Shell plans to develop two small-scale liquefaction units (0.25 Mt/year each) in North America, one in the Gulf Coast Corridor and one in the Great Lakes Corridor. The LNG produced in the facilities would be sold as a marine transportation fuel and would be used as a fuel by Shell for its own operations.
In the Gulf Coast Corridor, Shell plans to install a small-scale liquefaction unit at its Shell Geismar Chemicals facility in Geismar, Louisiana, in the United States. Once operational, this unit will supply LNG along the Mississippi River, the Intra-Coastal Waterway and to the offshore Gulf of Mexico and the onshore oil and gas exploration areas of Texas and Louisiana. LNG will also be sold to marine vessels that operate in the Gulf of Mexico.
In the Great Lakes Corridor, Shell plans to install a small-scale liquefaction unit at its Shell Sarnia Manufacturing Centre in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Once operational, this project will supply LNG fuel to all five Great Lakes, their bordering U.S. states and Canadian provinces and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Interlake Steamship Company is expected to be the first marine customer in this region, as it begins the conversion of its vessels.
Natural gas could play an important role in helping to meet the world’s rising transport needs. It can be converted into different forms to power ships, trucks, buses and planes. Small-scale liquefaction facilities are already under development in gas-consuming countries (North Europe, China, US) and are aimed at supplying fuel for maritime and road transport.