Pilbara Clean Fuels, Oceania Marine sign MoU on eLNG project in Australia

Pilbara Clean Fuels (PCF) and Oceania Marine Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a low-carbon profile eLNG production and bunkering capability concept for Port Hedland in Western Australia, the companies said on January 5.

PCF is developing a concept for a new, mid-scale, low-carbon footprint eLNG plant to be located at Port Hedland. The project will provide an Australian LNG fuel supply capability through a new facility for the conversion of pipeline natural gas to LNG, responding to market demand for cleaner marine bunker fuel for iron ore carriers operating round-trip voyages out of Port Hedland.

The base case plant capacity is 0.5mn metric tons/year, the companies said, with potential demand of 1mn mt/yr by 2030. 

A key feature of the project is a fully electrified plant with outsourced power supplied from predominantly renewable sources. “The plant design intent is to significantly reduce emissions compared to conventional LNG plants, thereby providing the ability for ‘round-trip’ LNG bunkering in Port Hedland to achieve substantially lower overall GHG life-cycle emissions than other options,” they said.        

The LNG re-fuelling concept is based on ship-to-ship bunkering of vessels while at anchor off Port Hedland.