Zhang Xuegang, reporter for this newspaper/article

 

In the recent days, JUSDA Energy Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "JUSDA Energy") announced that it signed the Memorandum of Understanding with a Japanese natural gas company. Both parties have set a three-year transportation target with an annual transportation volume of 200,000 tons to jointly build the business cooperation mode for LNG (liquefied natural gas) tank containers. JUSDA Energy connects Japanese liquid energy directly to domestic end users through sea-land intermodal transportation.

 

Since 1960，the first LNG ship, named the Methane Pioneer, successfully transported 2,000 tons of LNG (liquefied natural gas) across the Atlantic ocean from the United States to the Canville Island in the United kingdom， the global LNG trade and transportation has gone through nearly 60 years. In the past 60 years, with more and more countries paying attention to LNG energy, their demand is gradually booming, while China is at the forefront of demand growth for it. In 2018, data showed that China's LNG import volume exceeded 53 million tons, accounting for 60% of total natural gas imports. In the next 5 to 10 years, the volume will double from 2018.

 

 

 

The increase in LNG trade and transportation, as well as the innovation of transportation modes, are directly proportional to the demand for use. However, it should not be ignored that the LNG transportation as a typical logistics transportation belongs to a category of the "Three High" (high investment, high risk and high threshold) goods. It is not easy for us to cut into LNG transportation. How can JUSDA Energy "suit the remedy to the case "for the LNG?

 

Innovative Transportation: Change the LNG (liquefied natural gas) transportation to the containers in the three aspects of the “Point, Line and Surface”

 

How many steps will it take to load the LNG into containers?

 

Mr. Mei Zulin, the CEO of JUSDA Energy, told the newspaper, "First of all, we need to choose the right time to cut in and high-quality partners."

 

From the background of the establishment of JUSDA Energy, we have the supports from supply chain and energy.On the one hand, JUSDA International Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as " JUSDA") , as one of JUSDA Energy’s shareholders, has been deeply engaged in global pan-electronic logistics for many years with transportation and service networks all over the world. In the meanwhile, depending on its industry-leading intelligent information system, JUSDA has mature experience in implementating and operating logistics informatization. On the other hand, as another shareholder of JUSDA Energy, IDG Energy not only has extensive energy investment in North America, Europe and other regions, but also has a frequent terminal layout for the users in China.

 

For the establishment of JUSDA Energy, it is located in the middle reaches of LNG tank container transportation, that is, end-to-end logistics and supply chain services. JUSDA Energy takes over the upstream liquid sources in North America and other regions, links the downstream users of IDG Energy layout and connects the supply chain links between liquid sources and end users. In August 2018, JUSDA Energy Team was established. By the beginning of 2019, it had obtained all the qualifications for LNG transportation except shipping, including LNG import and export, LNG trade and storage, and dangerous goods land transportation, and was able to enter the business in this field.

 

"From the perspective of business development, it is divided by us into two stages, namely, the Physical Logistics and the Platform Logistics." Mei Zulin said. However, this is also a key step in loading LNG into containers for transportation.

 

Specifically, in terms of physical logistics construction, JUSDA Energy will divide it into domestic and international networks, and its representative products are the "Guanyunbao" and the "Haiyetong".

 

The main function of the product "Guanyunbao" is to establish a solidified logistics transport channel between the upstream and downstream. From the layout point of view, it is to build a logistics distribution network for the "Two Horizontal and One Vertical" (the Two Horizontal refers to the distribution for the ports along the Yangtze River and Pearl River, and the One Vertical refers to the distribution for coastal ports) with waterways as the core. Through liner transportation, it will be built into distribution centers for Shanghai Port, Qingdao Port, Taicang Port, Lianyungang and other regional hub ports, and then land transportation will be realized by container trucks. In addition, Mei Zulin added: "In the process, JUSDA Energy reached an agreement with the port station for receiving gas to pick up the goods at one stop and take delivery of them at multiple points, thus ensuring the supply."

