Maersk leapfrogs LNG to net zero marine fuels
Danish shipping firm Maersk will not be using transitional marine fuels, such as LNG, to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but instead will leapfrog directly to net zero fuels: biodiesel, bio-methanol, e-methanol, lignin fuels and green ammonia.
"Our research shows that net zero technologies are available," the company said. Maersk is "very concerned with levels of methane [a type of greenhouse gas] emissions" from LNG and the risk of tying investments on marginal CO2reductions rather than transformation to real net zero-emissions.
The company deems lignin fuels, which are derived from plant material, as potentially the most price-competitive net zero fuel with the lowest price estimate, almost on a par with conventional marine fuels. Bio-methanol and e-ethanol are already in use as a marine fuel. Biodiesel can be used as drop-in fuel in fuel oil.
But a key limitation for using biodiesel, bio-methanol and lignin, are producing it at scale. Biodiesel prices are affected by high demand from competing industries. Future prices of green ammonia and e-methanol depend on the cost of renewable electricity and maturity of electrolyser technology.
Maersk estimates that decarbonizing marine fuels will lead to doubling the price of bunkers, which in turn would lead to about a 20pc increase in container shipping rates.
In 2020, Maersk burned 10.37mn t of fuel oil for bunkering, down from 11.17mn t in 2019 and 12.02mn t in 2018. The company attributed the drop to improved vessel efficiency and also fewer vessels in operation in the second and third quarters of 2020. The company also burned 32,000t of biofuels. Maersk reduced its CO2 emissions by 46.3pc by 2020 or 33.90mn t from 2008 baseline. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires that vessels reduce CO2 emissions by 40pc by 2030 from 2008, placing Maersk well ahead of IMO's regulation.
Related news posts
Williams to resume Louisiana gas line construction
Williams to resume Louisiana gas line construction
New York, 19 July (Argus) — US natural gas pipeline company Williams on Friday told federal energy regulators it will proceed with construction of its delayed 1.8 Bcf/d (51mn m³/d) Louisiana Energy Gateway (LEG) gas gathering line in Louisiana. Williams' letter of intent to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the culmination of a series of lawsuits across multiple Louisiana parishes brought by US midstream rival Energy Transfer, which seeks to stop Williams and two other pipeline companies from crossing its own gas line in the Haynesville shale. While Williams is still waiting on a final ruling over two crossings in Vernon Parish, its recent legal victories over Energy Transfer and acquisition of necessary federal permits and easements from landowners have made it possible to commence construction of LEG, Williams said. The final ruling out of Vernon Parish will be decided "soon," Williams said. Williams said it intends to release its contractor to resume pre-construction activities along its right-of-way as early as 25 July, then proceed with construction. "But for the crossing litigation with Energy Transfer, construction of [LEG] would be well underway," Williams said. The litigation has pushed Williams' expected in-service date for LEG from late 2024 to the second half of 2025. Williams prevailed over Energy Transfer earlier this month in DeSoto Parish and in early June in Beauregard Parish . By Julian Hast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Von der Leyen faces new Green Deal challenges
Von der Leyen faces new Green Deal challenges
The president promises a ‘clean industrial deal', but will need to make compromises over climate policy, writes Dafydd ab Iago Brussels, 19 July (Argus) — Ursula von der Leyen's re-election by the European Parliament as president of the European Commission on 18 July promises to see a doubling down on climate and energy policy, with her 2024-29 mandate stipulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cuts of at least 90pc by 2040 compared with 1990. "I have not forgotten how [Russian president Vladimir] Putin blackmailed us by cutting us off from Russian fossil fuels. We invested massively in homegrown cheap renewables and this enabled us to break free from dirty Russian fossil fuels," von der Leyen says, promising to end the "era of dependency on Russian fossil fuels". She has not given an end date for this, nor specified if this includes a commitment to ending Russian LNG imports. Von der Leyen went on to detail political guidelines for 2024-29. She has pledged to propose a "clean industrial deal" in the first 100 days of her new mandate, albeit without giving concrete figures about how much investment this would channel to infrastructure and industry, particularly for energy-intensive sectors. The clean industrial deal will help bring down energy bills, she says. Von der Leyen told parliament that the commission would propose legislation, under the European Climate Law, establishing a 90pc emissions-reduction target for 2040. Her political guidelines also call for scaling up and prioritising investment in clean technologies, including grid infrastructure, storage capacity, transport for captured CO2, energy efficiency, power digitalisation and a hydrogen network. She plans to extend aggregate demand mechanisms beyond gas to include hydrogen and critical raw materials, and notes the dangers of dependencies and fraying supply chains — from Putin's energy blackmail to China's monopoly on battery and chip raw materials. Majority report Passing the necessary legislation to implement her stated policies will now require approval from EU states and parliament. Unless amplified by Germany's election next year, election victories by far-right parties in France and elsewhere appear not to threaten EU state majorities for specific legislation. Parliament's political centre-left S&D and liberal Renew groups, as well as von der Leyen's own centre-right European People's Party (EPP), have elaborated key policy requests. These broadly call for the continuation of the European Green Deal — a