quakes was confirmed by Gail Atkinson, one of the nation’s top seismic hazard experts and professor emeritus at Western University.

“The rates tend to go up and down from one year to the next depending on the overall level of oil and gas activity, and whether the operators ‘get lucky’ in their choice of drilling sites.”

Both Atkinson and Chapman have advised that regulators establish no-go frack zones and engage in more responsive monitoring in the Montney to avoid damage to public infrastructure such as dams, roads and homes in the region.

What’s driving the trend?

Reasons for the increase in earthquake frequency are not immediately clear. But Chapman suspects they may be associated with changes in latent seismicity resulting from cumulative frack water injection, or changes in operator practices during hydraulic fracturing, such as increased water injection per frack stage, increased hydraulic pressure per frack stage or other factors.

The Montney accounts for one-third of Canada’s methane production and will supply LNG Canada with product for export to Asia.

The large shale and siltstone formation, which contains gas, oil and gas liquids that are used for bitumen production, straddles the border of B.C. and Alberta. Since 2012 and the advent of fracking, the previously seismically quiet region around Fort St. John has experienced 10 tremors greater than 4 magnitude.

Experts suspect that industry-caused tremors will increase as demand for methane grows with the completion of the massive LNG Canada project in Kitimat, B.C.

The injection of fluids, whether water or gas, into highly pressurized rock environments can destabilize faults and trigger tremors. Injection depth, cumulative impact of water injection in highly pressurized geologies and distance from the Rocky Mountains all seem to be key triggering mechanisms.

One recent study, using machine learning, warned that

“currently established monitoring areas in B.C., which are based on past induced seismicity [industry-made quakes] occurrences, may not fully capture all areas where [induced seismicity] potential exists.”

One of the largest earthquakes to unsettle the Peace region occurred near Wonowon in January 2023. That 4.5 magnitude quake was also induced by the fracking industry.

Earthquakes, whether natural or triggered by industry, can damage well bores, alter the geology of hydrocarbon-bearing formations, change groundwater flows, destroy human infrastructure and accelerate radon and methane migration from the Earth into the atmosphere. They can also generate acoustic and gravity waves that propagate upward and trigger disturbances in the Earth’s lower and higher bands of atmosphere. 

Teaser photo credit: Aerial view of fracking hub Fort St. John, located 88 kilometres southeast of where the April 13 quake hit. Photo via City of Fort St. John

 

Pakistan giant Engro looks to go global, its main investor says

• Expansion plans include looking at telecoms infrastructure in countries in Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia

Reuters Published May 7, 2024

KARACHI: Pakistan’s largest conglomerate, Engro Corp, is looking to expand into new markets, including the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, the chemicals-to-energy company’s largest investor said on Tuesday.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview, Samad Dawood, Vice Chairman of Dawood Hercules Corporation which owns 40% of Engro Corp, said the company was also looking into global liquefied natural gas (LNG) opportunities as well as hydrogen energy.

The expansion plans include looking at telecoms infrastructure in countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, while it is looking at Africa to expand its fertiliser businesses, he said.

Engro Corp has a market capitalisation of 193 billion rupees ($694 million) on the Pakistan Stock Exchange and assets of 802 billion rupees ($2.9 billion), according to public data.

Engro welcomes verdict in LNG contract case

The group has businesses across multiple sectors in Pakistan, including energy, fertiliser, telecommunications, and consumer goods.

It owns 56% of Pakistan’s first LNG terminal, Engro Elengy Terminal Pakistan, set up in the southern city of Karachi in 2015, along with Dutch energy logistics giant Royal Vopak which owns 44%.

The terminal fulfils 15% of Pakistan’s natural gas demand.

Sale of thermal assets: Engro Energy Limited enters into definitive agreements

Dawood said Engro will continue to invest in energy despite having sold its coal-based assets, and was exploring new avenues for sustainable energy production.

