It has offered to swap one cargo a month in 2022 in a tender that closes on July 27, they said.

The cargoes it is offering will load from the Sabine Pass plant on a free-on-board (FOB) basis and the cargoes it is seeking will be delivered into India on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis.

The Indian importer has 20-year deals to buy 5.8 million tonnes a year of U.S. LNG, split between Dominion Energy’s Cove Point plant and Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass site in Louisiana.

https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/movies/gail-india-issues-swap-tender-072952732.html

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The nation’s largest natural gas marketer and transporter plans to raise the capacity of its Dabhol terminal to 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in a phased manner by 2030-31, GAIL chairman Sandeep Kumar Gupta told ET.

The Dabhol terminal has a nameplate capacity of 5 mtpa but operates at about 2.9 mtpa as it remains idle during the monsoon season. The company is building a breakwater infrastructure, which will help the terminal operate also during monsoon.

GAIL is also drawing up plans for new LNG import terminals but those are in the preliminary stages, Gupta said.

“Around half the current gas consumption is met by imports and the share is unlikely to come down by 2030. If more gas has to be imported, more terminals will be needed,” Gupta said.

The country has about 48 mtpa of LNG import capacity and another 20 mtpa is said to be in the pipelines. “But if the gas goals are to be met, these terminals will not be sufficient, and we will need to add more,” Gupta said, referring to the national goal of increasing the share of natural gas in the primary energy mix to 15% by 2030 from around 6.5% now.

The government’s goal of increasing the use of natural gas in the economy has spurred the growth of multiple LNG terminals in recent years. Gas consumption or imports, however, haven’t increased at the same pace, resulting in a deep underutilisation of terminals.

Gupta said the underutilisation would be addressed over time by rising domestic demand and imports.

Of the seven LNG terminals in the country, four operate below 25% capacity and another two below 40%. Just one terminal at Dahej, India’s oldest and largest, operates above 95%.

GAIL also has a 12.5% stake in Petronet LNG Ltd, which operates the Dahej terminal. Petronet’s spectacular earnings for years have helped draw new players into the LNG terminal business.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/gail-plans-to-double-capacity-at-its-dabhol-lng-terminal/articleshow/109323230.cms?from=mdr

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The rise in consumption by 11.1% on year in FY24 to 66,634 mmscm was driven by use of gas by the fertilizer, power, and city gas distribution sectors.

Even as the import volume reported such increase, the country’s gas import bill fell significantly by 22% to $13.3 billion in FY24 from $17.1 billion in FY23, as prices fell.

While the fertilizer sector contributed to 32% of the total consumption, CGD entities accounted for 19% of the total natural gas consumption, followed by the power sector at 12%.

In the fertilizer and other industries, natural gas is used as a feedstock and is also used as a fuel for electricity generation and heating purposes in industrial and commercial units.

Higher gas generation in the power sector was driven by higher peak thermal demand amid reduced hydro power generation. India generated 133,966.18 GWh of hydro power during April to March, a decline of 17% from 162,098.77 GWh in the same period a year ago, as per data from the Central Electricity Authority.

Moreover, the production of natural gas also grew by 5.7% on year to 36,438 mmscm in the financial year 2023-24. In March alone, the production stood at 3,138 mmscm, up 6.2% from the corresponding period a year ago.

India’s consumption of LNG is expected to rise further in the coming months on the back of growing demand from the fertiliser and power industries, analysts say. Anticipated lower spot LNG prices will further add to this growth.

“In Summer 2024, imports are expected to increase by a further 3 mmscm per day compared with 2023, driven by sustained demand in the power sector and continued growth in the industrial and fertilizer sectors,” S&P Global had earlier said.

The total capacity of the country’s existing LNG terminals at the end of FY24 was at 47.7 million tonne per annum.

The LNG terminal at Dhamra operated at 23% capacity. Petronet LNG terminal at Dahej operated at 95.1% capacity while Shell’s LNG terminal at Hazira operated at just 31.5% capacity during April-February period, according to PPAC.

https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/markets/lng-import-volume-up-17-5-in-fy24-as-consumption-rises/ar-AA1noWcv

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State-run leading natural gas company GAIL India is looking to foray into retail LNG (liquified natural gas) aiming to increase the use of LNG as a transportation fuel with a potential investment of Rs 650 crores, the company said on Thursday. 

Highlighting the potential of LNG business to grow substantially, the company, in an exchange filing, said that it plans to set up LNG dispensing stations across golden quadrilateral or major national highways, aspiring to acquire more than 50% market share in the next 5-6 years. 

“This will help GAIL in the retail LNG sector, leading to an increase in natural gas portfolio. By converting transport fuel from diesel to LNG, reduction in carbon footprint is envisaged,” the company said. GAIL’s new business plan comes at a time when the government is aiming to increase the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15% from present 6% by 2030 enabling it to realise the goal of net-zero by 2070.

