Woodside today signed a five-year charter contract with Norwegian company Siem Offshore Australia Pty Ltd — an agreement that delivers Australia its first LNG-powered marine support vessel in 2017.
Woodside Chief Operations Officer Mike Utsler said the announcement positioned the company as an early adopter of LNG as a marine fuel in the region.
“We’re thrilled to be the first company to bring one of these vessels to the southern hemisphere. Australia is on track to become the world’s largest producer of LNG, so it makes perfect sense to build dual-fuel capabilities for our marine fleets here.
“Our LNG tankers use their cargo to power their engines, making them cleaner vessels that use less diesel. It’s natural that we progress this capability through to our support vessels,” he said.
Woodside’s new vessel will be greener — reducing vessel greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions and the reliance on imported diesel — while providing safe, reliable support to Woodside’s assets in the Exmouth and Pilbara regions.
Woodside will continue to seek to expand the application of LNG-fueling in transportation in WA. Dualfuel has an exciting future as it can be used to power a wide range of vessels.