He said the company was talking to technology providers in the hydrogen energy sector to figure out how to use ammonia as an energy transition solution.

He said Pakistan was far from being energy secure and there were plenty of opportunities to invest further in the power sector, but the company would want to move away from fixed contract businesses.

PSO says LNG business ‘bleeding’ its resources

Energy starved Pakistan has moved toward reliance on LNG after its own domestic gas supplies dwindled fast as consumption in the industrial and residential sectors has increased.

However, expensive LNG has driven up gas prices and stoked inflation.

FTC's Attack on Pioneer Sends Ripples Through Shale Industry


• By Irina Slav - May 06, 2024,
• The Federal Trade Commission last week gave the green light to Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources.
• 
  
• The FTC alleged that Sheffield had colluded with OPEC and OPEC+ members to limit production and increase oil prices.
• 
  
• In a response to the FTC allegations, the company defended its founder, saying he had always had the U.S. oil industry’s best interest at heart.
• 
  

The Federal Trade Commission last week gave the green light to Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. There was one condition attached to the approval of the $60-billion deal: that Scott Sheffield, the former CEO of Pioneer, does not join the combined company’s board.

The FTC alleged that Sheffield had colluded with OPEC and OPEC+ members to limit production and increase oil prices. The allegations shook the shale oil world, where several large consolidation deals are awaiting the trade watchdog’s approval. Now, the consolidation drive that has marked the last year in U.S. shale may have to slow down.

First, the allegations. According to a news release from last week, the Federal Trade Commission had informed Exxon that it would only approve the merger with Pioneer if Sheffield, who was going to become an Exxon board member as part of the deal, stayed out of it.

“Mr. Sheffield’s past conduct makes it crystal clear that he should be nowhere near Exxon’s boardroom. American consumers shouldn’t pay unfair prices at the pump simply to pad a corporate executive’s pocketbook,” the deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, Kyle Mach, said in the release.

“Through public statements and private communications, Pioneer founder and former CEO Scott D. Sheffield has campaigned to organize anticompetitive coordinated output reductions between and among U.S. crude oil producers, and others, including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”), and a related cartel of other oil-producing countries known as OPEC+,” the Commission in a formal complaint.

The regulator then went on to motivate the attachment of its condition to the Exxon-Pioneer deal approval, saying that it sought “to prevent Pioneer’s Sheffield from engaging in collusive activity that would potentially raise crude oil prices, leading American consumers and businesses to pay higher prices for gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and jet fuel.”

Naturally, Pioneer had something to say about the allegations. In a response to the FTC allegations, the company defended its founder, saying he had always had the U.S. oil industry’s best interest at heart. The response also suggested that any communication Sheffield may have conducted with OPEC and OPEC+ members had been to the same end—to protect the U.S. shale industry.

“Mr. Sheffield and Pioneer believe that the FTC’s Complaint reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the U.S. and global oil markets and misreads the nature and intent of Mr. Sheffield’s actions,” the response said.

The actions in question were conversations with OPEC and OPEC+ officials in 2020, when pandemic lockdowns decimated global oil demand, pushing U.S. oil prices briefly below zero. At the time, Sheffield was an advocate of production cuts in the shale patch as well, in a bid to minimize the damage that the demand drop was already causing the industry, Pioneer also said.

It didn’t make any difference, however. The FTC had already made up its mind and acted on it. As a result, Bloomberg and the Financial Times are reporting that shale executives are getting spooked about future mergers in case they get caught in the crosshairs of the regulator, which has not exactly been a fan of the oil industry since 2020.

“The implications go far beyond Sheffield,” James Lucier, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, said in a note to clients following the news, as quoted by the Financial Times. “The FTC has not to date taken an adversarial approach toward oil industry mergers . . . This relative hands-off policy is no more.”