“Proposed line of business investment is strategic in nature which relates to exploring opportunity-based investment for the development of LNG dispensing infrastructures & last mile connectivity along golden quadrilateral/national highways, mining areas as alternative to diesel meant to serve customers with fuel having lower carbon footprints,” it said. 

In an interview with FE earlier, the company had highlighted its plans to extend its portfolio in the LNG segment. “We have a strong conviction that LNG transportation has a huge potential and within GAIL we have set up a vertical of retail LNG. We have a roadmap also prepared and we will be shortly announcing our plans in detail for this,” the the company’s chairman and managing director Sandeep Kumar Gupta had told FE.

Presently, GAIL sources LNG from US, Qatar, Australia, and Russia among others with a total portfolio of around 14 million metric tonne per annum and is looking for further such contracts. 

The company recently signed contracts for additional 1.5 million metric tonne of gas supplies taking its entire volume to 15.5 million tonne per annum from 2026. The contracts include 1 mmpta of gas supply from Vital Asia and 0.5 mmpta from ADNOC starting 2026.

Talking about its investment plans, the Chairman had said that the company is targeting a capex of Rs 10,000 crore for the next financial year. In FY24, GAIL has targeted a capex of Rs 7,750 crore which was later revised and increased to Rs 10,000 crore.

https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-gail-to-set-up-retail-lng-biz-with-rs-650-cr-investment-plans-to-acquire-50-market-share-in-6-years-3425836/

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This move marks a significant step towards addressing the demand of natural gas in areas that are not connected to the national gas grid, the platform said.

In December last year, IGX said that it sought approval from the PNGRB for launching ssLNG trading on the exchange, which allows trading of LNG from RLNG terminals and distributed fields in ssLNG containers.

ssLNG contracts

The introduction of ssLNG contracts on IGX aims to address the growing gas demand from industries and CGD (City Gas Distribution) companies that do not have access to pipeline networks, IGX added.

Through ssLNG, they can now procure liquefied gas through LNG tankers at competitive rates under daily, fortnightly and monthly contracts. Initially, this contract is launched at Dahej and Hazira LNG terminals. Later, it will be launched at other terminals namely Dhamra, Mundra, Ennore, Kochi, and on-land ssLNG stations at Vijaipur.

IGX MD & CEO Rajesh K Mediratta said, “With demand for road-transported LNG projected to increase substantially over the coming years, our initiative will provide CGD networks, industries and LNG dispensers a competitive gas pricing that will optimise their costs. By facilitating the trading of ssLNG contracts, we are not only enabling efficient transportation of larger volumes of natural gas via trucks but also widening access to a cleaner fuel across the country.”

LNG transportation

Natural gas is primarily supplied through pipelines, as a result, industries and commercial establishments without access to the grid primarily rely on trucks for LNG transportation.

The demand for road-transported LNG is projected to increase to 5 million standard cubic meters per day (MSCMD) over the next five years. ssLNG contracts present a win-win situation for both the buyers as well as sellers. It would serve as a platform for sellers, who can come and trade LNG.

Transporting natural gas in liquefied form via trucks will allow larger volumes to be transported, potentially making it economically viable for buyers not connected to pipelines. Further, it will also ensure a transparent and fair procurement process with enhanced payment security.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/igx-launches-small-scale-lng-contracts/article68101734.ece

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“Only the BHM stock already with sugar mills until March 31 is to be converted,” an official source said. The government hopes to generate an additional 60 crore litres of ethanol to help meet the targeted 15 per cent ethanol blending with petrol for the 2023-24 ethanol supply year (November-October), against 12 per cent achieved so far.

Industry data shows that OMCs have targeted purchase of 235 crore litres of ethanol from sugar-based distilleries and 166 crore litres from grain-based plants. Nearly 130 crore litres of ethanol have been supplied by sugar-based distilleries and 100 crore litres by grain-based plants.

According to the fortnightly production update from the Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) on April 16, domestic sugar output touched 310.93 lakh tonnes (lt) until April 15, from October 1, 2023, as against 312.38 lt in the year-ago period. This excludes the quantity diverted to ethanol production.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/govt-okays-use-of-b-heavy-molasses-stock-at-sugar-mills-for-ethanol-production/article68100962.ece

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In one of her first media interactions, the newly appointed Chairman, Shell Group of Companies in India and Vice President Shell Lubricants Asia Pacific, Mansi Madan Tripathy, sharing her thoughts on the major’s India strategy and be part of energy transition story told businessline that “three big things in my mind are clear as regards perspective. One is that like our global strategy we are fully committed to net zero by 2050 in India too. This is also in line with the government policy on how we balance the energy security, energy affordability and emissions drop all in one, together. And Shell is also working on a journey to be a leading energy transition player in the country.”

On asked if this meant shift in focus of Shell here, she said, “Being part of energy transition is where you see our focus shifted on to — on gas and power and through a recent acquisition of Sprng Energy few years back we define the commitment that we want to move towards renewables.”

