according to BloombergNEF. It said in a report the sales of combustion engine cars are set to drop even faster by around 23% this year. The electric models are seen accounting for 3% of global car sales in 2020, rising to 7% in 2023 at some 5.4 million units.Colin McKerracher, head of advanced transport at BNEF, said the Covid-19 pandemic is set to cause a major downturn in global auto sales in 2020 and although the long-term trajectory has not changed much the market will be bumpy for the next three years. The report “Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook” projects electric models accounting for 58% of new passenger car sales globally by 2040 and 31% of the whole car fleet. Electric vehicles of all types are seen adding 5.2% to global electricity demand by 2040.

BNEF said that the figures have major implications for oil and electricity markets as transport electrification, particularly in the form of two-wheelers is already taking out almost 1 million barrels of oil demand per day and by 2040 it will take around 17.6 million barrels per day.BNEF added that it sees more than a short-term effect as lockdowns ease, instead there is likely to be a lasting reduction in ridership of municipal bus and metro services and more traffic congestion in cities. Shared mobility operators have suffered, but will rebound quickly on the back of food delivery, logistics and micro-mobility services, it said.

https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/covid-19-impact-global-electric-vehicle-sales-likely-to-drop-18-per-cent-in-2020/75838374

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According to officials in the know, clarity is awaited on which body can monitor and regulate the operations of IGX. The formation of IGX was announced by Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX), the country’s largest energy exchange and the parent company. IGX is projected as India’s first automated national level trading platform to promote and sustain an efficient and robust gas market and to foster gas trading in the country.

“The rules are still unclear about who will be the regulator for this exchange and what terms will dictate its operations. The government in its wisdom may also introduce a levy on the trade to rake in some moolah from the gas trade. All these parameters will surely impact the operations and gains that a player seeks by becoming a member of the gas exchange,” representatives from a medium size oil and gas producer seeking to becoming a seller on the IGX told BusinessLine. The idea of a gas exchange was formally expressed in a tender that PNGRB had floated in 2018 for hiring the consultant who was to suggest policy changes for this exchange.

Preparations in full swing

But it is unclear whether the PNGRB is to regulate or oversee the operations of this hub/exchange. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and PNGRB in subsequent statements reiterated the Centre’s commitment to setting up a gas exchange in India. It was expected that price discovered at this exchange will enable policy makers to devise future policy changes that dictate domestic gas pricing. On its part, IGX has begun accepting members for a fee on its platform and is also holding promotional activities to prep up for a launch. According to some industry watchers, there is also a strong push to appoint the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) as the regulator for this gas market too. “The absence of any defined regulatory oversight is unusual in India for a sensitive commodity like natural gas. So, policy clarity will be essential to make the gas exchange operations a success,” a potential gas buyer in the ceramic industry said.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/industry-awaiting-gas-exchange-policy/article31697077.ece

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“The petroleum and natural gas ministry has recommended to the finance ministry to look into the expectations of the oil and gas producing companies, about the cess and royalty issue in a sympathetic manner,” Union oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told a business channel. “We are concerned about this issue, primarily ONGC, Oil India and other private companies,” Pradhan added. ONGC’s per-barrel production cost is in the range of $35-40 and global crude prices have been trading at below this rate for a long time. The price of domestic gas has also been slashed 26% to $2.39 per MMBtu, whereas ONGC’s output cost is around $3.8-6.6/MMbtu in various fields. The cess on crude production (value) is 16.7%, while royalty charged is 15%. “We understand that ONGC has requested the government to consider exempting it from payment of cess, royalties, and profit petroleum until crude prices are less than $45/barrel,” S&P Global Ratings said recently. The agency estimates ONGC’s consolidated earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) will decline by 30%-35% during FY21. According to sources, the industry has requested the government to defer and reduce the royalty, cess and profit petroleum it receives from domestic crude oil producers under the PSC regime. They also want PSCs, slated to be renewed in September, to be extended till FY21-end. Other demands include the removal of ceiling on gas price for deep water, ultra-deep water and high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) fields and zero GST levies on exploration and development activities. Apart from Cairn Oil and Gas, which is the key player, other private firms engaged in domestic crude production include Selan Oil, Hindustan Oil Exploration Company and Sun Petrochemicals.