In a sense, the FTC’s move against Sheffield is the other shoe dropping as far as the oil industry is concerned. The regulator has been looking for a way to interfere with the consolidation drive prompted by strong financial results and limited untapped inventory. Until recently, it has been unable to find one. But now, it seems, it has.

Not everyone agrees the FTC’s attack on Sheffield needs to be taken particularly seriously. “This is the government trying to save some face — it’s irrelevant to the whole issue of antitrust,” the managing director of investment bankers Roth MKM, Leo Mariani, told Bloomberg. “This whole thing is just politics ultimately. In an election year it helps to be tough on Big Oil.”

President Biden and his fellow Democrats have repeatedly made it clear that the anti-oil lobby is a key voter demographic and they have been busy tending to its needs. Earlier this year, Biden’s White House paused approval of new LNG export capacity as part of these efforts. Then, just this month, Democrats in Congress announced the completion of an investigation into Big Oil that, while it did not contain anything in the way of a revelation, sought to reinforce an image of the industry as the hydrocarbon equivalent of Big Tobacco, deserving of an identical treatment.

Whether any of this will help Biden win the November vote remains to be seen, but judging by the latest in his approval ratings, there may be a possibility that most Americans have bigger problems than climate change and oil.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

ALT FUELS

Fortescue’s Ammonia-Fueled Ship Runs Propulsion and Maneuverability Tests

Fortescue Green Pioneer completed ammonia propulsion and maneuverability tests using ammonia and biofuel (Fortescue)

PUBLISHED MAY 6, 2024 1:47 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Sea trials continue for the first vessel operating on ammonia, an offshore supply vessel converted by Australia’s Fortescue. Earlier this year, the vessel completed the first marine bunkering of ammonia, and now after a second bunkering undertook the next phase of its ongoing sea trials.

The testing and trials are being conducted with the cooperation and close supervision of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, where the vessel is registered. The MPA developed stringent safety protocols and reports it conducted Ammonia plume modeling and drone surveillance to support safety and incident planning and response. With a lack of maritime regulations in place for ammonia as a fuel. the MPA is using these first trials to develop the model for safe handling and operation of ammonia-fueled vessels.

Fortescue completed the conversion of the 2010-built MMA Leveque (3,100 dwt) in 2023 into the world’s first operational ammonia-fueled vessel. One of the four Cummins engines was converted for ammonia. The 246-foot PSV made her debut as the Fortescue Green Pioneer in late in 2023 and received the first notations from DNV and Singapore for ammonia operations after loading three tonnes of liquid ammonia and conducting seven weeks of tests in February and March 2024.

The next round began by loading a further four tonnes of liquid ammonia, along with diesel and Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, a second-generation biofuel. Between April 23 and May 2, they conducted trials involving propulsion and maneuverability. The trials also included tests to validate the management of nitrogen-based emissions. They also assessed the vessel’s engine capability to operate on varying amounts of biofuel in combination with ammonia.

The trials took place in the Raffles Reserved Anchorage off Singapore. They are looking to complete the certification of the vessel and demonstrate the ammonia-fueled operations for the future of the maritime industry.

During February and March, the vessel completed a series of fuel trials. During those tests, the vessel was at anchor demonstrating the ammonia storage system, associated piping, gas fuel delivery system, retrofitted engines, and seaworthiness.

Fortescue is working with research institutes, industry partners, and government agencies including the MPA and DNV. The company plans to use the PSV to drive awareness of ammonia and demonstrate its operations for the marine sector. 

Several other pioneering projects are also expected to proceed, including NYK is leading an effort in Japan to convert its LNG-fueled tug to begin operations later this year fueled by ammonia. So far, only a handful of ship owners have ordered ammonia-fueled vessels as they wait for these demonstrations and the commercial introduction of the engines and fuel systems required to adopt ammonia as a marine fuel.

