Using LNG as shipping fuel is a "game changer"
Emission controls in European and North American waters mean more shipowners are ordering vessels that run on cleaner LNG, but it may remain a marginal fuel in global shipping without further instruction from the UN’s International Maritime Organisation
The move to LNG as a ship’s fuel is a “game changer which cannot be ignored”, the managing director of ship management group Schulte UK, Angus Campbell, told Gastech in Singapore in October. But the important question is when will LNG become the dominant bunker fuel, according to an analysis note in March by Boston Consulting Group (BCG): “The answer is critical to planning and executing investment decisions that will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars industry-wide in the coming years.” Managing bunker costs remains crucial to competitiveness, noted BCG, as they still account for 30-40% of total ship operating costs. For more than 50 years, the world’s fleet of LNG carriers has used
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Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
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Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
