THE Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has awarded a third liquefied natural gas bunker supplier license to Total’s subsidiary in charge of worldwide bunkering activities, Total Marine Fuels, for a five-year term starting 1 January, 2022.

This follows a 10-year agreement signed by Total back in 2019, to develop an LNG bunker supply chain in the Port of Singapore. It underscores Total’s confidence in the role of natural gas for the global maritime industry’s energy transition, through the development and future introduction of carbon-neutral bioLNG.

Total is the world’s second largest privately owned LNG player, with a global portfolio of nearly 50 Mtpa by 2025 and a global market share of around 10%.

Alexis Vovk, president, marketing and services at Total said, “Singapore, as the world’s largest conventional bunkering hub with a market share of 20%, is well positioned to become a major hub for LNG as a marine fuel.

“Moving forward, Total will continue to step up investments to bring greater value of our integrated natural gas supply chain to customers serving this important region, ultimately contributing to our target of serving more than 10% of the global LNG bunker market.”

Quah Ley Hoon, chief executive of MPA, said, “We welcome Total Marine Fuels’ entry into Singapore’s LNG bunker market to bolster the country’s ambition in becoming Asia’s leading LNG bunkering hub.

“We will continue to work with interested parties to grow the bunkering ecosystem in the Port of Singapore and drive the transition to a more sustainable future.”

Since November 2020, Total has been operating the world’s largest LNG bunker vessel, the Gas Agility, at the Port of Rotterdam.

By 2022, the company will launch another newly built LNG bunker vessel in Marseille (France), while serving the port of Singapore through a third one.

As part of its strategy to reduce greenhouse gases emissions in maritime transportation, Total has in parallel chartered two very large crude carriers and four Aframax-type vessels, all equipped with LNG propulsion, which will be delivered in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Total’s active efforts to develop LNG bunkering for maritime transport are in line with the company’s climate ambition to get to net-zero emissions by 2050.