USCG Agreement Sets Development Pathway for First Hydrogen-Power US Towboat

Rendering of the design for the Hydrogen One towboat (Elliott Bay Design Group)

PUBLISHED MAY 6, 2024 4:14 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The project that has been underway for the past several years to develop the U.S.’s first hydrogen-power towboat reached a critical agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard that provides a pathway forward. Maritime Partners, which is leading the project, signed a Design Basis Agreement with the USCG for the Hydrogen One towboat that will use a novel technology that produces hydrogen aboard the ship eliminating the challenges of bunkering and storing hydrogen.

“The signing of this agreement opens the pathway for us to deploy our technological capabilities,” said Bick Brooks, co-founder and CEO of Maritime Partners. “With this, Hydrogen One is one step closer to becoming the world’s first vessel to utilize hydrogen generator technology greatly reducing emissions, increasing efficiency, and providing a model for cleaner energy use as the industry continues to seek ways to decarbonize.”

The DBA process was established by the U.S. Coast Guard to set the rules for new and novel technology proposed for installation on marine vessels. By reaching the agreement, they explained that the project would be working towards an agreed-upon framework with the U.S. Coast Guard for the design, arrangement, and engineering aspects of the power system and associated safety systems. It established a plan for the review, inspection, and eventual certification of the Hydrogen One.

The towboat is being designed as a first-of-its-kind vessel using new, cleaner, fuel cell technology that works by converting stored methanol to hydrogen. The produced hydrogen is output, on-demand, to the fuel cell to generate power for the vessel.

When the project was revealed in 2021, they said the towboat would be nearly 89 feet (27 meters) and designed to push barges from the Port of New Orleans along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. They projected the vessel will be able to travel for up to about four days at a speed of 6 knots, or cover a total of 550 miles, with a load between fueling. The concept called for a propulsion system capable of generating up to 2,700 HP propulsion power, with 1,700 HP generated by the fuel cell and the remainder from batteries.

The partners report that a string of successful tests of the technology were completed in Sweden in 2023. They said it demonstrated the viability of the technology as the sole power generation source for the vessel’s propulsion.

Maritime Partners worked with several industry leaders on the Hydrogen One project, including Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group, which is designing the towboat, and Intracoastal Iron Works which was selected as the shipyard to build the vessel. e1 Marine, which holds the license for the technology also worked with RIX Industries, Power Cell Group, among others, to work through the U.S. Coast Guard requirements. ABB Marine & Ports reported in 2021 that it would also participate in the project providing the electrical propulsion plant, including motors, transformers, and the integration of the fuel cell system.

Only a handful of hydrogen-powered vessels have entered service, mostly in Europe. In the U.S. the Sea Change ferry went through a long development process which experienced delays after the hull was launched in 2021 before it finally arrived in San Francisco in 2023. By entering the DBA process, the goal is to ensure a smooth process to move the Hydrogen One through design and into operation.
 

 

With Nord Stream Shut, Gazprom Posts its Biggest Lost in Two Decades

Welders complete the final pipe joint to connect the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, September 2021. It was never activated because of the invasion of Ukraine, and was sabotaged within 12 months of completion (Gazprom)

PUBLISHED MAY 2, 2024 11:11 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

State natural gas company Gazprom was once a major source of income for the Russian government, earning tens of billions of dollars in profit every year. Gas accounted for about a fifth of Moscow's earnings from petroleum exports, according to The Economist. But those days have passed: on Thursday, Gazprom announced its first annual loss in more than two decades. 

Gazprom made more than $22 billion in net profit in 2021, the last year before the war. That dropped to $13 billion in 2022, the year that Russia invaded Ukraine and then throttled down its pipeline gas exports to Western European customers. Despite the disruption, Russian energy analysts had expected the gas giant to post a profit in 2023 - a smaller profit, but still about $5 billion. Instead, Gazprom swung to a net loss of nearly $7 billion, driven down by plummeting sales of pipeline gas to Europe. 

