APAC, Singapore, Hydrogen, and the Energy Transition
Recent developments inevitable encourage one to explore potential opportunities around the Asia Pacific region and especially the city state of Singapore.
On the face of it, Singapore, with its lack of seabed acreage and constraints on land as well, is poorly placed to take part or it would be a leader in the nascent energy transition?
Singapore, however, offers several locational and commercial advantages which may lead to it being extremely well positioned for what may lie ahead.
Oil and gas giant Shell, for example is actively involved, and investigating the APAC region especially for her corporate shipping requirements. Shell operates its own tanker fleet in the form of Stasco, which will be looking to decarbonize itself and then ultimately to decarbonize its cargoes going forward in light of global commitments to both COP 26 and more relevant specifically shipping sectoral reforms.
Singapore brings a long tradition in the maritime sector, being able to act as something of a back office on a global basis for the sector with expertise and insurances, logistics, moving freight around and doesn’t want to lose them.
There are signs that these are formulating into something harder, a couple of examples of these encompass the Singapore National Hydrogen Strategy, published, and shared by me last year, and a lot longer standing document looking at import and export opportunities.
A report produced by Argos and KBR back in 2020 encompasses the newly problematic Russian element on the top left of the image.
Looking at the KBR document, we see how well Singapore is located globally.
Since then, of course we’ve had some significant developments in the sector. Key APAC countries have moved forwards on their own hydrogen strategies especially Japan based around ammonia production.
There has been number of methanol related announcements, and, in the Middle East, Project Neom is now into construction.
Beyond are emerging and significant offshore wind leasing rounds, often including the floating sector attracting considerable oil and gas buy in right now and throughout APAC in the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, and Japan, all of which would need financial acumen, logistical input, shipping support and all the infrastructure requirements for which of course is offered by Singapore.
The pieces of the jigsaw clearly fitting together, and they certainly compass methanol, hydrogen possibly combined. Carbon capture and storage.
APAC shipping
Irena
Liquid organic, hydrogen carrier and a whole panoply of things I’ve already shared with the community, including the advantages that islands sometimes have over more sedate mainstream mainland locations.