 

In terms of international network, JUSDA Energy has built up the transportation service, named the "Haiyetong". As an upgrade of ships, the "Haiyetong" service can import LNG directly in tank containers, which has higher flexibility and market currency, and is more in line with the geographical conditions of the multi-island countries along the "the Belt and Road Initiative" such as Japan and Indonesia. At the same time, for the "Haiyetong" service, JUSDA Energy adheres to the mode of "only making transactions, not making prices", providing domestic end users with overseas low-price liquid sources. Price negotiations are conducted directly by the supply and demand sides and transportation is designated by JUSDA Energy.

 

In addition to the physical logistics, JUSDA Energy has built a platform logistics of both physical and internet, relying on the industry-leading IT technology and mature operation mode.

 

As a standardized carrying unit, the data collected by a single liquid cargo container through sensors has the attributes of standardization and modularization. Mei Zulin believes that the pressure, liquid level and positioning data collected by sensors during the transportation of JUSDA Energy in the tank are the data basis of its IOT platform. Not only can it directly face the customer's use requirements and process safety management and control, but after the platform is formed, sensor data collection can be connected with upstream and downstream production, energy use, distribution and purchase plans to provide decision support.Mei Zulin said “For example, we can achieve the mutual allocation of empty tanks and liquid tanks through accurate matching of data to meet production requirements.”

 

It is reported that at present, JUSDA Energy has signed a 5-year, 300,000-ton annual transportation agreement in China in addition to a 3-year, 600,000-ton transportation agreement with the Japanese natual gas company. in batch mode. In addition, tests for liner shipping mode have been carried out in Japan, Canada, Europe, Australia and other countries and regions. Through cooperation with well-known liner companies such as Maersk, LNG tanks are transported in small batches. Among them, Canada and Europe have already formed a small batch of stable transportation, currently about 20FEU/ week.

 

Below the Difficulties: To Ensure Safety and Supply

 

No matter from the mode reconstruction or in the business development, facing the difficulties of LNG transportation, JUSDA Energy breaks the situation with its own advantages.

 

As for the difficulties in LNG transportation, Mei Zulin summarized them into two points, one is safety control, the other is stable transportation, that is, maintaining supply. This is also the first consideration for all enterprises that want to participate in LNG transportation.

 

As the main kind of dangerous chemicals transportation, LNG has extremely high requirements for transportation safety. Even if the method of the "Change the LNG (liquefied natural gas) transportation to the containers" is adopted, its safety risks cannot be ignored. In recent years, there have been many accidents of fire and explosion on board container ships around the world, and the concealment, false reporting, improper loading and disposal of dangerous chemicals are the important reasons.

 

 

 

For JUSDA Energy, starting with hardware selection is already a safe starting point.

 

First, there is the problem of containers. At present, as the most advanced equipment in the transportation of small batches of LNG, the tank containers have been verified both in terms of technological maturity and market application. Cold preservation lasting for more than 90 days, can adapt to almost all ocean shipping schedules in the world. Low temperature control has greatly reduced the occurrence of safety risks.

 

The risk of goods in transit is not only related to the load-bearing container, but also related to information exchange and on-site operation control. Especially in the process of navigation or operation in ports, how the goods condition is a concern of all parties. The sensor installed by JUSDA Energy in LNG tank is to realize process control and visual transportation.

 

"The data upload frequency of most sensors is about once an hour. The visualization system we use is developed by JUSDA Energy. In the nodes with intensive operation, the data transmission can reach once a minute, while in the process of long-distance transportation, it can be restored to once an hour." Mei Zulin gave an introduction . This will place the links that are most prone to security risks under the strictest monitoring, thus realizing timely and effective disposal.

 

In addition, it is worth noting that, in essence, LNG tank transportation is a kind of packaging transportation. Like containers, after realizing the standardization of carrying units, its operation convenience will be greatly improved and the "one tank is transported to the end" can be realized. During the process, there is no need to operate the goods themselves, that is, the canned liquid, and only the can body on the outer package is operated during the hoisting and other links. In the past transportation of dangerous chemicals, too frequent operations on the goods themselves were also the main causes of accidents. From this point of view, LNG tank transportation has natural operation safety attributes.