After Gazprom self-imposed a pipeline gas embargo on its European customers in the early months of the war, its onshore pipeline sales dropped sharply, and have not recovered. (Gazprom's subsea Nord Stream export pipelines to Germany were also shut down shortly after the invasion began, and later destroyed in a suspected sabotage attack.) Reuters estimates that Russian gas exports to Europe are down by 55 percent this year, though some countries continue to buy. 

"The remaining flows are more difficult to phase down due to the combination of geography, contractual commitments, and - in some cases - political expediency," Akos Losz of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy told RFE. 

Gazprom may have a hard time recovering from the loss of its relationship with European buyers. It lacks capacity to export its gas as LNG, and its first liquefaction terminal project in the Baltic region - Baltic LNG - has been sanctioned by the United States. In the long term, the company would like to develop its market share in Turkey and in China, but it is unclear if this strategy will offset the loss of its decades-long sales relationships with European customers. 

"Gazprom is unlikely to rebuild its position on the European market in the coming years due to infrastructural and political obstacles. These include the damage to both lines of Nord Stream 1 and one line of Nord Stream 2, as well as the unclear status of future shipments through Ukraine," wrote Poland's Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in a recent analysis. "Officials from Gazprom and the Russian government seem to be aware of these challenges, as evidenced by their push to redirect supplies to the east."

 ALTERNATIVE FUELS

Belgium and Namibia to Develop Africa’s First Hydrogen Ship, Infrastructure

His Majesty King Philippe of the Belgians and H.E. Dr. Nangolo Mbumba - President of the Republic of Namibia during the ceremonial filing at the hydrogen station (Cleanergy)

PUBLISHED MAY 2, 2024 6:43 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Partners from Belgium and the African nation of Namibia mapped out a plan to develop the continent’s hydrogen infrastructure for the production and export of the energy source as well as launching Africa’s first hydrogen-fueled vessel. It is part of an ambitious plan to make Namibia a frontrunner in the global green hydrogen economy and supply the alternative energy source both to passing ships and industrial users in Belgium, Germany, and other industrial clusters in Europe.

The plan was unveiled during an event at Walvis Bay, Namibia that included His Majesty King Philippe of the Belgians and Dr. Nangolo Mbumba, President of the Republic of Namibia. During the event, they officiated at the ceremonial first filling of a dual-fuel truck at the hydrogen refueling station, which is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2024 as part of the Cleanenergy Green Hydrogen site. 

Cleanergy Solutions Namibia is a joint venture between CMB.TECH and the Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group, a privately held group of companies with interests ranging from food to technology, steel, marine engineering, and real estate. The Port of Antwerp Bruges and the Namibian Ports Authority are also participating.

 

H.E. Dr. Nangolo Mbumba - President of the Republic of Namibia, His Majesty King Philippe of the Belgians, Sven Thieme - Executive Chairman Ohlthaver & List, Marc Saverys - Chairman of the CMB Board of Directors, Alexander Saverys - CEO of CMB.TECH during the launch ceremony

 

The Cleanenergy Green Hydrogen facility uses only solar energy for the on-site production of green hydrogen. Among the first projects will be the hydrogen refueling station used for hydrogen-powered trucks, port equipment, railway applications, and small ships. 

The Port of Antwerp Bruges plans to invest approximately $265 million for the development of a hydrogen and ammonia storage and export facility at Walvis Bay which will be jointly run with the Namibian Ports Authority. They expect to develop the site within three to five years adjacent to the existing port both for the bunkering operations and the export to Europe.

“The port of Walvis Bay will also be in a unique position in Africa: our project will enable them to offer low-carbon logistics supply chains to their customers. This will pave the way for attracting additional logistics flows and investors,” said Alexander Saverys, CEO of CMB.TECH.

