Shell has agreed to charter a fleet of new LNG fuelled crude oil tankers

Shell has agreed to a long-term deal to charter a fleet of 10 LNG dual-fuel Aframax crude oil tankers from Sinokor Petrochemical Co Ltd. Sinokor Petrochemical expects to take delivery of the tankers from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea in 2021.

Shell plans to fuel the tankers at existing facilities in Singapore, Rotterdam and other bunkering ports that Shell is considering. As more shippers choose LNG it will help support further development of supply infrastructure around the world according to Shell.

“LNG is already a commercially competitive way to reduce emissions from ships, including those delivering oil to our customers,” Mark Quartermain, Shell’s Vice President for Crude Trading and Supply, said. “This is an important step in Shell’s wider drive to help decarbonise the shipping sector, both as a leading supplier and user of LNG.”

In 2018, Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited chartered four LNG dual-fuel Aframax crude oil tankers on a long-term basis.

In addition to the LNG dual-fuel ocean-going oil and product tankers, Shell has several dual-fuel inland oil products barges in northwest Europe, running mainly on LNG. Shell has also chartered three LNG-powered offshore supply vessels to support drilling operations in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Demand for gas as a shipping fuel could reach 35 million tonnes of LNG a year by 2035, according to Shell's 2019 LNG Outlook.