Finnish state-owned energy company Gasum is collaborating with Equinor on a series of liquified biomethane (bio-LNG) bunkering operations in the Port of Dusavik in Stavanger, Norway, on top of extending their long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering agreement.
Gasum is bunkering ISCC-EU-certified mass balanced bio-LNG to Equinor’s chartered platform supply vessel the Island Crusader, which features battery hybrid technology.
According to a Gasum press release, the first bio-LNG delivery was successfully carried out in mid-July. Each truckload of bio-LNG contains around 22 tonnes. Gasum will continue to supply Island Crusader with 2–3 truckloads of bio-LNG approximately every other week.
Biogas is a fully renewable and environmentally friendly fuel with lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions that are, on average, 90% lower compared with fossil fuel use. Biogas can be used in all the same applications as natural gas, including as a road and maritime transport fuel and as energy for industry, according to Gasum.
Furthermore, biogas contributes to the circular economy as it is produced from waste feedstocks such as biowaste, sewage sludge and manure.
Gasum aims to produce seven terawatt-hours of renewable gas by early 2027, including biomethane and e-methane. It claims that a large portion of this volume “relies on establishing long-term partnerships with trusted and certified biogas producers throughout Europe”.
Equinor wants to be a net-zero emissions energy company by 2050, and Gasum states the bio-LNG partnership is “one step on the journey towards achieving this goal”.
In a boost to its offshore wind business, Equinor and its business partner SSE Renewables reached a preliminary agreement with the UK’s Crown Estate on the commercial terms for leasing the seabed land on which the Dogger Bank D wind farm will be constructed, Offshore Technology’s sister publication Power Technology reported last month.
With a power generation capacity of 3.6GW, Dogger Bank is the largest offshore wind farm under construction in the world.