They look to leverage the experience of developing Hydrotug, the world’s first hydrogen-fueled tug supported by a fueling operation in Antwerp to develop Africa’s first hydrogen-powered vessel. Cleanenergy, together with CMB.TECH, the Port of Antwerp Bruges, and Namport will launch the vessel. It will be a Multifunctional Port Utility Vessel (MPHUV) powered by dual-fuel hydrogen engines. According to the partnership, the MPHUV's versatile design will enable the integration of different equipment needed for a range of port operations, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions during operations.

 

Partnership will launch Africa's first hydrogen-fueled vessel (CMB.TECH)

 

Given the ability of ports to act as hubs for hydrogen technology implementation and efforts to reduce carbon emissions, the partners said the Port of Walvis Bay and Namport emerge as an ideal partner to operate Africa's first hydrogen vessel. The port's involvement will provide invaluable insights into the vessel's specifications during development and refine the concept based on operational experience and feedback from users once it is commissioned.

Other elements of the project include a green hydrogen academy. Working with European universities as well as suppliers and customers they will educate a Namibian workforce for hydrogen operations. The partners said this is part of a 5-year plan that includes projects at different locations for ammonia bunkering, pipelines, and large-scale hydrogen and ammonia production.

Holland America’s Cruise Ship Rotterdam Begins Sustained Biofuel Pilot Test

Holland America's flagship Rotterdam will be testing 100 percent biofuel while sailing in the Norwegian fjords (Holland America Line)

PUBLISHED MAY 2, 2024 8:45 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Holland America Line’s flagship cruise ship, Rotterdam (99,935 gross tons) started a long-term test using 100 percent low carbon intensity biofuel while cruising the Norwegian fjord this season. It marks the next advancement in a series of tests by Carnival Corporation using cruise ships from Holland America and AIDA and moving from biofuel blends to 100 percent certified biofuel mirroring similar tests in other parts of the commercial maritime industry.

The cruise ship bunkered with the biofuel derived from feedstocks by GoodFuels and supplied by FincoEneries before leaving the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands on April 27. Built by Fincantieri and delivered on July 30, 2021, she is the newest ship operated by the line and one of the newest in the industry. Past experience has confirmed that the Holland America cruise ship can operate on biofuels without modifications to the engine or the fuel structure.

During the initial phase of this test, the Rotterdam will operate one of her four engines during cruises this month using the biofuel which is expected to yield an estimated 86 percent reduction in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. The fuel will be used while cruising in Norway’s fjords including Geirangerfjord and Naeroyfjord. The cruise line said there is a potential to expand to multiple engines during the summer as the test progresses. 

Carnival Corporation began its tests with biofuels in 2022. AIDA Cruises tested the use of regenerated biofuels in marine diesel engines together with research partners at the University of Rostock. Based on those tests, the cruise line proceeded to bunker a biofuel blend on July 21, 2022, aboard the AIDAPrima ( 125,572 gross tons), becoming the first larger-scale cruise ship to take on a blend of marine biofuel. Tests were conducted while the ship was cruising in Northern Europe between Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Norway. 

The cruise ship entered service in 2016 and was one of the first two cruise ships outfitted with dual-fuel engines that could also burn LNG supplied by trucks while alongside in the port. The AIDAPrima loaded a second delivery of biofuel in December 2022 receiving that time 140 metric tons of 100 percent biofuel. 

Holland America also conducted the first sustained trial of biofuel aboard its cruise ship Volendam (61,214 gross tons) in August and September 2022 while the vessel was docked in Rotterdam on a temporary charter to house Ukrainian refugees. For the first five days of that test, they used a 70-30 mix of biofuel and marine gas oil in one of the ship’s main auxiliary engines. For the next 15 days, they used 100 percent sustainable biofuel. They reported achieving a minimum 78 percent decrease in lifecycle CO2 emissions compared to marine gas oil emissions.