set of legislation and policy measures aimed at 55pc GHG emissions reductions by 2030 compared with 1990. A symbolic issue for von der Leyen to decide on — or compromise on — is that of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. EPP wants to stick to technological neutrality and revise the current mandate for sales of new ICE cars to be phased out by 2035, if they cannot run exclusively on carbon-neutral fuels. The EPP wants an e-fuel, biofuel and low-carbon fuel strategy. Von der Leyen's guidelines reflect the need to gain support from centre-right, centre-left and greens. She says the 2035 climate neutrality target for new cars creates investor and manufacturer "predictability" but requires a "technology-neutral approach, in which e-fuels have a role to play". She has not mentioned carbon-neutral biofuels. It will be impossible for von der Leyen to satisfy all demands in her second mandate. This includes policy requests put forward by the EPP, ranging from a "pragmatic" definition of low-carbon hydrogen and market rules for carbon capture and storage, to postponing the EU's deforestation regulation. EU member states are expected to propose their candidates for commissioners in August, including for energy, climate and trade policy, with von der Leyen's new commission subject to a final vote in parliament in late October. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Trump vows to target 'green' spending, EV rules
Trump vows to target 'green' spending, EV rules
Washington, 19 July (Argus) — Former president Donald Trump promised to redirect US green energy spending to other projects, throw out electric vehicle (EV) rules and increase drilling, in a speech Thursday night formally accepting the Republican presidential nomination. Trump's acceptance speech, delivered at the Republican National Convention, offered the clearest hints yet at his potential plans for dismantling the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Without explicitly naming the two laws, Trump said he would claw back unspent funds for the "Green New Scam," a shorthand he has used in the past to criticize spending on wind, solar, EVs, energy infrastructure and climate resilience. "All of the trillions of dollars that are sitting there not yet spent, we will redirect that money for important projects like roads, bridges, dams, and we will not allow it to be spent on the meaningless Green New Scam ideas," Trump said during the final night of the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Trump and his campaign have yet to clearly detail their plans for the two laws, which collectively provide hundreds of billions of dollars worth of federal tax credits and direct spending for renewable energy, EVs, clean hydrogen, carbon capture, sustainable aviation fuel, biofuels, nuclear and advanced manufacturing. Repealing those programs outright could be politically difficult because a majority of spending from the two laws have flowed to districts represented by Republican lawmakers. The speech was Trump's first public remarks since he was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt on 13 July. Trump used the shooting to call for the country to unite, but he repeatedly slipped back into the divisive rhetoric of his campaign and his grievances against President Joe Biden, who he claimed was the worst president in US history. Trump vowed to "end the electric vehicle mandate" on the first day of his administration, in an apparent reference to tailpipe rules that are expected to result in about 54pc of new cars and trucks sales being battery-only EVs by model year 2032. Trump also said that unless automakers put their manufacturing facilities in the US, he would put tariffs of 100-200pc on imported vehicles. To tackle inflation, Trump said he would bring down interest rates, which are controlled by the US Federal Reserve, an agency that historically acts independently from the White House. Trump also said he would bring down prices for energy through a policy of "drill, baby, drill" and cutting regulations. Trump also vowed to pursue tax cuts, tariffs and the "largest deportation in history," all of which independent economists say would add to inflation. The Republican convention unfolded as Biden, who is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, faces a growing chorus of top Democratic lawmakers pressuring him to drop out of the presidential race. Democrats plan to select their presidential nominee during an early virtual roll-call vote or at the Democratic National Convention on 19-22 August. By Chris Knigh t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
India's June NP/NPK output and sales up, imports down
India's June NP/NPK output and sales up, imports down
London, 19 July (Argus) — India's output of NP/NPK fertilizers rose on the year in June, while domestic sales climbed sharply, but imports fell. June NP/NPK production rose by 4.9pc on the year to 917,400t, as imports decreased by 5.4pc to 264,000t, provisional government data show. Sales under India's direct benefit transfer (DBT) system reached 1.343mn t last month, up by 51pc year on year. The data for trade and production imply total NP/NPK stocks in India of just over 5.168mn t at the end of June, down by 3.1pc on the month and 1.6pc on the year. Domestic NP/NPK production in April-June — the first three months of India's 2024-25 financial year — reached almost 2.512mn t, up by 2.9pc on the corresponding period of 2023-24. April-June DBT sales were up by 42.1pc on the year at 2.185mn t, while imports decreased by 20.1pc to 709,000t, the data show. India's import market for complex fertilizers has been in a quiet phase as participants focus on a pricing-based impasse around DAP . A resolution of the DAP situation should in turn lead to a rise in import activity around NPS and NPK grades, including key formulae 20-20-0+13S and 10-26-26. Prices for these products are set to climb in next business, in line with a general firming of the global market for complex fertilizers. By David Maher Indian NP/NPK stocks, output, imports, and DBT sales Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more