LNG supply for ports in Malaysia and Japan

Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), under its wholly owned subsidiary Petronas Trading Corporation Sdn Bhd (Petco) and Sumitomo Corporation signed an MoC to jointly market and supply LNG bunker and related services through the Petronas Marine brand in both Malaysia and Tokyo Bay, Japan.

“As a progressive energy and solutions partner, we are continuously looking to co-create a sustainable market environment with industry players. We recognise our role in delivering the next generation fuel to cater for the bunker demand in the maritime industry. We are pleased to be collaborating with Sumitomo and hope to collaborate with other players in the LNG bunkering business in Japan in meeting our customers’ emerging needs,” said Petco chief executive officer, Shamsul Bahari Salleh.

“We are very proud and confident that the cooperation between PETRONAS and Sumitomo paving the way towards the development of LNG as a cleaner marine fuel in both Malaysia and Tokyo Bay, Japan, which are strategically important marine hubs to both parties,” said department general manager of Sumitomo, Shu Nakamura. “With this agreement, we pursue our ambition to build a comprehensive network of LNG bunkering.”

Building LNG supply chains

The MoC serves to build infrastructure and end-to-end supply chains to offer more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient LNG for use as a marine fuel and reduce the GHG emissions attributable to maritime transport.

In November 2020, Petronas successfully carried out its first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation at the Port of Pasir Gudang, Johor from the 7,500cbm Avenir Advantage, Petronas’ first LNG bunkering vessel (LBV) under the PETRONAS Marine brand to promote the use of LNG as a cleaner marine fuel.

Sumitomo has also ordered an LNG bunkering vessel through a joint venture, Ecobunker Shipping Co., Ltd, which is on track to commence LNG bunker service in Tokyo Bay in 2021.