Shell Mulls LNG-Hub Network as Use by Ships and Trucks Expands
(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the oil company that spent more than $50 billion to buy natural-gas producer BG Group Plc, is looking to expand demand for the fuel in transport to ensure its output is consumed.
Shell is studying developing a global network of liquefied natural gas supply hubs for vehicles including ships, Steve Hill, executive vice president for gas and energy marketing and trading, said Monday at the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.
Europe’s largest energy company acquired BG in 2016, gaining a 20 percent share of the global LNG market with production facilities from Australia to the U.S. Output of the fuel has grown as rising energy use -- particularly in Asia -- boosts the drive to find alternatives to coal. By developing supply hubs, Shell, which announced a ramp-up in clean energy investment on Monday, could feed the heavy-truck and marine vessel markets, increasingly important to LNG producers that traditionally serve the power sector.
“As the demand from transportation grows, that will become important” than power generation, Hill said. “In the foreseeable future over half of demand won’t come from electricity but from heavy-duty transport, trucking for roads and marine, use in chemicals.”
Shell sees opportunities in LNG and next-generation biofuels for shipping, heavy freight and air travel, Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden said in Istanbul Monday as he announced plans to invest as much as $1 billion a year in its New Energies division by the end of this decade.
Total SA, Europe’s No. 2 energy producer, echoed the call to build demand. The French oil company, whose CEO Patrick Pouyanne has said it’s refocusing on gas, has been asked to construct gas-fired power plants in “some emerging countries,” Senior Vice President for Gas Laurent Vivier said in Istanbul.
"Creating new demand is critical," he said. "We will at some point" consider building new power stations, he said.
Total’s marine-fuels division on Monday signed a multi-year contract to supply LNG to a cruise ferry off France, the first such ship to be powered by the fuel.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rakteem Katakey in London at rkatakey@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Herron at jherron9@bloomberg.net Amanda Jordan
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- G7 Weighs Russia Oil Price Cap
- Exxon Considers Developing Hydrogen, Ammonia Production In Norway
- WTI and Henry Hub Appear Due for a Technical Correction
- Libya Says It May Suspend Oil Exports from Key Terminals
- Analysts Talk Biden Gasoline Tax Holiday
- Petrobras Clears Sale Of Several Espirito Santo Assets
- Cheniere Green Lights FID For Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project
- Targa Sells $1.25B Senior Notes To Fund Lucid Acquisition
- Gas Prices Freezing Americans into Staycations
- Eco Atlantic Increases Stake In Exciting License Off South Africa
- USA Navy and Iran Corps Clash in Strait of Hormuz
- Top Headlines: USA Navy and Iran Corps Clash in Strait of Hormuz and More
- Russian Oil Disappears as Tankers Go Dark
- USA Energy Sec Leads Meeting with 7 Major Oil Companies
- USA Refinery Capacity Drops
- These Are the Largest Energy Companies by Market Cap Right Now
- Oil and Gas Lease Sales in Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico Pushed Back
- New Mexico Oil Refinery Cost Doubles
- $150 Oil Could Still Happen. Here's How.
- Russian Oil Isn't Dead Yet
- USA Navy and Iran Corps Clash in Strait of Hormuz
- Oil Industry Responds to Biden Letter
- Rapidly Decaying Supertanker Could Explode at Any Time
- Oil Nosedives on Fed Inflation Actions
- Top Headlines: USA Navy and Iran Corps Clash in Strait of Hormuz and More
- Biden To Restart Idle Refineries To Tame Fuel Prices
- Top Headlines: Oil Industry Responds to Biden Letter and More
- Iran Seizes 2 Greek Tankers
- Too Early To Speculate on ExxonMobil Refinery Fire Cause
- Fitch Solutions Reveals Latest Oil Price Forecast