Energy Transition: What is an Offshore Vessel Operator to Do?
As the offshore oil and gas industry resumes growth and offshore wind power sees an upswing, vessel owners who cater to these markets are faced with significant decisions about the type of energy carrier and energy converter to choose for their newly constructed vessels. This is all a part of the ongoing energy transition.
What is causing the shift?
The basis of shifting towards renewable energy in the offshore and marine industry exists on a worldwide, continental, country-wide and community scale.
Apart from these regulations, there are various other significant factors that encourage the adoption of low or zero emissions fuels. These factors could be:
What options are available?
According to the diagram provided, there are numerous options for energy sources that have low carbon emissions, are carbon neutral, or entirely carbon-free. Some of these options (noted by the green dashed line) are particularly well-suited for shorter journeys at sea, such as those commonly undertaken by offshore oil and gas and offshore wind vessels.
We are observing more and more hybrid energy systems being utilized, which are dependent on the type of job and the fuel available. These systems are a blend of a dual fuel internal combustion engine that permits flexibility or a fuel cell, along with battery energy storage and connections to shore power.
What are the difficulties?
The primary obstacle is picking out the energy source(s) and transforming it for a ship. It's usually determined by different factors such as trade routes, ship dimensions, environmental elements, and the utilization of internal combustion engines, fuel cells, or battery energy storage systems.
The upcoming difficulty is to make sure there is enough fuel available. Currently, there isn't enough low or zero emissions fuel. Additionally, most offshore vessel companies are not big enough and don't have the same trading patterns as companies like Maersk. Maersk was able to get between 1.4 to 2 million tonnes of methanol from nine partnerships in Asia and America every year. They are also looking into 30 more partnerships in areas such as Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
After acquiring the necessary fuel, the obstacle that one faces is the expense of said fuel. The implementation of carbon pricing in certain regions, such as Europe, can aid in mitigating this issue. Nevertheless, when considering the bare bones of the matter, eco-friendly alternatives such as green hydrogen, e-methanol, and e-ammonia surpass the price of conventional marine diesel and gas oil.
Lots of folks are aware that making sure bunker fuel is good quality is a big issue to tackle nowadays. However, it's only gonna get tougher from here on. Let's take methanol as an instance. You can make it from various sources like coal (brown), natural gas (grey), trapping carbon from a different combustion method (blue), renewable sources (green), or nuclear (pink). Nonetheless, the end product is always CH3OH. We're left wondering how to make certain that the methanol inside the tank is environmentally friendly.
Lastly, various obstacles of both technical and operational nature exist. These include the harmful qualities of specific fuels, inadequate infrastructure for fueling at sea, the challenge of accommodating the substantial quantities required to store hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol on board, the availability of internal combustion engines, fuel cells, and battery energy storage systems, and the level of expertise of the crew.
What other factors should we take into account?
Besides choosing an energy carrier/converter, there are other ways for owners to reduce their vessel's emissions intensity. The tools available vary depending on the size of the vessel. Some examples include:
