Rising demand for LNG triggers international expansion for Gasum

Gasum, the Nordic gas sector expert and the leading supplier of small scale liquefied natural gas (LNG), announced that Jacob Granqvist has been appointed to the newly-created position of Sales Director of Gasum’s marine LNG business. As demand for LNG from the marine market continues to rise, Granqvist and his team will play an instrumental role in driving the company’s plans to expand its marine LNG services internationally, providing bunkering of LNG as a marine fuel to vessels for their own consumption.

Performance in the Nordic market fuels expansion

Why now? Gasum is building upon its success in the Nordic LNG marine market. Following concerted actions to expand the LNG supply chain to make LNG more accessible, it has carried out more than 2,500 LNG bunkering operations for the marine market since 2017, a 38% rise over the two previous years.

As the Nordic leading provider of ship-to-ship LNG bunkering, Gasum plans to deliver LNG – via ship-to-ship, truck-to-ship or terminal-to-ship - wherever vessel operators require it.

Reliable, cost-effective access to LNG key to success

“Put simply, our expansion plans are driven by the marine LNG market. Whether they operate containerships, tankers or cruise ferries within our reach, our aim is to provide operators with a reliable, cost-effective source of LNG that is easy to access,” said Granqvist.  “To achieve this, we must have a greater physical presence in key areas. To that end, we aim at expanding our LNG bunker vessel fleet and are in the initial phases of establishing an international network of cooperating parties.”

Already, Gasum is in the final stages of securing a permanent LNG bunkering base in northwest Europe in order to support this busy marine – shipping market.

Solutions + experience + service

With its deep experience and proven track record, Granqvist is confident that Gasum is on track for success in the larger international LNG marine market. “To help our customers be more competitive, while reducing emissions and costs, we are much more than a supplier of a commodity,” said Granqvist. “We work closely with customers to formulate the best LNG bunkering management solutions and services and guide them through the process.  Knowing that they will always have ready access to LNG – be it a ship-to-ship bunkering at open sea or truck-to-vessel in port – they operate with confidence. This is a cornerstone of our business, and will be instrumental in growing the marine LNG services,” he said.

According to Gasum, LNG consumption within the global marine and shipping sectors is rising.  Consumption is expected to accelerate even more rapidly, as compliance with the IMO 2020 Sulphur regulation, which requires over 85% reduction in Sulphur emissions, comes into effect next year. IMO has also set a target to reduce GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2050. These environmental regulations make LNG a very attractive alternative for compliance.

A wealth of experience

With more than 20 years in the maritime, shipping and energy industries, Granqvist has in-depth knowledge of the challenges faced by today’s vessel operators.  He joined Gasum from sustainable solutions provider Neste, where he worked in key management roles within shipping and marine fuels and services for six years.  His previous experience was in the shipping and maritime industries. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science, Maritime Law, Logistics, Organisation and Leadership from the University of Abo Akademi, and is a Master Mariner from the Abo Navigations Institut in Finland. Granqvist leads his multi-national team from Gasum headquarters in Finland.

LNG: cleanest marine fuel

LNG is the cleanest available marine fuel; one that is rapidly becoming more commonly used as a cost-effective alternative. LNG is suitable for all vessel types, including ferries, passenger ships, tankers, bulk, supply and containerships. LNG offers several benefits by reducing local and global pollution. Switching to LNG completely removes SOx and particulates, and reduces NOx emissions by up to 85%.  In addition, LNG reduces CO2 emissions by more than 20%.  

More information: 

Jacob Granqvist, Sales Director, Gasum
phone: +358 40 483 91 29, E:  jacob.granqvist@gasum.com,

Trude Ravndal, Marketing and Communication Manager, Gasum
phone: +47 913 01 013, E: trude.ravndal@gasum.com  

The energy company Gasum is a Nordic gas sector and energy market expert. Together with its partners, Gasum is building a bridge towards a carbon-neutral society on land and at sea. Gasum is the leading supplier of biogas in the Nordic countries. The company has a gas filling stations network, that also serves heavy-duty vehicles. Gasum is also the leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) player in the Nordic market. The company continues to strengthen the position and infrastructure of LNG and supplies LNG to maritime transport, industry and heavy-duty vehicles in Finland, Sweden and Norway.The Gasum Group has around 350 employees in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The company’s revenue in 2018 totalled €1,177 million. Gasum is a fully Finnish state-owned company. For more information, visit www.gasum.com.

Note to editors: If you would like to receive images to illustrate this announcement, please visit https://gasum.pictures.fi/ or contact Trude Ravndal 

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