India’s largest gas distributor is seeking the cargoes for delivery during the month of February on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis into the country's Dabhol terminal.

The tender closes on Wednesday, Jan. 18, added the sources.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/gail-india-seeks-two-lng-cargoes-for-february-delivery-says-report-123011700103_1.html

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The National Green Hydrogen Mission is a “significant step” towards achieving the country”s net-zero targets and will help in reducing input costs of clean energy sources, besides generating lakhs of job opportunities in the renewable energy sector, experts say.

The Union Cabinet on January 4 approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which aims to make India a global manufacturing hub and a clean source of energy.

The objective of the Mission is also development of a production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW in the country by 2030.

“I expect that the emphasis on demand creation, incentives and partnerships will kick-start the green hydrogen industry in the country and enable Indian companies to be on a level footing with the global energy suppliers.

“The industry is ready to support India’s clean energy transition,” Sh. Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO, ReNew Power.

Sh. Sinha, who is also the president of industry body Assocham, termed the launch of the mission “a significant step” towards helping India achieve net-zero targets.

Sh. Ishver Dholakiya, MD of Goldi Solar said the program will facilitate production, utilisation, and export, along with generation of lakhs of job opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

The incentives will help bring down the cost of input materials like electrolysers, which will help local players to become competitive at the global level, he said.

Sh. Girishkumar Kadam, Senior Vice President & Co-Group Head – Corporate Ratings, ICRA Ltd said the round-the-clock procurement of renewable energy at competitive rates remains extremely critical for an improvement in the utilisation of electrolysers.

The timely implementation of the proposed PLI scheme to incentivize/promote the domestic manufacturing of electrolysers will be critical, he said.

Sh. Abhay Kumar Singh, ex-CMD of state-owned NHPC, said the cost of per kg hydrogen comes to around USD 3 at present. With the government’s ambitious mission it will be less than half in the times to come.

“In April 2022, when I was CMD NHPC, the company had signed an agreement with the Himachal government to develop a pilot green hydrogen mobility project including hydrogen production,” he said.

The mission will give a boost to investment sentiments of more and more interest players, Singh said.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/green-hydrogen-mission-to-help-india-meet-net-zero-targets-experts-123011700586_1.html

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The pact also involves Ballard Power, the Canada-headquartered manufacturer of proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the Economic Times report added. The fuel cell is key for powering the hydrogen fuel e-truck.

The FCET will be used for mining logistics and transportation by the Adani Group. While Ballard Power will supply the proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the e-trucks will be manufactured by Ashok Leyland.

The first hydrogen fuel e-truck, under the pact, will be deployed this year, ET Now tweeted.

In February 2022, Adani Group signed a non-binding pact with the Nasdaq-listed Ballard Power to evaluate a joint venture for investment in the commercial production of hydrogen fuel cells for various mobility and industrial applications in India.

As per the memorandum of understanding, both parties were to examine various options to cooperate, including potential collaboration for fuel cell manufacturing in India.

Adani Group had, earlier, noted that it hopes to become one of the largest green hydrogen producers in the world, which could subsequently help India emerge as the world’s cheapest hydrogen producer.

The group had last year informed that it was investing $20 billion in renewable energy generation over the next decade and is keen to use its generation for producing green hydrogen.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/adani-inks-pact-with-ashok-leyland-for-hydrogen-fuel-cell-e-truck-pilot-9883021.html

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However, large players such as Hero Electric claim they are selling EVs at subsidised rates. “We are selling all our products with subsidy benefits despite not getting it from the government for the last 16 months,” said Manu Sharma, spokesperson, Hero Electric.

Though the company has raised the price of its products by Rs 8,000-10,000, Sharma said the changes were due to “enhancement in technologies and not due to subsidy halt.”

Okinawa, the country’s second largest electric two-wheeler (E2W) manufacturer, has also increased the price by Rs 10,000-40,000. Okinawa did not respond to Business Standard’s queries seeking clarification on the subsidy issue.

Both Okinawa and Hero Electric were in the first list of OEMs whose subsidy was halted in September. So far, of the 64 OEMs registered under the FAME-II, about 17 have been barred from seeking subsidies under the scheme, according to the data available on the website of ministry of heavy industries. The government’s move came in the wake of allegations related to misuse of subsidy allocation and non-compliance with the standards required to be eligible for these subsidies.

“The prices of Okinawa products such as the OKHI-90, IPraise+, Praisepro have been increased by Rs 40,000, Rs 37,000 and Rs 13,000 respectively. We are not giving any subsidy from our end,” said an Okinawa dealer in Gurugram.

EV dealers sell at subsidised rate and then apply for subsidy at the MHI portal for the same.

However, an Okinawa dealer in South Delhi said they have stopped applying for the FAME subsidy on the government’s website. “We do not apply for reimbursement of subsidies. The rate at which we buy our products has increased and we are selling it at those rates only,” the dealer said.