“Also, as we go into future, we want to ensure that we are into entire renewable space. It will be a big area which we will be focusing on as we go forward from an energy transition perspective,” she said.

“What is also important is that when you talk about Shell in India, we do have the biggest talent pool globally, having 13,000 plus employees here and we are working for the globe — global R&D, technology, IT, AI, finances from here. So, for Shell globally India is big,” she added.

Tripathy said that what also encourages her is the plans which Shell India has. “We are working with communities through our CSR programs and we are focusing on Nature based solutions like planting trees to generate carbon credits while improving lives in communities,” she said.

Shell in India is much more holistic and much more diversified than any international oil company in the country, she said.

When asked what the strategy of the company in downstream category is, it is already into fuel retailing business in India, she said: “downstream will cover the mobility business and as you know we do have our 350 retail stations and we are progressing more on what you call as non-retail business part of the portfolio which is very strong. Then there is EV charging category, where we have partnered/partnering with our key customers. The other one is lubricants, where we are going strength to strength both into the industrial part of the portfolio and open market.”

“Our gas business is part of Shell Energy India — Hazira LNG terminal,” she said adding the issue is how do you increase your market share? “Well, this is our current footprint, and we are exploring CBG as we go forward,” she added.

On whether there is a proposal to further expand Hazira or go for new project, she said that “there are two parts to it — gas pricing is one aspect which impacts the capacity use. This is where we have to do the maths to ensure capacity is used all time and strategy thereafter.”

Going back to CBG on whether Shell would just like to be a marketeer or would also like to set up a plant, she said “I would say both where our intent is, but currently the business model is yet to be defined in India. While there are lots of pilots happening, there are still uncertainty on the feedstock, issue of pricing is there, grid connectivity, price points where it will flow.”

“So there are lot of things which still need to be defined and we are working with the eco-system to see what the right business model will be, we are working with the government right now to see how we can influence some of the policy decisions so that from the economic perspective it pays out.”

Elaborating further she said, “once we are able to learn through, I guess next couple of months from various pilot projects then I guess once a base model is confirmed that is when we will start scaling up some of these projects”.

On asked if Shell is completely out of India’s upstream segment, she said, “there is no diktat to say we will not look into it. The bigger piece is whether it is in line with our overall strategy of energy transition targets and is it commercially viable proposition. The point is whether it will bring any unique value to Shell. And if a project meets parameters they will go through.”

To the global strategy in the Group, India is an important and is part of top energy transition category for Shell, she added.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/shell-to-be-part-of-indias-energy-transition-story-says-mansi-tripathy/article68064605.ece

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According to a report by The Economic Times Tesla has reportedly entered into a strategic partnership with Tata Electronics to procure semiconductor chips for its global operations. This is a major indicator that the EV giant is seeing India playing a major role in its global operations.

The agreement was executed and signed quietly a few months ago as per ET’s report.

While neither Tesla nor Tata Electronics have officially commented on the deal’s value or specifics, industry insiders consider it a significant move.

It aligns with Tesla’s strategy of diversifying its supply chain and indicates a push towards creating a local ecosystem of suppliers, reducing dependency on any single market.

Tesla’s interest in India, the world’s fastest-growing major automotive market, is evident with Elon Musk’s reported visit to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, later this month. Although there has been no clear indication as to the agenda of this meeting, it would be safe to say that Musk will be a part of the team that finalises the location for Tesla’s Indian factory. During his visit, he is also expected to officially announce potential investments by Tesla in the EV manufacturing industry in India. Experts suggest that it will range from $2-3 billion.

Recent policy changes, including reduced import duties for EVs priced above $35,000, have incentivised global automakers to establish manufacturing plants in India.

While Tesla may initially focus on premium electric models for the Indian market, they have already started developing mid-range EVs, and are exploring options for the local production of entry-level EVs.

Meanwhile, Tata Electronics has been strengthening its workforce by hiring top-level expatriates to bolster its semiconductor technology, strategic planning, and design capabilities. The company has set up semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Assam, with ambitious plans for further expansion, backed by a $14 billion investment.

Tesla’s move to diversify its sourcing options beyond China for critical components aligns with its post-COVID strategy. While the company manufactures some electric components internally, it relies on global suppliers for sub-assemblies and other parts.

The partnership between Tesla and Tata Electronics not only underscores India’s growing importance in the global semiconductor supply chain but also positions Tata Electronics as a key player in India’s semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem, with a team boasting over 1,000 years of global domain experience driving the project forward.

https://www.firstpost.com/tech/tata-meets-tesla-indian-business-giant-to-make-chips-for-elon-musks-ev-company-13759859.html

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Where are hydrocarbons located?

The most common forms in which these hydrocarbons exist in subterranean rock formations are natural gas, coal, crude oil, and petroleum. They are usually found in reservoirs underground created when a more resistant rock type overlays a less resistant one, in effect creating a lid that causes hydrocarbons to accumulate below it. Such formations are important because otherwise, the hydrocarbons would float to the surface and dissipate.

Experts use the tools, methods, and techniques of the field of petroleum geology to assess these rocks, including to check for their porosity and permeability. If a rock formation is highly porous, it could hold a larger quantity of hydrocarbons. Similarly, the more permeable a rock is, more easily the hydrocarbons will flow through it.

The primary source of hydrocarbons in this rocky underground is called kerogen: lumps of organic matter. Kerogen can be deposited from three possible sources: as the remains of a lake (lacustrine), of a larger marine ecosystem, or of a terrestrial ecosystem. Rocks surrounding the kerogen can become warmer, more compactified over time, exerting forces on the kerogen that cause it to break down. Lacustrine kerogen yields waxy oils; marine kerogen, oil and gas; and terrestrial kerogen, light oils, gas, and coal.

The rock containing the kerogen is called the source rock, and petroleum geologists are tasked with looking for it, understanding its geophysical and thermal characteristics, and characterising its ability to yield hydrocarbons. They also undertake modelling activities informed by observational data and dig smaller exploration wells to estimate the amount of hydrocarbons there, and report it to the relevant regulatory body.

Once a particular location is determined to be a profitable source of hydrocarbons, drilling can begin.

How are the hydrocarbons accessed?

Drilling and reservoir engineers are responsible for extracting as much of the hydrocarbons as is gainful without damaging the reservoir, to which end they deploy a variety of methods.

The first task is to create a production well, the principal hole through which the reservoir will be drained to the surface; its location is chosen to maximise the amount of drainage. The well is created with a drilling machine. The drill consists of the drill pipe, the drill collars towards the bottom, and the drill bit at the bottom. The drill bit is the object that breaks through the rock, creating a hole as it tunnels further down.

Once the tunnelling is underway, engineers lower steel casings that are slightly less wide than the hole itself into the tunnel, and pump cement slurry in the gap between the outer edge of the tunnel and the casings. As the cement solidifies, it protects the upper parts of the tunnel from caving in and prevents fluids in the surrounding soil from entering the well. The tunnel is also filled with drilling fluid, which reaches and swirls around the drill bit. Its primary purposes are to keep the bit from overheating and to bring the pieces of rock being cut away with it when it is pumped to the surface, where they can be removed from the tunnel.

The pressure at which the drilling fluid is delivered needs to be carefully controlled or it could force the hydrocarbons in the source rock to rush into the gap between the casing and the drill string (pipe + collar + bit) and erupt on the surface like a volcano of oil. Modern drilling setups include mechanical valves called blowout preventers to trap the gushing in the borehole, and manage the equipment already inside as necessary.

The process of recording the rock cuttings by depth and studying their properties is called mud-logging.

As the drill bit descends, the length of the drill pipe is increased by tacking on extensions; it can also be pulled up if it needs replacing.

Today, all of these processes are conducted by sophisticated drilling rigs, which also come with generators and batteries to power various steps of the drilling process. These rigs can also be installed offshore, with additional facilities to boost their stability and aid extraction through the water column.

How are the hydrocarbons extracted?

Once the production well has been drilled, it has to be prepared to drain the hydrocarbons – a step called completing. Here, engineers remove the drill string out of the borehole and punch small holes into the casing. More often than not, the pressure inside the well is sufficiently lower than in the surrounding rock for the hydrocarbons to start flowing into the well and rise up on their own. And as they rise, they are forced to exit at the top via a narrower tube – which is installed to, among other things, encourage the fluids to flow in only one direction (out).

The flow of hydrocarbons ends the completion stage and begins the production stage, when the most important aspects of the extraction operation are the systems at the well’s head controlling its outflow using valves. Sometimes, the pressure difference may be too low to bring the hydrocarbons to the surface. A common solution in some oil-rich sites is to use pump jacks, facilities seen dotting the American midwest with a hammer-shaped piston moving up and down in languid fashion. They draw mechanical power from, say, an engine to lift up hydrocarbons from the bottom of a well. Some long-standing wells may require additional components or having old ones replaced to get more hydrocarbon out of them; these tasks are called workovers.

The production profile of a well can be split into three phases: primary, secondary, and tertiary, depending on the methods required to maintain production. The primary phase banks on natural processes, like pressure differences between the reservoir and the well and less dense compounds floating to the top. Secondary interventions are concerned with inducing artificial pressure in the rock to maintain the differential (e.g. by injecting water into it or diluting the hydrocarbon mix to help it flow better).

The tertiary phase is focused on forcing the remainder into the well. Steam injection is a common example of such an enhanced recovery method. An on-site gas turbine generates electricity while its waste heat is routed to a steam generator. The resulting steam is pumped into the rock: its heat makes heavy-oil hydrocarbons less viscous and more willing to flow while its pressure pushes them out. When recovering petroleum, for example, the well may yield about 15%, 45%, and 15% of its hydrocarbon volume in the three respective phases.

What happens when a well is depleted?

As the extraction rates indicate, a well needn’t be fully depleted before the extraction process ends. The process’s economics matter greatly: the contractor may stop extraction if it’s no longer profitable to keep extracting from a well.

A well thus abandoned needs to be plugged so that its contents – both the hydrocarbons and the gases accumulating in the borehole – don’t escape into their surroundings. These plugs can be temporary, in case the project proponent wishes to recommission it later, or permanent. A common issue with improperly plugged wells is the plugs deteriorate and fail, either because of quality issues or due to nearby disturbances.

The most exhaustive way to conclude operations at a well, whether on land or offshore, is to decommission it, but this process is expensive and often commercially infeasible for the proponent. Improperly abandoned wells are a major source of methane emissions – to go with the emissions released during the production and use of various components required to extract hydrocarbons. One 2018 study estimated that 9,000 oilfields in 90 countries released 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2015 alone.

 https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/hydrocarbon-extraction-drilling/article68067808.ece

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Talking to PTI, IBA Chairman Gaurav Kedia said, “IBA and HAI have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at promoting the production of green energy within the nation”.

This strategic alliance will facilitate comprehensive measures — including training, capacity building, and policy advocacy —directed towards catalysing the promotion and advancement of bio-based energy solutions with a special focus on green and blue hydrogen.

The green hydrogen market in India is forecasted to achieve a total worth of USD 8 billion by 2030 and USD 340 billion by 2050, Kedia informed.

With a shared objective of minimising the country’s reliance on imported energy sources, the MoU marks commitment to joint efforts in propelling sustainable energy initiatives forward.

The agreement is focussing on harnessing synergies from both associations, thereby catalysing the continued growth of the growing bio-based energy sector.

While Indian Biogas Association remains dedicated to advancing the biogas industry, Hydrogen Association of India is committed to delivering comprehensive services and seeking optimal solutions for key stakeholders, spanning the entirety of the hydrogen sector’s diverse industries.

The partnership can also give an extra push to blue hydrogen, whose projections indicate that it is poised to increase to 80 million metric tons by 2050, contingent upon ongoing governmental endeavours worldwide to enforce more stringent regulations to foster the adoption of emission-free fuel sources, Kedia said.

“The discourse surrounding the utilisation of hydrogen within the steel industry has garnered significant attention. However, it is crucial to note that carbon remains indispensable in the process.

“By breaking methane molecules, inherent within biogas, we can simultaneously yield both carbon and hydrogen, thereby offering a viable solution to address this requirement,” he added.

HAI president RK Malhotra stressed the importance of policy advocacy for the bio-hydrogen and biogas ecosystem.

This collaborative approach aims to leverage government initiatives within the sector and empower the industry to achieve India’s green energy goals, ultimately supporting the nation’s sustainable growth, he stated.

https://www.dailypioneer.com/2024/business/indian-biogas-association-joins-hands-with-hai-to-promote-hydrogen.html

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New Delhi: Gruner Renewable Energy, within its first year of operation, has secured multiple projects to establish Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants across India, totaling an investment of ₹1,500 crore.

The projects include 11 assignments valued at ₹1,100 crore from one of India’s leading business conglomerates and 19 additional projects worth ₹400 crore from individual business leaders. These plants are strategically planned across various cities including Ayodhya, Satna, Balasore, Navsari, Yavatmal, Vijayawada, and Rajahmundry, aiming to produce over 88,000 tons of compressed biogas annually for the Indian market.

Utkarsh Gupta, Founder & CEO of Gruner Renewable Energy, stated, “Currently, India satisfies about 85% of its crude oil demands through imports. There is a gradual effort underway to expand biofuel production capacity within the country. By leveraging our current orders in hand, we aim to reduce India’s overall expenditure on crude oil imports by INR 8 billion.”

Gupta further added, “Our efforts aim to benefit farmers and generate employment in the energy industry, fostering awareness and development. We aspire to play a pivotal role in India’s commitment to becoming a net-zero economy by 2070 through renewable energy.”

To support the operations of these projects, Gruner will increase its workforce by approximately 900 professionals and skilled labor, raising its total number of employees to 2,500 by next quarter.

The company, which started in February 2023, currently oversees a portfolio of 30 ongoing projects nationwide. With a forward-looking approach, Gruner aims to increase its project count to 100, targeting a new order value of ₹5,000 crore by the end of the current financial year.

These initiatives align with the broader national agenda of promoting clean energy and decreasing reliance on fossil fuels, marking significant strides in advancing India’s renewable energy infrastructure.

https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/reliance-wins-govt-nod-for-additional-investment-to-raise-kg-d6-gas-output/109547996

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This significant growth is anticipated to be driven by two major expansions in the North Field, the world’s largest natural gas field. Scheduled for 2026 and 2028, the North Field East and North Field South expansions are expected to play a pivotal role in Qatar’s gas production surge.

In line with global environmental concerns, Qatar is actively investing in eco-friendly measures to reduce its carbon footprint. These initiatives encompass carbon capture and storage, alongside efforts to mitigate methane emissions.

The Middle East and Eurasia are forecasted to experience substantial growth in natural gas production, collectively representing 43.2 percent of global gas production by 2050. Additionally, with Africa’s projected surge, mainly fueled by offshore gas production, these regions are poised to dominate global gas supply, accounting for 53.6 percent.

Within the region, non-associated conventional gas projects, notably in Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, are expected to drive the growth in natural gas production. Furthermore, Iraq is set to lead associated natural gas production, while conventional gas projects in Iran, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia will spearhead overall production growth, comprising 94 percent until 2050. Gradually, unconventional tight gas resources in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are anticipated to contribute to production growth as well.

https://menafn.com/1108092453/Natural-gas-output-in-Qatar-surges-5-fold-over-2-decades

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It is the first of the two hulls manufactured for BOTAS using Robert Allan Ltd.’s design of TRAktor V3900-DF.

The TRAktor V3900-DF is based on Robert Allan Ltd.’s experience designing both LNG dual fuel tugs and Voith tractor tugs.

It combines remarkable manoeuvrability with the dependability of Voith propulsion in a greener package where the tug may run on diesel oil or LNG.

Even while using diesel oil, the emission is reduced using an after-treatment system based on IMO Tier III.

Owing to the forward location of the structure’s VSP units, the LNG tank hold is placed aft of the engine room, offering separation of the gas system and the associated hazardous zones from the accommodation block.

https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/turkeys-uzmar-shipyard-launches-worlds-first-lng-dual-fuel-propulsion-tractor-tug-sultanhani

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US demand in addition to the seasonal increase in cooling load. Stretching over three miles, the 1.3 bcf/d pipeline will bring gas from Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) to Plaquemines.

https://gastopowerjournal.com/markets/item/14393-first-gas-for-plaquemines-lng-in-q2-to-boost-us-domestic-demand

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Also, Nigeria LNG may risk sanctions from a UK High Court for a similar breach of an LNG supply contract.

Both Venture Global LNG and NLNG have been facing hurdles in the United States and in the United Kingdom for  breach of contract in a relatively similar fashion.

While Shell Plc filed its claim with U.S. regulators, the NLNG breach, has now been advanced to the UK High courts for further litigation.

Nigeria LNG is challenging the enforceability of the arbitral award’s demand order, issued by the arbitration panel.

According to Reuters, report, Shell Plc has escalated its dispute with Venture Global LNG. It accused the liquefied natural gas producer of restricting supply access to it and other customers while exporting over $18 billion in LNG.

In a letter sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Shell requested the commission to compel Venture Global LNG to disclose plant commissioning data to clarify the cause of delayed commercial operations.

Shell and other European companies say they contracted with Venture Global LNG but did not get their gas cargoes under long-term contracts.

They alleged that Venture Global LNG has been selling gas from the plant for more than a year to others, costing them billions in lost profit.

On its part, Nigeria LNG was held to be in breach of contract by failing to deliver 19 cargoes under a contract it executed in January 2020.

The cargoes, which were due for delivery between October 2020 and October 2021,, have not been delivered.

In pleadings made by NLNG in its Particulars of Claims to the High Court of Justice in England and Wales Commercial Court, it’s breach was  confirmed by a final arbitration award dated 30th January 2023.

 The arbitration tribunal  comprised  Mr John Beechey CBE, Mr J William Rowley KC and Mr Nevil Phillips.

Nigeria LNG Ltd., is significantly owned by Shell, Total, and Eni.

An industry expert cited similarities between the disputes involving Venture Global LNG and Nigeria LNG.  The source attributed the challenge to the unexpected surge in the LNG market.

“ The reason for this surge in disputes maybe related to the unexpected turn in losses to highly profitable margins, as high as $90 million per cargo, at the beginning of the Russian Ukraine conflict, post COVID market recovery and a huge demand in Asia and European markets, it is seen as a golden Era for LNG cargoes.

“ This situation may have prompted numerous defaults on agreements, with major LNG suppliers opting to retain higher margins at the risk of lengthy litigations,” the source added.

https://thenationonlineng.net/lng-supply-shell-tables-claims-against-venture-global-nlng-faces-arbitration-hurdles/

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The waning reserves of the Malampaya gas field, the country’s only indigenous commercial source of natural gas since its operations commenced in the early 2000s, have been forecast to run dry by 2027, with supply expected to be depleted starting in 2024.

According to the Energy Department (DoE), this “could result in permanent loss of gas supplies from domestic sources, leaving the country with a considerable natural gas deficit.”

An analysis by Fitch Solutions stressed that uncertainty remains in terms of the country’s capability of producing gas in the near-to-medium term amid plans to scale up exploration activities.

“Unless gas can be produced from domestic sources, the Philippines will need to rely exclusively on imported LNG going forward,” it said, adding that the country will depend on LNG imports come 2025.