 

In view of the difficulties of stable transportation and guaranteed supply, the transportation mode of the LNG tank containers for JUSDA Energy is more comfortable.

 

Facts have proved that it is more efficient to realize port-to-port transportation of tank containers by liner ships and then distribute them to terminals by container trucks, because tank containers can not only realize "one tank is transported to the end", but also realize the integration of storage and transportation, requiring lower storage and turnover efficiency for users. In addition, under the liner mode, fixed-time and fixed-point supply is the norm. The guarantee of sail schedule determines the demand of users and realizes stable supply in small batches.

 

Obvious advantage: We focuses on the users in the "light" mode.

 

As a matter of fact, LNG transportation is still not a new market, regardless of the higher industry threshold, both in the time dimension and in the space dimension. Whether transported directly by pipeline, transported in bulk by large liquid bulk ships or transported by tanker, the market is relatively mature. However, with the frequent changes in international oil prices, LNG prices also fluctuate. From the point of view of end users, LNG is more likely to be traded in small batches and at high frequencies. For JUSDA Energy, it is not a rash move for entering the market at this time, but a combination of its own advantages for grasping the needs of the users to be prepared.

 

"Compared with the bulk transportation in LNG field, our overall operation scale is between RMB 6 billion ~ 7 billion, which is a" light-asset "operation mode in the energy industry. At present, there is a misunderstanding in the market, that is, the large-scale logistics mode is mismatched with the small-scale user demand. Therefore, our own positioning is to effectively supplement the large-scale transportation, which is also the embodiment of the advantage of JUSDA Energy. " Mei Zulin said.

 

For other logistics or supply chain enterprises, JUSDA Energy enters the heavy-asset industry in a lighter mode through team building and application of new technologies, which is worth learning.

 

First of all, in terms of team building, Mei Zulin believes that the most important thing is not only the industry experience, but also whether the network operation ability can be realized through team building. From the place of origin to the terminal, from water transportation to land transportation, each link needs a professional team to deal with, especially in the process of realizing and reshaping the standardized process

 

Secondly, in terms of network layout, it is necessary to control key assets and scarce resources, such as storage yard, storage, qualification, etc. In the process of JUSDA Energy’s delivery, the above scarce resources are under the blessing of the original platform, and we are supplemented by self-research technology, etc. Once the scale is formed, it is easy to form the "Moat".

 

In addition, the accurate positioning of JUSDA Energy, has also become an important feature that distinguishes it from other transportation service providers. Its target is logistics business and not energy business. Thus we make a complement rather than compete with the enterprises that have a stronger role as traders or distributors.

 

Mei Zulin concluded: "Generally speaking, the essence of JUSDA Energy’s mode is' only making transactions, not making prices', so our implementation path is to collect small batches of demand first and integrate them into large batches of logistics through JUSDA Energy’s network and nodes, and finally realize from traffic to batch."

 

More importantly, JUSDA Energy is backed by the deep resources in the supply chain management and energy fields of the two major shareholders of JUSDA Energy and IDG Energy respectively. JUSDA Energy far surpasses its peers in terms of brand, industry understanding and cognition, supply and procurement system, IT system, capital, etc., and forms barriers while developing fast.

 

For the future, JUSDA Energy based on standardized transportation will duplicate the current successful model.

 

"The first five-year plan for JUSDA Energy is to achieve a scale of 2 to 3 million tons in China. We will replicate the Japanese model overseas and make 2 to 3 distribution centers. Finally, we can keep 10,000 cans. Our immediate goal is to follow the footsteps of domestic enterprises, cut into the Southeast Asian market and realize model replication. " Mei Zulin told the newspaper reporter.

 

In general, JUSDA Energy has achieved seamless connection between liquid sources and end users through the uniqueness of its business and innovation of its technology, while a new era of LNG transportation opened by its "light mode" is coming.