The subsidy for EV makers ranges from Rs 17,000 to Rs 66,000 per electric two-wheeler. It is Rs 32,200 to Rs 108,000 for an electric three-wheeler.

According to data on the Vahan portal of the ministry of road, transport and highways, Okinawa and Hero Electric contribute to 90 per cent of the total vehicles sold by the 17 barred OEMs and 20 per cent of the overall 1 million vehicles sold in the country in 2022.

E-mails and calls to other ineligible OEMs such as Atul Auto, Victory Electric and Thukral Electric remained unanswered till the time of going to press.

Speego, a three-wheeler manufacturer, whose subsidy was halted around October, has increased the price of its product by Rs 35,000—equivalent to the subsidy amount it was getting earlier. Speego is now selling its e-rickshaw at Rs 1.8 lakh.

Dilli Electric, another three-wheeler maker whose subsidies were halted, has raised its e-rickshaw price by Rs 25,000. It was getting a subsidy of Rs 36,000 on the vehicle. “We are selling our product without subsidy now, but have diluted our profits by decreasing the base cost of our product due to market competition,” said Amit Jhamb, Director, Dilli Electric.

According to EV industry lobby group, Society of Manufacturers Of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), the total amount of subsidy withheld has crossed Rs 1,100 crore. Though the government is investigating the matter, industry players say that if nothing has come out of the investigation in the last five months then why OEMs are forced to bear the loss.

“We are paying for the government sponsored scheme from our pockets. Why is the government not completing its investigation? If it does not come out with a solution soon it would become different for OEMs to stay in business,” said an OEM on the condition of anonymity.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/automobile/oems-push-up-ev-prices-five-months-into-fame-subsidy-halt-by-centre-123012300681_1.html

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That doesn’t necessarily mean natural gas will actually be flowing on the pipeline a year from now. The LNG Canada liquefaction plant in Kitimat that it will feed is not expected to be complete and in production until mid-decade. It may not be until late 2023 that natural gas actually starts moving through the new pipeline to Kitimat.

“We anticipate some start-up and commissioning activities will begin in late 2023,” said LNG Canada spokesperson Teresa Waddington.

The pipeline will mainly supply the LNG Canada project, but will also provide natural gas to the Haisla First Nation’s Cedar LNG project, should that project be approved. The Haisla have an agreement with LNG Canada to access some of the natural gas from CGL.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline, now expected to cost $11.2 billion, has suffered numerous setbacks and obstacles since construction began in 2019, from a pandemic and competition for labour from the Trans Mountain pipeline project, to citations for violating environmental regulations, activist roadblocks and a “significant terrorist attack.”

That’s how CGL president Bevin Wirzba describes an attack on a CGL work camp in February 2022 by 20 ax-wielding vandals who terrorized workers, commandeered heavy equipment, and used it to smash vehicles, equipment and camp trailers, causing millions of dollars in damage.

Despite those setbacks, the project is now 80% towards completion.

“We had some very strong milestones, the first of which was signing our option agreements with the indigenous nations,” said Wirzba, who will be speaking this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George.

TC Energy (TSX:TRP), which is responsible for building the pipeline, owns 35% of the project. KKR, an American investment company, and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), own 65%. TC Energy signed option agreements last year with 16 of the 20 First Nations along the pipeline route, which will allow them to acquire 10% of the pipeline, once it’s built. That would bring TC Energy’s ownership share in CGL down to 25%.

A West Coast LNG industry can’t happen without pipelines, and getting pipelines built in B.C. has proven to be a Herculean task.

The geotechnical challenges of building a pipeline over mountains and underneath hundreds of streams have been compounded by a pandemic, activism and competition for labour – all of which have contributed to the estimated capital cost of the project spiraling from $6.6 billion to $11.2 billion.

“We were fortunate to have good weather…but the macro-environment was very, very challenging,” Wirzba said of 2022, which was a peak employment year.

In a typical year, there are 8,000 to 10,000 workers building pipelines in Canada, Wirzba said. That basically doubled last year to about 20,000, with CGL and Trans Mountain both in peak construction.

“With the other significant project in British Columbia – the Trans Mountain pipeline – occurring in parallel, we had very significant labour constraints, high attrition rates going through the year,” Wirzba said.

“We had to terminate one of our main contractors last year for under-performance and we had to bring in three new contractors to take that scope in.”

CGL was hit with a number of infractions of the B.C. Environmental Management Act for things like improper management of erosion and sediment control at stream crossings.

“Some of our contractors are executing on both projects – Trans Mountain, as well as ours – and the standards are different between the two projects, so that causes some challenges for contractors when they’re having to play by different regulations,” Wirzba said.

At full capacity, the CGL will be able to move close to 5 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas from Dawson Creek to Kitimat.

