必和必拓正就液化天然气供应合同进行谈判

据海事新闻9月27日消息称，必和必拓集团一位高管对路透表示，该公司正与三家公司就液化天然气供应进行谈判，为其计划在西澳大利亚和中国之间运输铁矿石的五艘船提供燃料。

必和必拓负责海运和供应链的副总裁Rashpal Bhatti对路透表示，最初的8到10家公司将竞争在2022年到2027年期间向这家矿商交付超冷燃料，合同预计将于下个月授予。

本月早些时候，必和必拓向总部位于新加坡的东太平洋航运公司租用五艘液化天然气燃料的纽卡斯尔型散货船，目的是在其最大客户中国的航线上减少逾30%的温室气体排放。

这五艘船每年可运载约1,000万吨铁矿石，约占必和必拓2.8亿吨铁矿石出口量的3.6%。

Bhatti称，必和必拓将在这些船只下水后对其进行评估，然后再决定是否扩大其液化天然气燃料船队。

马来西亚国家石油公司海运公司全球液化天然气供应主管Mohd Rafe Mohamed Ramli说，目前在逾8万艘注册船舶中，只有不到400艘使用液化天然气作为燃料。

必和必拓的Bhatti说：“我们的5艘船将占整个亚洲液化天然气供应量的10%。这相当于全球液化天然气燃料供应需求的1.5%。

曹海斌 摘译自 海事新闻

原文如下：

BHP in Talks with for LNG Bunker Supply Contract

BHP Group is in talks with three companies for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel five ships it plans to use to transport iron ore between western Australia and China, a senior company executive told Reuters.

A contract is expected to be awarded next month after an initial 8 to 10 firms vied for delivery of the super-chilled fuel to the miner over 2022 to 2027, Rashpal Bhatti, BHP's vice president for maritime and supply chain excellence told Reuters.

BHP earlier this month awarded a tender to charter five LNG-fuelled Newcastlemax bulk carriers to Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions on voyages to biggest customer China by more than 30%.

The five vessels will be able to carry about 10 million tonnes per year (tpy) of iron ore, or about 3.6% of BHP's 280 million tpy in exports.

BHP will assess the vessels once they are on the water before deciding whether to expand its LNG-fuelled fleet, Bhatti said.

Currently, less than 400 out more than 80,000 registered ships run on LNG as fuel source, according to Mohd Rafe Mohamed Ramli, head of global LNG bunkering at Petronas Marine.

"Our five vessels will make up 10% of all Asian (LNG) bunkering volumes. That equates to 1.5% of all global LNG bunkering requirements," BHP's Bhatti said.