With ambitious targets for renewable energy on the horizon, the present reality steers the country toward an increased dependence on imported LNG.

Last year, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr signed a service contract renewal agreement allowing the Malampaya consortium to operate for another 15 years, or until February 2039, and requiring it to search for new gas deposits to augment the Malampaya field’s depleting reserves.

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/04/15/the-philippines-at-a-crossroads-between-lng-and-clean-energy

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Besides the Japanese trading giants, the partnership is set to include other companies.  

The process will help in transitioning from conventional gas turbines to electric motors powered by renewable energy, predominantly solar power.  

In conjunction with carbon capture technology, this method is expected to reduce emissions from production by 80–90%, significantly lowering the fuel’s life cycle carbon footprint, excluding combustion. 

The cost of this greener LNG is expected to be comparable to current production methods.  

Mitsui and Mitsubishi are currently negotiating to supply this LNG to Japanese electricity and gas companies.  

These utilities are under increasing pressure from their commercial clients in manufacturing and retail to adopt energy sources with reduced carbon emissions from production through to consumption. 

Natural gas is known to emit less CO₂ upon combustion compared with oil or coal.  

According to Shell, demand for LNG could increase by more than 50% from 2023 to 2040.  

As energy producers, including Qatar, strive to reduce their carbon footprints, early providers of greener LNG could secure a competitive advantage in attracting new customers. 

Japan imports approximately 20% of its LNG from Sempra’s Louisiana facilities, with companies such as JERA being key buyers.  

Sempra holds an interest in Cameron LNG, a 12mtpa export facility in Hackberry, Louisiana, and is developing additional LNG export facilities in North America. 

In August 2023, Sempra reached an agreement with a Japanese consortium including Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and Mitsubishi to produce e-natural gas, a synthetic gas made from CO₂ and renewable hydrogen.  

This project, if successful, could establish the first link in a global supply chain for liquified e-natural gas, according to Sempra. 

https://www.globaldata.com/newsletter/details/mitsui-and-mitsubishi-eye-lower-emission-lng-production-with-sempra-partnership-_214840/?newsletterdate=2024-04-16&hubspotcategory=gd-oil-gas-prospects-daily&utm_source=website&utm_medium=top_navigation&utm_content=other_daily_news_articles&utm_campaign=type2_oilgas

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Financial terms were not disclosed.

The port, which has announced a series of hydrogen-related deals this year, said it views the company, a spin-off from the Delft University of Technology, as an anchor for a part of the port that will be devoted to companies helping to get carbon out of supply chains.

“Companies in the port are already actively working on projects regarding production, imports, shipping, storage and use of green hydrogen,” port CEO Allard Castelein said in a statement. “With this factory we add green hydrogen equipment manufacturing to that portfolio.”

Battolyser, which has funding from entrepreneur Kees Koolen, is seeking to commercialise systems based on iron nickel batteries, which produce hydrogen by electrolysis — using electricity to “split” water — once fully charged.

The idea is that during the day, when electricity from wind and solar power is cheap and abundant, the battery will charge and convert power to hydrogen. And at night the system switches off and the battery may feed electricity back into the grid.

“So when there is an imbalance in power markets and prices shoot up, we can help balance that, so we can make money whilst balancing the grid,” CEO Mattijs Slee said in an interview.

Battolysers are also the first locally made electrolysers, he said. With many Dutch companies seeking to replace natural gas with hydrogen, demand for electrolysers is expected to rise.

“Even though we are sort of the epicentre of hydrogen in Europe, we do not have a electrolyser manufacturing facility, or capacity at all in the Netherlands,” he said.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/finance/news/rotterdam-port-house-battolyser-plant-000326720.html

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 Finding efficient ways to confine hydrogen is crucial for integrating this promising energy carrier into the sustainable economy of the future. With proper storage technology, hydrogen could one day fuel high-temperature industrial processes and transportation, and serve for balancing supply and demand on the power grid. The study appears in Advanced Energy Materials.

Hydrogen is expected to play a major role in the future low-carbon economy. It can be produced renewably and consumed to generate electricity or heat via fuel cells or combustion. Some of the areas that stand to gain the most from hydrogen energy are steelmaking, production of glass and cement, and the chemical industry.

International shipping—and transportation and mobility in general—would also benefit. Besides that, hydrogen could help balance the electrical grid by storing excess energy, including the irregular supply from renewable sources.

A major obstacle preventing the widespread adoption of hydrogen power is the lack of safe, sustainable, and economical technology for storing this extremely light (14 times lighter than air), reactive, hard-to-contain, and explosive gas. To accumulate and transport hydrogen in gas cylinders, tubes, cryogenic tanks, and pipelines, it can be compressed or liquefied or perhaps even turned into a solid made up of H2 molecules. But there are multiple pitfalls to this:

First of all, such processing is very expensive. The compression and refrigeration involved expend the equivalent of about 20%–40% of the total energy ultimately provided by the hydrogen—a very high penalty.

