Malaysian energy major Petronas has inaugurated LNG bunkering business with its long-term Chinese partner Tiger Gas through its Petronas Marine brand.
The inauguration follows the completion of Petronas’ maiden ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation of approximately 500 tonnes of LNG for Tiger Gas’ Tiger Maanshan, a dual-fuel deck cargo ship.
According to Petronas, with this, Tiger Gas became the first Chinese customer of the Petronas LNG bunkering business.
The partnership between Petronas and Tiger Gas began in 2020 when the two companies signed a sale and purchase agreement to supply the Chinese market with LNG via ISO tanks. According to Petronas, this solution allows small and medium-sized businesses, located in remote areas, access to natural gas, while helping them achieve their sustainability goals.
Petronas Vice President of Refining, Marketing & Trading Ahmad Adly Alias said: “We are committed to making sustainability the cornerstone of our operations in China by providing energy solutions that would help accelerate the progress towards the country’s ‘Dual Carbon’ goal whilst collectively contributing to the energy industry growth alongside our partners.”
Chairman of Tiger Group Gerry Wang stated: “Tiger and Petronas have maintained a sound partnership for a long time. Today, offshore ship-to-ship LNG bunkering has greatly shortened the turnaround of LNG carrier vessels, laying a solid foundation for a more efficient and greener LNG supply chain. In the future, Tiger Gas will continue to work together with Petronas to facilitate the energy transition.”
2023 marks PETRONAS’ 20th anniversary in China, and the company stated that it has supported the fast-growing clean energy needs of Chinese partners with sustainable quality products and solutions for the past two decades and will continue doing so. It said it will remain committed to the Chinese market, empower the Chinese energy industry, and contribute to the country’s economic development.