The cruise sector is catching up to other parts of the commercial shipping industry that have also tested biofuels. Royal Caribbean Group also began tests in 2022 and in the summer of 2023 tested sustainable biofuel blends on Royal Caribbean International’s Symphony of the Seas (228,000 gross tons) sailing from Barcelona and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Apex (129,500 gross tons) sailing from Rotterdam. The company completed 12 consecutive weeks of biofuel testing in Europe calling it a “pivotal moment for Royal Caribbean Group’s alternative fuel journey.”

The tests of biofuels have been successful. The broad shipping industry however reports it is limited by the availability of biofuel.

Trafigura Joins Pioneers Ordering Ammonia-Fueled Vessels from HD Hyundai

Belgium's Exmar placed the first order with Hyundai Mipo for ammonia-fueled tankers now followed by Trafigura as pioneers in the segment (Exmar)

PUBLISHED MAY 2, 2024 4:22 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Global commodities trader Trafigura group is joining the growing list of pioneers committing to ammonia-fueled vessels. The company has ordered four dual-fueled product tankers for LPG or ammonia transport as part of the group’s growing efforts to decarbonization. With the vessels scheduled for delivery in 2027, Trafigura will be at the forefront of ammonia-fueled propulsion.

The company provided only a few basic details reporting that it ordered four medium gas carriers capable of using ammonia for propulsion when they are delivered. The vessels, which will be used to transport ammonia or LPG, will be built at HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea. Hyundai reported the order is valued at $286 million.

In placing the order, they join a select group of shipping companies that have already moved forward on ammonia while the engine technology is still being perfected and the infrastructure for bunkering is just being explored. Earlier this year Fortescue and Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority reported the first-ever ammonia bunkering and tests on the Fortescue’s converted offshore supply vessel renamed Fortescue Green Pioneer. Worldwide, DNV calculates that there are just 19 vessels on order for ammonia-fueled propulsion with most of the orders for bulkers and only two gas carriers, so far. Only two shipyards, Hyundai Mipo and Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding in China have received orders for ammonia vessels.

“We are excited to embark together with HD Hyundai Mipo on this ambitious project which supports our commitments to decarbonizing shipping and will help us to develop the global low-carbon ammonia bunkering infrastructure needed for zero-carbon shipping to become a reality,” said Andrea Olivi, Head of Wet Freight for Trafigura.

Trafigura is one of the world’s largest charterers of vessels, responsible for more than 5,000 voyages a year with around 400 ships currently under management. The company highlights its commitment to helping to develop low-carbon fuels and vessels while highlighting the range of programs it is testing. They purport to be one of the few operators to have tested a full range of alternative shipping fuels including LNG, methanol, LPG, and biofuels on its owned and chartered vessels. 

Investments are also being made by Trafigura in wider efficiency measures such as silicone hull coating, wake equalizing ducts, ultrasonic propeller antifouling technology, and continuous underwater hull cleaning and propeller polishing. It has also co-sponsored the development of a two-stroke engine by MAN Energy Solutions that can run on green ammonia and is investing in onboard carbon capture technology.

Trafigura looks to lead the industry by example. They are committed to reducing the carbon intensity of its shipping fleet by 25 percent by 2030.

Energy Insetting is the Key to Unlock the Potential of Future Fuels

Illustration courtesy BV

PUBLISHED MAY 1, 2024 2:19 PM BY PAUL DELOUCHE

 

The maritime industry is facing an ever-tightening regulatory environment in its efforts to achieve its ambitious net-zero target by the middle of this century. For meaningful progress to be achieved, the industry needs two things: practical solutions, together with a detailed understanding of the actual impact of various long and short-term measures on the industry’s future decarbonization pathway.

This extends beyond purely technical considerations, encompassing the entire value chain, and accounting for the broader economic context in which the transition is taking place. It also requires approaching the question using the right lens, by considering shipping’s “greenhouse gas (GHG) budget” to 2050, rather than solely focusing on the emissions levels at the end of the journey. To limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the Paris Agreement, we need to account for all emissions released into the atmosphere until the point of carbon neutrality is reached. 

