Sovcomflot and Gazpromneft Marine Bunker have signed an agreement on cooperation in implementation of projects on bunkering of ships with gas fuel (liquefied natural gas), Sovcomflot says in a press release.
The signing ceremony was held during the XXIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2019). The document was signed by Igor Tonkovidov, Sovcomflot Executive Vice President and Chief Operating / Chief Technical Officer and Andrey Vasilyev, CEO, Gazpromneft Marine Bunker LLC.
The agreement formalizes mutual interest of the parties to cooperation in bunkering of SCF Group’s tankers with LNG fuel. The companies’ work in this respect complies with the state programme on wider use of gas fuel by transport.
As compared with conventional marine fuel, LNG lets considerably decrease emissions of SOx, NOx, CO2 and low-dispersive particles.
“We are sure that gas fuel is an optimal solution for large-scale shipping from both environmental and economic points of view – first of all, in the Global Ocean areas with regulatory restrictions on emissions and with high navigation intensity, such as the Baltic Sea and the North Sea as well as the Arctic basin. For over a number of years, Sovcomflot has been conducting a consistent work on converting its tanker fleet to LNG fuel and we welcome an opportunity to expand our cooperation with Gazprom Neft in this field having joined efforts of our companies to introduce advanced environmental standards in Russian shipping practices”, said Igor Tonkovidov.
“Serious toughening of environmental requirements under the MARPOL convention is a strong challenge for the shipping market players and for companies supplying fuel to water transport. Gazprom Neft’s response to that challenge is the project on construction of Russia’s first LNG bunkering ship and active participation in development of Russian regulations on the use of liquefied natural gas as a marine fuel. I am sure that joining hands with Russia’s largest shipping company having accumulated an extensive experience of operating ships running on gas fuel will mean yet another step towards development of a domestic LNG-bunkering market and will let Gazprom Neft take leadership in the new market segment”, said Andrey Vasilyev.
In 2018, Sovcomflot was the first company in the world to begin operation of Aframax tankers (deadweight of about 114,000 tonnes) using LNG as main fuel. As of today, SCF fleet numbers six tankers of this type. They are primarily deployed for exports of Russian oil in the water areas of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Five more SCF tankers powered by LNG are under construction at Zvezda shipbuilding complex in the Primorsky Territory.
Sovcomflot (SCF Group) is one of the world's leading energy shipping companies, specialising in the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied gas, as well as the servicing of offshore oil and gas exploration and production. The company’s fleet includes 146 vessels with a total deadweight of over 12.7 million tonnes. Over 80 vessels have an ice class.
Sovcomflot is involved in servicing large oil and gas projects in Russia and around the world: Sakhalin-1; Sakhalin-2; Varandey; Prirazlomnoye; Novy Port; Yamal LNG, and Tangguh (Indonesia). The company is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, and Dubai.
Gazpromneft Marine Bunker is a Gazprom Neft subsidiary, established in 2007 to provide year-round sales of marine fuels and lubricants for marine and river transport. The company is one of the most important oil-products suppliers in Russia’s North-West Region, achieving sales of approximately 332,000 tonnes of marine fuels at the Sea Port of St Petersburg in 2018.
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