https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/cess-and-royalty-relief-under-consideration-for-domestic-oil-gas-companies-dharmendra-pradhan/1971441/

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The average LNG price for July delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was estimated at between $1.85 and $2.00 per MMBtu on Friday (May 22) compared to the $2.40 per MMBtu assessment of June delivery last week. “European gas prices are taking LNG prices lower across the globe,” an LNG trader said. The front-month price on the Dutch market dropped by almost 30% in the past week, trading close to $1.00 per MMBtu on Friday. The day-ahead dropped below $1.00 per MMBtu. “It’s a rolling oversupply that is getting worse and worse,” a gas trader in Europe said. The low prices globally have forced buyers of U.S. LNG to cancel up to 45 cargoes for July loading as delivery became unprofitable, after at least 20 June cargoes were cancelled last month. However, demand from some Asian buyers is recovering. Buyers in China are taking advantage of low prices and are looking for cargoes for delivery from July onwards. PetroChina likely bought a cargo from Russia’s Novatek that operates the Yamal LNG plant at $2.50 per mmBtu for the second half of July delivery. It also bought a cargo from BP at $1.85 per MMBtu for mid-July delivery at S&P Global Platts’ Market on Close window on Friday. Seven U.S. cargoes are expected to be delivered to China in May, the highest number of cargoes for this route since January 2018. Some Indian companies were seeking cargoes too, including Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) and Reliance Industries , while Taiwan’s CPC was looking to buy LNG for delivery from 2022 onwards, trade sources said. Sell tenders came from Angola LNG, Indonesia’s Pertamina and Australia’s Ichthys, with the latter cancelling its offer citing changes in its production forecast. Source: LNG Global/Reuters

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The average LNG price for July delivery into northeast Asia fell to an estimated $1.85 per MMBtu, down 7 cents from the previous week, traders said. Several cargoes were offered in the spot market this week, dragging down prices in Asia, they added. Russia’s Sakhalin 2 plant had offered a cargo for July loading while Angola LNG offered cargoes for June to September delivery through two separate tenders, traders said. Papua New Guinea LNG had also offered a cargo for June loading, though results of the tender were not immediately clear. Woodside Petroleum had likely sold a Northwest Shelf cargo for June loading at about $1.85 per MMBtu, but this could not be immediately confirmed. On the other hand, demand remained stale globally with industrial demand for gas still not picking up pace amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Some demand was seen from China with Guangzhou Gas seeking two cargoes for delivery in August and September, while Thailand’s PTT was seeking a cargo for July delivery, traders said. Mexico’s CFE was seeking two cargoes for delivery in June while Portugal’s EDP was seeking a cargo for delivery over June to July, they said. Some Chinese buyers who had been scouting around for cargoes last week may now be slowing down their requirements amid a slide in spot prices, an industry source said. Malaysia’s LNG exports in May are set to drop to their lowest since mid-2018, as producers globally are pressured to cut production amid record low spot prices. Australia’s APLNG has also extended maintenance at its Curtis Island plant to mid-June, according to a notice on the Australian Energy Market Operator’s website.

Source: LNG Global

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as natural gas is condensed for shipment overseas. But the price differences have collapsed on either side of the ocean, removing much of the imperative for the once-booming marketplace. Global gas demand will decline this year for the first time in more than a decade as the pandemic drags on industrial output and power generation, the International Energy Agency estimates. Long-term forecasts are in tatters. The looming gas glut is clouding prospects for an ambitious queue of projects designed to export shale gas from the US and Canada. “We don’t see any additional North American export capacity getting sanctioned in the next decade,” said Ross Wyeno, an LNG analyst at S&P Global Platts. Exporting LNG requires massive investments in liquefaction plants and ports whose financing usually hinges on long-term sales contracts. Projects designed to ship out more than 900m tonnes a year await approval from developers, with North America accounting for two-thirds of this capacity, according to the International Gas Union.  Developers had been preparing to profit from a period of scarcity expected in two or three years. But the low demand and the 41.8m tonnes of new capacity already added last year will prolong the glut into the mid- to late-2020s — and possibly later as the low-cost supplier Qatar forges ahead with a huge expansion push, the gas union said. 

Strains are showing at some North American LNG developers. Houston-based NextDecade furloughed staff, cut executive pay and set out plans to lease smaller office space as it postponed a decision date on its $10bn project in southern Texas. “Our balance sheet is strong, we have no debt outstanding and the fundamentals of our Rio Grande LNG project remain firmly intact,” said Matt Schatzman, NextDecade chief executive. US utility Sempra Energy this month delayed a final decision to at least 2021 on a $9bn project in Port Arthur, Texas. Justin Bird, chief executive of its LNG subsidiary, said the market will need more supplies in the mid-2020s, and “we believe Sempra LNG projects are the leading candidate to supply this need”. Tellurian, developer of a $30bn project in Louisiana, has cut its headcount by 40 per cent and stretched out a loan repayment while it weathers what chief executive Meg Gentle called “extreme energy and financial market conditions”. CharifSouki, the Tellurian co-founder and chairman who owns 10.7 per cent of the company, has put his Aspen, Colorado ranch up for sale with an asking price of $220m, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. A person close to the company said the offering was for personal property that had nothing to do with Tellurian. Only one terminal is under construction in Canada, a Royal Dutch Shell-backed project in British Columbia known as LNG Canada. The pandemic has forced contractors to “significantly” curtail the workforce at the site to avoid contagion, the company said last week. 

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/mitsui-o-s-k-lines-and-lng-terminal-wilhelmshaven-sign-a-contract-to-build-and-charter-an-lng-terminal-ship/[Edited]

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that is used for power generation and city gas. Japan imported 5.132 MMT of LNG last month, down 8.8% from a year earlier and the lowest since May 2010, data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on Thursday showed. The government declared a state of emergency in early April, effectively shutting down major sectors of the world’s third-biggest economy. With LNG cargoes imported in April being loaded well before the country’s emergency declaration, it is likely that shipments to Japan in the next few weeks will fall further as the coronavirus pandemic has hit gas demand across the world. Buyers in Asia and Europe cancelled loadings for about 20 LNG cargoes from the United States in June, trade sources told Reuters in late April. Spot prices for LNG in Asia LNG-AS hit a record low of $1.85 per MMBtu early in May as buyers in the region, the destination for about 75% of the world’s LNG cargoes, have curtailed imports.

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/japans-april-lng-imports-fall-to-decade-low-as-coronavirus-curbs-demand/

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the coronavirus crisis. All U.S. projects could get requests to cancel a total of 35-45 cargoes for July loading, which is higher than the number of shipments scrapped for June, traders surveyed by Bloomberg News estimated. That means more than half of the average monthly shipments from the fastest-growing LNG producing country could be scrapped in July. “With U.K. summer demand expected to be lower than average and with limits on storage capacity, it’s clear that there is very little space for any additional supplies,” Hadrien Collineau, a senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd., said in an emailed note. At least some cargo cancellations would translate into production curbs that could provide some respite from the global glut that has pushed prices to record lows. Shipments from other global suppliers have been robust despite the warm winter and the health crisis eroding demand as new plants keep pushing supply to the market. Cheniere Energy Inc., the nation’s biggest producer of LNG, received requests to cancel as many as 30 cargoes due for loading in July from buyers with long-term supply contracts, said people familiar with the situation. Cheniere may also cancel some of its own cargoes, which it typically sells into the spot market, the people said. For June, buyers told Cheniere that they would not lift at least 10 cargoes. Requests have been made to cancel shipments from both the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants in the U.S. Buyers from Europe to Asia have also made requests to cancel July loading shipments from other American projects, including from Sempra Energy’s Cameron terminal in Louisiana and Freeport LNG Development LP’s Texas project, according to the people. Freeport LNG declined to comment. Cameron LNG said in an emailed response to questions that customers have made some modifications to their production and cargo loading plans in response to current market conditions, without providing specifics. Economics for sending U.S. LNG to markets in Asia and Europe have rapidly deteriorated. The Henry Hub benchmark in the U.S., the main price link for U.S. LNG, is now above prices in European hubs. While Asian spot prices rebounded from record lows, they still don’t make U.S. exports profitable. Current forward prices indicate that traders will lose more than $0.70 per MMBtu on LNG export operations from the Gulf Coast to Rotterdam, and more than $0.40 per MMBtu for exports to Tokyo in July 2020, Anna Borisova, an analyst at BloombergNEF said in a note. “Negative profit margins for U.S. LNG exports suggest that cancellations may continue until October 2020,” she said. “Even the buyers that consider both liquefaction and LNG tankers as a sunk cost will make losses if they decide to export the commodity.” Storage sites in Europe, the closest market for U.S. cargoes, are already fuller than normal, limiting capacity to receive more imports in the latter part of the summer. There are signs U.S. LNG cargo cancellations may be starting to feed into actual production curbs as natural gas flows to U.S. export plants plummeted to their lowest level in seven months. Most of Cheniere buyers had to submit requests to cancel July loading shipments by Wednesday (May20). Cheniere declined to comment on commercial discussions with its customers or operations. “The flexibility inherent in our LNG contracts – destination flexibility and the option to not lift cargoes, but pay the liquefaction fee – helps our customers effectively manage their energy portfolios through market cycles, while still providing Cheniere with reliable cash flow,” the company said in an email.

