Skip to main content

Repsol and Enagás carry out Europe’s first LNG bunkering operation from a regasification plant 

Published by , Editor
LNG Industry,


For the first time in Europe, Repsol and Enagás have supplied liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly from a regasification plant to a ship for use as fuel. The success of the operation, which lasted five hours, was made possible by the collaboration between Repsol and Enagás: with Repsol supplying bunkering services, and Enagás as infrastructure manager, supplying technical and human resources at their regasification plant in Cartagena. 

The operation, the first of its kind in Europe, is known as bunkering pipe-to-ship and was carried out using flexible cryogenic hoses that connect the ship directly to the terminal. The vessel Damia Desgagnés received 370m3 of LNG. This amount represents the largest bunkering operation to date, both for Spain and Repsol, whose previous operations of up to 320m3 were handled by tanker trucks. 

The Canadian vessel Damia Desgagnés, built in Turkey, is 135 m long and 23 m wide with a double hull. Its most notable feature is that it can operate using any of three types of fuel: fuel oil, marine diesel oil or LNG. 

Using LNG as fuel helps improve air quality. LNG is an eco-friendly fuel as it does not generate sulfur oxides (SOx) or particulate (PM) emissions. It also involves substantially reduced CO2 and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. These characteristics allow it to meet increasingly demanding environmental regulations and emissions-reduction targets. 

This type of operation was made possible through modifications to the jetty of the Enagás plant in the port of Cartagena, in line with industry standards. Providing new services at regasification plants is a demonstration of Repsol’s commitment to innovation. 

This operation is the result of the collaboration between Repsol, Enagás and the Port Authority of Cartagena. It is part of the CORE LNGas hive project, co-financed by the European Commission, coordinated by Enagás and led by Puertos del Estado. This initiative aims to help Spain become a European benchmark in this area, taking advantage of its privileged geographical position as a gateway to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. 

The aim of the project, which involves a total of 42 partners, is to develop an integrated, secure, and efficient supply chain for the provision of LNG as transportation fuel, especially for maritime transport in the Iberian Peninsula. 

In particular, the project’s objective at the Port of Cartagena, in addition to the necessary work at the port, is the modification of one of Enagás’s regasification plant jetties to offer new small-scale services and bunkering. The initiative has a budget of €2.73 million and is being coordinated and carried out in partnership with the Port Authority of Cartagena. Completion is scheduled for the end of this year. 

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/24042017/repsol-and-enags-carry-out-europes-first-lng-bunkering-operation-from-a-regasification-plant/

You might also like

 
 

Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below):