Total and Pavilion Energy, through their subsidiaries Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions and Pavilion Gas, have signed Heads of Agreement (HoA) to jointly develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker supply chain in the port of Singapore.
The agreement covers the shared long-term time charter of a new generation LNG bunker vessel to be commissioned by Pavilion Gas by 2020 and an LNG supply arrangement between the two companies enabling Total to deliver LNG bunker to its customers.
The HoA, signed on the sidelines of the World Gas Conference 2018, follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concluded by the duo in April 2017 on LNG bunkering cooperation.
Over the past two years, Pavilion Gas has been working on providing Singapore with LNG as marine fuel. Namely, in 2016, Pavilion Gas was awarded the LNG bunker supplier licence for the port and was appointed as one of two importers to supply LNG to the Lion City.
“The development of infrastructure is one of the key drivers for the take-off of LNG as a marine fuel. For the past few months, Total has been very active in that direction. The agreement signed with Pavilion Energy marks a new step in our commitment to provide our customers with fuels that are more environmentally friendly, particularly in Singapore which is the leading bunkering hub in the world,” Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total, said.
“Our partnership sets the stage for making LNG bunker readily and reliably available for the market. Together, we mark a decisive step forward in leading the change towards cleaner and more responsible solutions with LNG bunkering in the region,” Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, Chairman of Pavilion Energy, added
Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions has set sights on developing the LNG bunker market, and has signed LNG bunker supply contracts for Brittany Ferries and CMA CGM , as well as the long-term chartered bunker vessel with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines .
The cooperation on LNG as a bunker fuel is being pursued ahead of the 2020 sulphur cap announced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).