PETRONAS Marine’s Avenir Advantage Conducts First LNG Bunkering Operation in Sabah

Sandakan, 7 October 2021 – PETRONAS, through PETRONAS Marine brand, has conducted its first LNG bunkering operation in Sabah via its dedicated LNG Bunker Vessel (LBV), MV Avenir Advantage.

The LNG bunkering for HL Green, the world’s largest 180,000-tonne LNG-powered vessel, was carried out 12 nautical miles from Sandakan Port. The successful operation was an internal collaborative effort between PETRONAS Marine, PETRONAS Energy & Gas Trading Sdn Bhd and PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad, and their external partner Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd.

The Sandakan Port is strategically positioned at the international maritime trade route between Australia and Asia’s leading manufacturing hubs such as Japan, South Korea and China, making it an ideal location for PETRONAS to provide LNG bunkering to the trading vessels plying this route.

Commenting on the milestone, Head of PETRONAS Marine, Emry Mohd Tamrin said, “Along with our previous operations at Port Klang in Selangor and Sungai Udang Port in Melaka, this latest effort signifies a major step towards developing Malaysia as an LNG bunkering hub. It also further solidifies PETRONAS Marine’s presence as a one-stop marine solutions partner providing cost-competitive cleaner fuels and reliable services to meet the energy demands of its customers sustainably.”

He added that this LNG bunkering solution underscores PETRONAS' efforts to drive greater use of LNG as a cleaner and economically competitive source of energy in the marine industry, as well as to support concerted efforts by the International Maritime Organization in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping activities.

 
The MV Avenir Advantage is PETRONAS’ first dedicated LBV serving customers in Southeast Asia. With 7,500 cubic metres in capacity, it is poised to play an instrumental role to further promote LNG as a cleaner marine fuel in the region.