Galveston LNG bunkering port one step closer to reality

Pilot LNG announced April 8 that it brought in a new equity partner, Wison Offshore & Marine, which will work on preliminary engineering for its planned bunkering port in Galveston, Texas.

Wison Offshore, for an undisclosed sum, secured a front-end engineering and design contract for what will be the region’s first dedicated LNG bunker terminal at the port of Galveston.

“Pilot expects to be able to deliver a highly competitive and environmentally responsible project that will not only be more economical than traditional marine fuels for the marine industry, but will also help them dramatically reduce their emissions and comply with IMO 2020 regulations,” the company said.

The International Maritime Organisation has policies in place that mandate cleaner fuels for the shipping industry. Apart from low-sulphur fuel options, super-cooled natural gas has been adopted by shippers as a fuel of choice to meet IMO requirements.

Pilot touted LNG as an option to cut nearly all of the particulate matter and sulphur emissions, and as much as 90% of nitrogen oxide emissions, compared to conventional fuels.

Pilot expects to make a final investment decision on the Galveston project by early 2022, with the goal of starting up operations by the middle of 2025.

“By utilizing floating technologies, we are able to provide a solution that can be delivered with unique advantages not available to traditional land-based facilities, as well as significantly reducing the infrastructure’s footprint and its associated impacts,” Vivian Li, the head of Wison’s North American division, said.