Phase 1 of the LNG Canada project will consume about 2 bcf/d. That would roughly double, should the partners behind LNG Canada sanction a Phase 2 expansion. Should the Cedar LNG project be built, it would demand about 0.8 bcf/d of natural gas. At that point, the pipeline’s capacity would be fully subscribed

“If the (Cedar LNG) project moves forward, we will have no further capacity in the pipe after Phase 2 is developed,” Wirzba said.

https://biv.com/article/2023/01/coastal-gaslink-set-cross-finish-line-ahead-lng-canada

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In statements published by Venezuela News, the high official pointed out that his Government is focused on the “potential and the possibility of developing, producing and processing gas” of the Bolivarian Republic in the Caribbean island nation.

We devoted a lot of time, efforts, and energy to negotiating a commercial term agenda in 2018, but the development was halted due to the sanctions implemented by the US administration against Venezuela in 2019, Rowle noted.

Washington imposed 928 unilateral coercive measures on Caracas that caused considerable economic losses with a social impact across all sectors. Rowle estimated that the license granted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) improves energy security for the region and Europe, according to the digital media outlet.

https://www.plenglish.com/news/2023/01/27/venezuela-to-export-natural-gas-to-trinidad-and-tobago/

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Speaking in a panel at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Summit today,

Qatar’s state minister for energy, Saad al-Kaabi, said that despite the mild winter Europe had experienced over the past few months having resulted in decreased energy prices, volatility in the market would remain “for some time to come” as it will not receive much gas until 2025.

“The issue is what’s going to happen when they [Europe] want to replenish their storages this coming year and the next year,” he warned. Al-Kaabi also told reporters that Qatar has limited volumes of liquified natural gas (LNG) going to Europe that it would not divert away, “but there is a limit to what we can do.”

He added that Qatar – which is still working to expand its gas output – has been in negotiations with many other players around the world, but that supplies are not unlimited. “There are a lot of European and Asian buyers, and there is a potential that by the end of the year, the entire Qatar expansion will be sold out,” al-Kaabi said.

The Qatari energy minister notably expressed his belief that European and Western nations would have to return to accepting Russian gas, which they have refused to import since last year following Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

He also criticised the consequences of the green energy transition, in which some Western nations are pressuring African and developing nations not to drill for oil and gas at a time when domestic energy production is essential to their economies and to the world at large. Such pressure, he asserted, is unfair.

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) energy minister, Suhail al-Mazrouei, agreed with his Qatari counterpart that “for a very long time, gas will be there” and that ever more investment into natural gas as a base load is needed while renewable energy methods continue to be installed and developed – a transition which requires more time.

“The whole world needs to think of resources and how to enable companies to produce more gas to make it available and affordable,” al-Mazrouei said. He also criticised many countries’ “unclear” strategy which is making it difficult for them to commit to long-term gas contracts, which has consequently made it difficult for energy companies to secure financing to invest in the development of production capacity.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230115-world-needs-more-natural-gas-in-future-gulf-energy-ministers-say/

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The agreement is set to grow Asyad Group’s shipping fleet to 72 tankers, according to the company, which will meet “ the anticipated increase in demand for LNG transport and energy logistics services in the global market ” .

“With EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy labelling the use of LNG as ‘green’, Asyad Shipping’s choice of investment showcases Asyad Group’s commitment to sustainability at a time when global industries, including the maritime industry, is diverging from its dependence on traditional fossil fuels such as coal and oil,” the company said.

Asyad Shipping and Asyad Drydock chief executive Mr. Ibrahim Al-Nadhairi said the company is pursuing “a more balanced and diversified fleet which is better suited to provide international customers with reliable and efficient solutions and enhances Asyad Group’s competitiveness and position as a strategic logistics partner for major global energy players”.

“The fifth-generation 174,000-m3 LNG carriers meet the highest international standards of environmental and commercial sustainability, as well as boasting 58% less fuel consumption than the older, second-generation 138,000-m3 LNG carriers. Furthermore, Asyad Shipping’s investment comes at a time when green energy demands are growing, exacerbated by international geopolitical developments and the dire need for decarbonised logistics and energy sectors,” Mr Al-Nadhairi added.

Asyad also cited significant new production of LNG and export capacities coming on stream in 2025/2026 in its decision to build the two LNG carriers.

https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/omans-asyad-signs-deal-for-two-newbuild-lngcs-74568

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The Methane Becki Anne vessel berthed at the Prelude plant on Jan. 17, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed.

Gas production at the 3.6 million tonne Prelude facility had been suspended in mid-December after a small fire. At the time, Shell gave no timeline for when the plant would resume output but said the fire was much less serious than one that shut Prelude a year ago.

A Shell spokeswoman on Jan 17 said there were no updates.

Prelude’s floating LNG vessel, the world’s largest, previously suffered a four-month shutdown because of a power failure in December 2021. Production was disrupted again in July last year by a workers strike, with output resuming in September

https://www.marinelink.com/news/prelude-loads-first-tanker-output-502243

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