Source: LNG Global

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from the coronavirus pandemic, the company said in a webinar on Tuesday (May 19). On an energy content basis, the annualised decline in thermal coal imports in these countries in May was around ten times greater than the relevant fall in LNG imports. Falling cumulative coal imports since March also contrasted with growing LNG imports since February. “The LNG price decrease has been the key catalyst in our view,” said senior global energy analyst Alexandre Andlauer. “Many countries have been able to switch from coal to natural gas.” Spot Asian LNG prices have tumbled almost 80% over the past 15 months to around USD 2/MMbtu. Gas prices in Asia, Europe and the US have converged towards levels that were making it difficult for US exporters to cover their costs, Kpler said. It put the break-even price of US cargoes to Asia at around USD 5/MMbtu. The low prices also appear to have begun to deter LNG deliveries to Europe, which has historically functioned as a sink for excess global supply. Import schedules suggested cargoes to Europe would not climb in May, Kpler said. Qatari volumes to Europe peaked in April and those from the US in February. Both major exporters have been redirecting volumes from Asia to Europe this year due to the collapse in prices. Some of the change in Asian appetite for coal imports could be attributed to China sourcing more of the fuel domestically, Kpler noted. The extent of Indian lockdown measures had also accelerated a trend away from coal imports in May. These developments had primarily affected Indonesia as its share of coal imports for China and India fell from 65% to 61%. Other observers have suggested fuel-switching in Asia was only likely to get underway seriously later this year. Most Asian LNG supply deals are linked to the price of oil. This year’s slump in oil to some of its cheapest levels in two decades would start to show up in LNG contracts from summer due to the time lag built into oil-indexed deals, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/asia-has-already-begun-coal-to-gas-switch-kpler/

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The first and most significant phase of the financing commitment for the LNG project — which will be Africa’s biggest private investment yet — involved lenders including about 20 banks, according to people familiar with the matter. That will move ahead at a time when plans for other facilities in the region and globally have been delayed. Acquiring funding for construction of the $23 billion project, which will chill natural gas into a liquid for export, comes as oil and gas companies globally are focused on cutting expenditure as the coronavirus curbs energy demand and pressures prices. The group of about 20 banks involved in the lending includes Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Societe Generale SA, which is acting as the financial adviser, according to one of the people familiar. Dele Kuti, Standard Bank’s global head of oil and gas, said the company was “pleased to see the progress” on achieving final credit approvals for the Mozambique LNG project, without confirming details of the financing. “We have also approved large participations in Mozambique LNG’s ECIC and commercial tranches. We look forward to signing the facilities in the next few weeks,” Kuti said. Rand Merchant Bank declined to comment. Societe Generale did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Plans for similar facilities have been put on hold or canceled. Royal Dutch Shell Plc exited a multi-billion-dollar LNG export terminal planned for Louisiana in March as coronavirus started to slash gas demand. Exxon Mobil Corp. delayed a final investment decision on its Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique that was expected later this year. The LNG market glut is expected to last through at least the middle of the decade, but some companies are betting global demand will recover after prices for the super-chilled fuel fell to a record low along with a drive for cleaner energy sources from India to China. A spokeswoman for the Mozambique LNG project said it expected to resume work in June after a coronavirus outbreak at the site, but didn’t respond to questions on its financing. First production is scheduled for 2024. The U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved the $4.7 billion loan to back American suppliers for the project. Japan Bank for International Cooperation will provide $3 billion, Mozambique state-owned newspaper Jornal Noticias reported on Tuesday (May 19). The so-called Area 1 LNG project will generate about $38 billion in revenue for Mozambique’s government over its lifetime, according to a Finance Ministry forecast. That will be supplemented by sales from the even bigger project led by Exxon and planned in the neighboring Area 4 offshore block.

