The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced an order which it says removes barriers for the use of LNG as marine fuel in the United States.
The order, issued by the DOE on Friday (28 February), modifies a prior order issued to Florida-based JAX LNG under the Biden administration that asserted new oversight for LNG bunkering.
‘By issuing an Order on Rehearing, DOE is modifying an order originally issued in December 2024,’ the DOE said. ‘The modified order clarifies that DOE is withdrawing the exercise of its jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act (NGA) for ship-to-ship transfers of LNG for marine fuel use at a U.S. port, in U.S. waters, or in international waters.’
Accordingly, the only bunkering-related activity that will continue to be considered an export is when there are ship-to-ship transfers of U.S. LNG when the receiving ship is located in the territorial sea of a foreign country, including foreign ports.
DOE has left unchanged its authorisation to JAX LNG to export LNG via ISO container.
‘Today’s action is a significant step in reducing regulatory burdens and helping this important segment of the LNG market continue to grow,’ said Tala Goudarzi, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) January 2025 Quarterly Gas Report, based on the current order book for vessels, the number of LNG-fuelled ships is expected to almost double and reach over 1,200 vessels by 2028.
