Peninsula, a global supplier of marine fuels, has decided to expand its operations into the Middle East and increase the supply of conventional and alternative fuels in the region.
Kenny MacLean, COO of Peninsula, told several US news outlets that the company has launched new physical supply operations in Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali, both in the United Arab Emirates, to increase fuel supplies.
According to a company statement, both new facilities complement Peninsula’s existing and operational facility in Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.
Peninsula has already secured fuel bunker licences for both of the new facilities. The company now has services available at 500 ports worldwide.
MacLean explained that diverting ships around South Africa due to the crisis in the Red Sea is now the new normal as fuel demand has normalised. The re-routing of ships has subsequently increased fuel sales in Mauritius, Las Palmas, Gibraltar and Algeciras.
Peninsular plans to increase the supplies of alternative marine fuels to cut carbon emissions. MacLean said: “Our specialist LNG [liquefied natural gas] bunkering vessel, Levante LNG, is operating in the western Mediterranean, so we are naturally seeing demand there." Methanol, biofuels, ammonia, hydrogen and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are some of the most common alternatives currently in use.
The company will now focus on LNG resources in traditional shipping lanes that are close to the appropriate infrastructure.
The demand within the EU for marine biofuel is set to increase by 2025 after emission trading schemes and environmental regulations were recently restricted.
Peninsula has chemical tankers ready to supply marine biofuel to help meet demand. The company is currently working with third party companies to develop methanol and ammonia bunkers, but MacLean explained these facilities are unlikely to be operational in the short term.
Peninsula’s expansion comes after state-owned QatarEnergy announced it will build six new QC-Max LNG vessels, each with a capacity of 271,000 cubic metres.
