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ExxonMobil, Eagle LNG Partners LLC and Crowley signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreement on June 27 to collaborate on the development of LNG as a marine fuel.

The goal of the agreement is to establish the storage and technical support necessary to provide LNG bunker deliveries for vessel operators in North America.

The three firms plan to initially focus their efforts in Florida before expanding to other North American markets.

In the agreement, ExxonMobil is to provide its technical support and expertise to help the parties carry out safe bunkering operations and sell LNG bunker fuel to vessel operators. Eagle LNG Partners will be responsible for supplying the LNG and for the design, construction and operation of small-scale production and storage facilities as well as coordinate land-based LNG transportation. Crowley is to provide bunker logistics and ensure safe and reliable operations.

"The Memorandum of Understanding is another major step forward in developing LNG as a marine fuel. It will leverage the specialist knowledge and expertise of ExxonMobil, Eagle LNG Partners and Crowley to the benefit of vessel operators bunkering in North America," remarked Luca Volta, LNG Venture Manager at ExxonMobil. "This agreement provides additional opportunities for vessel operators looking to adopt LNG as a marine fuel."

Florida

Eagle LNG Partners has a natural gas liquefaction plant in Maxville, Florida, which is currently under construction. Once completed, the facility will be able to produce 200,000 gallons of LNG per day (87,000 gallons per day, initially). The plant features a one million-gallon storage tank and an LNG truck-loading system. It is slated for completion in the summer of 2017.

Additionally, Eagle's proposed LNG liquefaction and distribution facility in Jacksonville, Florida, will be capable of producing up to 1.65 million gallons of LNG per day, and provide LNG bunkering for ships. Subject to permission being granted, construction is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2018 with commercial operations slated for the third quarter of 2019.

Meanwhile, to support the bunkering of ships, Eagle is also building an LNG fuel depot dockside at the Talleyrand Marine Terminal on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville. The terminal has a storage capacity of more than 500,000 gallons comprising two tanks, with each tank holding 1,000 cubic meters (approximately 265,000 gallons).

The design of the Talleyrand fuel depot was developed jointly by Eagle and Crowley's LNG engineers in consultation with the Port of Jacksonville. The facility will be used to bunker Crowley's combination container and roll-on/roll-off (ConRo) ships, El Coqui and Taino.

Image: Eagle LNG Partners' jetty for bunkering at its proposed LNG liquefaction and distribution facility in Jacksonville, Florida.