Putting those principles into practice, Bureau Veritas (BV) has recently published a report outlining potential decarbonization trajectories for the maritime industry through five distinct scenarios, each considering several parameters such as socio-economic forecasts for the evolution of demand for maritime transport, the possible speed for the uptake of green fuels, and technical efficiency improvements in shipping.

Our study reveals that for shipping to keep within its carbon budget, all available levers will need to be actioned at different points in time over the next three decades.

A central role for energy efficiency

In practice, our study demonstrated two clear findings. The first is that operational and technical efficiency measures and energy-saving technologies need to be actioned in the short term, when emissions are at their highest. This will involve embracing practical solutions such as reducing speed, voyage optimization, weather routing, energy-saving devices, and wind-assisted propulsion, which will all help to drive decarbonization.

Our modeling confirmed the potential hefty cumulative impact of operational and technical efficiency measures in keeping shipping within its “GHG budget” to 2050. BV’s simulations show that without action to reduce speed or waiting time - while ocean transportation volumes grow - GHG emissions would be 92% higher by midcentury, with 44% more emissions over the period than if these levers had been actioned.

Although future fuels are widely acknowledged as the preeminent solution, the limited availability of biofuels and e-fuels generated from wind and solar sources to replace fossil fuels reflects the monumental investment required for adoption at scale. The industry cannot afford to wait for innovative fuel and propulsion technologies to achieve commercial viability before taking action.

A supply chain challenge

Moving the needle on fuel production requires pragmatic solutions to unlock the necessary investments to reach the required scale. As such, the second clear finding from our research established the importance of embracing energy insetting as a means of stimulating the at-scale production of renewable and low-carbon fuels, connecting fuel buyers and sellers across the value chain, while also addressing the cost disparity between conventional and very-low-carbon fuels.

The widespread adoption of low-carbon fuels by the shipping industry will entail significant costs to shipowners and operators compared to fossil fuels. However, energy insetting provides a solution that can help bridge the price gap, whilst making a tangible impact on Scope 3 emissions across value chains.

Digital certificates, known as insets, are issued according to the level of emissions savings achieved using renewable and low-carbon fuels, compared to conventional fossil fuels. These emissions are evaluated using a proof of sustainability (PoS) delivered by an independent body to attest to the sustainability credentials of a given fuel. These insets can then be exchanged using a book-and-claim methodology, which allows the certificates to be verified and exchanged digitally, on a dedicated registry.

Unlike offsets, insets are internationally recognized as concrete reductions realized within the supply chain. So, rather than engaging in compensation through external schemes such as reforestation, insets improve the net environmental performance of the industry as a whole, based on reliable assurance verification. This involves practical measures to monetize the estimated GHG emission savings enabled by using renewable or low-carbon marine fuels and will enable end consumers concerned with sustainable sourcing and supply to exercise their purchasing power to guide upstream decisions.

Ultimately, the development of different iterations of energy insetting could be a vital tool the industry needs to send clear market signals to stimulate the production of renewable and low-carbon fuels at scale.

Furthermore, the use of digitalization to record and validate these emissions savings has the dual benefit of connecting a variety of stakeholders throughout the supply chain. It removes the geographical barriers that arise from sourcing through physical supply chains, bringing the supply and demand sides of low-carbon fuel development together, uniting energy providers, carriers, forwarders and cargo owners, as well as the end consumer. The long-term emergence and efficiency of markets rely on trust and the circulation of information.

It is widely acknowledged that immediate and impactful action needs to be taken to achieve the maritime sector’s decarbonization targets, but these goals will not be achieved without unprecedented levels of collaboration and consensus between different stakeholders across the entire value chain.

While this level of cooperation may strike many within the industry as counterintuitive, it is only by embracing benefit-sharing models – such as energy insetting methodologies – that the industry will achieve its net-zero ambition.

Paul Delouche is the Strategy, Acquisitions, and Advanced Services Director at Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.