Methanol bunker to exceed 3 million mt/year by the mid-2020s – OCI

Demand for methanol is expected to start accelerating later this year when the first large methanol-fuelled ships are scheduled for delivery, according to OCI’s chief executive Ahmed El-Hoshy.

PHOTO: OCI Beaumont is an integrated methanol and ammonia production facility located on the Gulf Coast near Beaumont, Texas in the US. OCI

In OCI's latest quarterly report, El-Hoshy anticipates that demand for methanol will rise above 3 million mt/year by the middle of the decade “based on current orders from the container vessel segment alone.”

Currently, demand for methanol as a marine fuel stands at 300,000 mt/year, reports the Methanol Institute (MI) quoting El-Hoshy.

OCI is a Dutch producer and distributor of hydrogen products, including methanol and biofuels.

Globally, shipowners are increasingly turning to methanol as a low-emission alternative to conventional marine fuels. The main reason for this is that methanol is said to be available to bunker in over 100 ports around the world, and large ship engines have been developed to consume it.

The global methanol-fuelled fleet is currently made up of just 25 vessels, according to data from the classification society DNV. A further 31 vessels are expected to be delivered next year, and 59 vessels are on order for delivery by 2028.

DNV data also shows that 22 of the 25 methanol-fuelled vessels in operation today are oil and chemical tankers, but that container ships are by far the biggest future segment, with 47 of the total 59 methanol-fuelled vessels on order for delivery towards 2028.

There are also additional methanol-fuelled oil and chemical tankers (3) on order for delivery by 2028, as well as offshore vessels (4), bulk carriers (2) and a cruise ship.

“We are also encouraged by the recent orders from non-container segments, underscoring significant potential demand growth from non-consumer freight segments,” El-Hoshy said.

ENGINE recently spoke with Ørsted, a company that will produce synthetic green methanol from captured carbon dioxide for bunkering. Ørsted’s chief commercial officer for power-to-X (P2X) James Henry said the company has observed a rise in shipbuilding orders for methanol-powered container ships, bulk carriers and ferries.

By Konica Bhatt

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