KUALA LUMPUR/TOKYO, 11 February 2021 – Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo) and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), under its wholly-owned subsidiary PETRONAS Trading Corporation Sdn Bhd (PETCO) announce the signing of a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) between both parties to jointly market and supply LNG bunker and related services through the Sumitomo Corporation and PETRONAS Marine brands in both Malaysia and Tokyo Bay, Japan.

The MoC serves to build industrial platforms and end-to-end supply chains to offer more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient LNG for use as a marine fuel and reduce the GHG emission attributable to maritime transport.

“We are very proud and confident that the cooperation between Sumitomo and PETRONAS is paving the way towards the development of LNG as a cleaner marine fuel in both Malaysia and Tokyo Bay, Japan, which are strategically important marine hubs to both parties,” said Shu Nakamura, Department General Manager of Sumitomo.

“With this agreement, we pursue our ambition to build a comprehensive network of LNG bunkering. It also underscores our commitment to offer our customers the best available and technologically proven solution to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of maritime transport,” he added.

“As a progressive energy and solutions partner, we are continuously looking to co-create a sustainable market environment with industry players. We recognise our role in delivering the next generation fuel to cater to the bunker demand in the maritime industry, and we are pleased to be collaborating with Sumitomo and hope to collaborate with other LNG Bunker players in Japan in meeting our customers’ emerging needs,” said Shamsul Bahari Salleh, CEO PETCO.

The collaboration is in line with the vision set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April 2018 to reduce total annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008.

As LNG continues to play a key role as the next generation fuel to cater for the bunker demand in the maritime industry, both companies are committed in promoting this solution to the market by having the right infrastructures in place, ensuring availability of supply and through continuous advocacy to users.

Sumitomo’s joint venture Ecobunker Shipping Co. Ltd together with SEA-LNG Members YKIP and Uyeno Marine Service launched the LNG bunker Vessel MV Ecobunker Tokyo Bay, which is on track to commence LNG bunker service in Tokyo Bay later this year.

In November 2020, PETRONAS successfully delivered its first Ship-to-Ship LNG bunker in the port of Pasir Gudang, Johor from the 7,500 cubic metre MV Avenir Advantage, PETRONAS’ first LNG Bunkering Vessel (LBV) under the PETRONAS Marine brand to promote the use of LNG as a cleaner marine fuel.