By Paul Morden, from www.theobserver.ca The Observer
The president of an American shipping company lined up to buy liquified natural gas (LNG) from a proposed new production unit Shell Canada put on hold last week says he still believes the fuel has a future on the Great Lakes.
Interlake Steamship Company, based in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, was identified last spring as a customer for the LNG Shell said it was planning to produce at its Sarnia Manufacturing Centre near Corunna.
But Shell confirmed last week it has paused that project, and a similar one planned for Louisiana, while it reviews its LNG-for-transport opportunities in North America.
“We’d like to see LNG on the lakes, and I think we’re still hopeful that will come,” said Interlake president Mark Barker.
“We’ve done a lot of work to understand and develop that technology, and what it takes to use LNG, and we’re still pursuing it.”
Interlake announced last spring it had reached an agreement in principle with Shell for a supply of LNG.
“They are taking a pause,” Barker said, “but we are still working with them to see if there’s a way that we can continue the work we’ve done, to see if we can run our ships on LNG.”
Barker said Interlake expected to begin using the fuel in spring 2016 and hasn’t begun converting any of its nine ships from heavy oil to cleaner burning, and less-expensive LNG.
“Marine transportation is the most environmental way of moving stuff on a ton per mile basis,” he said. “LNG would just make it that much better.”
The small-scale gas liquefaction unit Shell was planning for Corunna would have been able to produce 250,000 tonnes of LNG, and would have created approximately 10 new jobs at the site, as well as several hundred short-time construction jobs.
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey he’s continuing to push for his Natural Gas Superhighway private member’s bill that received unanimous support in September at second reading in the legislature.
“I think it’s even more important now, in light of Shell’s announcement,” Bailey said.
“I’m glad they say it’s a ‘pause’ and not an out-and-outright stop.”
Passing his bill, designed to adjust trucking weight restrictions and provide tax credits for purchasing LNG-burning trucks, would tell the fuel and trucking industries government is serious about developing use of the fuel in Ontario, Bailey said.
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