Source: LNG Global/Bloomberg

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Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), this is the first of four LNG carrier new-builds to be delivered to Global Shipping, a joint venture of Nakilat (60%) and Maran Ventures (40%). The delivery of all four new-build LNG carriers by end-2021 would bring Nakilat’s fleet to 74 vessels, which is about 12% of the current global LNG fleet in carrying capacity. “We are committed to grow our fleet in a sustainable manner to meet the rising demand for clean energy transport globally. The addition of this technologically-advanced new-build to our fleet not only gives us a competitive edge, but also allows us to provide additional capacity and flexibility to our customers, which is important in a dynamic marketplace,” said Nakilat chief executive Abdullah al-Sulaiti. The steady expansion of the fleet through the acquisition of these four new-builds and the second phase fleet transition that has already commenced, comes as part of its efforts to maximise returns for the shareholders and strengthen its position as the leading transporter of clean energy, he said. Constructed in South Korea, the four modern vessels each have a cargo carrying capacity of 173,400 cubic metres, equipped with some of the most advanced technology in the market today, with two of them being equipped with ‘ME-GI’ while the other two with ‘X-DF’ propulsion technologies. “Nakilat has been a strategic partner for many years and we are pleased to be taking delivery of this first LNG vessel under our new Global Shipping joint venture,” said Maran Ventures chairman John Angelicoussis.

https://www.gulf-times.com/story/663753/Nakilat-takes-delivery-of-newly-built-LNG-carrier

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The decision has drawn objections from LNG fuel association Sea\LNG, which advocates for the use of LNG for bunkering. CBI offers a screening tool for investors and governments which allows them to identify green bonds certified to address climate change. Since LNG carriers carry natural gas, CBI placed them on a list of intrinsically GHG-intensive investments, alongside other oil and gas industry asset classes like crude oil tankers, FPSOs, MODUs and PSVs. In its decision to exclude LNG carriers, CBI also cited rising levels of methane emissions due to methane slip from the unburned natural gas in dual-fuel engine exhaust. Methane is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2, and the quantity released by LNG-fueled shipping is contested. LNG carriers are the most numerous class of LNG-fueled vessels, using the boil-off gas from their cargo tanks to power their engines (or steam plants). Under the CBI criteria, most conventionally-fueled ships – boxships, bulkers, even product tankers – are eligible for certification if they meet a “decarbonization trajectory” with a plan to transition to low- and no-carbon fuels. The list of applicable future fuel options includes electric, hydrogen, wind or advanced biofuels, including biogas. The trajectory criterion acknowledges that these fuels are not currently available in commercial quantities, but anticipates that they may be in future years. The CBI rubric allows fossil fuel-powered ships on a biofuel transition pathway, but Sea\LNG warned that CBI’s decision discourages LNG-to-biogas options and may be over prescriptive. “Green bond financing for LNG fueled vessels, all capable of using Liquefied Bio-Methane (LBM) and Liquefied Synthetic-Methane (LSM), are at risk of exclusion. Immature and emerging technologies such as ammonia and hydrogen, that will require significant research and development investment over many years if they are to scale safely in the deep-sea maritime environment, appear to be favored,” warned the coalition. “While these technology pathways are worthy of investment, considering the high level of uncertainty, we believe it makes no sense to exclude an operationally proven, scalable, and existing marine fuel such as LNG and its decarbonization pathway through LBM and LSM.” Sea\LNG cited a recent study it commissioned from consultancy Sphera, which found that conventional LNG power – without biogas – reduces net GHG emissions from vessel operations by as much as 21 percent when compared to bunker fuel power. The association noted that dual fuel engine design has changed in recent years and has significantly reduced the issue of methane slip. In the future, the switch to liquefied bio-methane would reduce emissions much further, with no technical modifications to the vessel. 

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/cbi-disallows-green-bonds-for-lng-carriers-oil-tankers-psvs

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