“Iran as the world’s largest gas reserves holder, located in the middle of the glob has a vital position to participate in the mid-scale LNG export projects and LNG bunkering businesses,” Mostafa Sharif, General Manager of Gas Marketing at National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) said at the Platts-organised Annual European Gas Summit held last week in Rotterdam.

NIOC is studying the development of small-mid scale LNG export projects which could be also accompanied with LNG bunkering facilities as it has introduced two potential locations for setting up these facilities, Qeshm Island and Chabahar Port, both in the south of Iran at the coasts of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, respectively, the Iranian state-run company’s official said, noting that “for small-mid scale projects, Iran has more available options for liquefaction technologies and equipments.”
Iran set up fuel oil bunkering facility in Qeshm Island which currently comprises ten storage tanks as the capacity of the first phase is estimated to be 1 MMBBL/Y. The strategic aim is to steadily expand capacity, to 100 MMBBL/Y, and make Qeshm a regional bunkering hub. “LNG Bunkering facility could be set up in side of current and expanding bunkering system.”

LNG is becoming increasingly important as a marine fuel for the world and particularly for Europe because it has a much cleaner combustion than heavy fuel oil and stringent sulphur emission regulations are in force in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, Sharif told the summit’s audiences, added that “as well as emitting almost zero sulphur, LNG has negligible fine-particle emissions, emits a quarter less carbon and performs up to 90% better on nitrogen oxides.”
There are 21 bunkering ports for ship refueling with LNG in Europe: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. According to IGU, expanded use of LNG for seagoing and inland waterway vessels in Rotterdam will reduce NOx by 90% and PM by 76%-95%.
There is huge potential for LNG bunkering as the current gas fuelled fleet comprises just 0.14% of the total global fleet of 5,500 ships above 500 grt, Sharif remarked. “There are some 80 LNG-fuelled ships in operation today and another 80 on order. That number may be expected to grow to around 1,500 ships, accounting for 2.75% of the world fleet over the next 7-10 years, according to SGMF.”

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