And even then, hydrogen is so light that despite its being by far the most energy-dense chemical fuel by mass, it still packs only about half as much energy per unit volume as natural gas—compressed or liquefied. This is particularly inconvenient for vehicles.

Finally, hydrogen is the smallest molecule, so it easily escapes from containers and even permeates into their metal walls, making them brittle and causing cracks and leaks.

“The alternative is chemical storage,” says one of the lead authors of the study, Dmitrii Semenok, who holds a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Skoltech.

“Certain materials, for example magnesium-nickel and zirconium-vanadium alloys, can store hydrogen in the voids between the metal atoms that make up the crystal structure. Such accumulators provide relatively dense and safe storage and release hydrogen fairly quickly upon demand if heated.

“But while you can tweak the metal alloys in terms of the conditions they require for hydrogen capture and release and how many charge-discharge cycles they withstand, there is a relatively hard limit on how much hydrogen you can cram into those materials: about two hydrogen atoms per one metal atom. And that is the chief figure of merit.”

“The compounds we synthesized—cesium heptahydride CsH7 and rubidium nonahydride RbH9—pack as many as seven and nine hydrogen atoms, respectively, per metal atom. And we expect them to be the first such hydrogen-rich materials stable at atmospheric pressure, although the latter requires further confirmation. At any rate, the proportion of hydrogen atoms in these compounds is the highest among all known hydrides, twice as high as in methane CH4,” Semenok added.

The principal investigator of the study, Professor Artem R. Oganov, who heads the Material Discovery Laboratory at Skoltech, explained, “We react the hydrogen-rich powder of ammonia borane with either cesium or rubidium. This produces salts known as cesium or rubidium amidoboranes. Heat decomposes those salts into cesium or rubidium monohydrides and lots of hydrogen.

“Since the experiment is run in a cell between two diamonds exerting 100,000 times the atmospheric pressure, the extra hydrogen is forced into the crystal lattice voids, forming cesium heptahydride and rubidium nonahydride—the latter, in two distinct crystal lattice varieties.”

According to the researchers, cesium and rubidium are “predestined for this,” because of how large their atoms are, resulting in bigger voids in the crystal structure for hydrogen to occupy. The formation of the compounds agrees with the predictions of both the team’s simulations and the calculations based on fundamental physical laws.

The presence of the compounds was also confirmed with multiple analytical techniques: X-ray analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and reflection/transmission spectroscopy—the latter was enabled by the contribution of Research Scientist Denis Sannikov from Skoltech’s Hybrid Photonics Lab.

The team now intends to repeat the experiment using large-scale hydraulic presses at a lower pressure—about 10,000 atmospheres—to obtain larger amounts of cesium and rubidium polyhydrides and verify that once synthesized, these compounds remain stable even at atmospheric pressure, unlike the other polyhydrides known to date.

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-04-material-hydrogen-storage-confines-troublesome.html

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 The Commission has noted the intention to exclude the automatic certification of biomethane and biomethanol-based fuels produced through mass balance chain of custody in third-party countries outside the EU gas grids within the Union Database (UDB), an IT system to trace the sustainability and origin of renewable fuels place into service in the European market. This exclusion will severely limit the use of these critical fuels in decarbonizing intra-European and international maritime transport even if these fuels were produced in accordance with EU regulations under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). Methanol Institute, as the trade association representing the global interests of the methanol industry, and SEA-LNG, a multi-sector industry coalition promoting the benefits of LNG as a marine fuel, are particularly concerned about the potential impacts of these measures on competitiveness and international trade dynamics.

If this materializes, it will create a trade barrier that threatens to impede the importation of biomethane and biomethanol into the European Union, limiting the availability and increasing the costs of these fuels to the bunkering industry in Europe. Furthermore, it may also disqualify such fuels produced using a mass balance chain of custody from non-EU gas grids, when bunkered in non-European ports for use by vessels calling at European ports from being recognised under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). Consequently, these fuels may not be able to generate credits under EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime. In response to these challenges, MI and SEA-LNG call for the recognition of biomethane and biomethanol-based fuels produced using a mass balance chain of custody from non-EU gas grids under the UDB. We propose an urgent meeting between our representatives and those of the European Commission to discuss necessary amendments to ensure a sustainable and competitive energy future for the European maritime sector. Aboutthe MethanolInstitute For 35 years, MI has served as the global trade association for the methanol industry, representing the world’s leading producers, distributors, transporters, shipowners, and technology companies. About SEA-LNG Founded in 2016, SEA-LNG is a multi-sector industry coalition that includes shipping companies, ports, LNG suppliers, bunkering companies, infrastructure providers, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), working together to

demonstrate the benefits of LNG as a marine fuel.

https://indiashippingnews.com/methanol-institute-and-sea-lng-unite-against-eu-trade-barriers-to-biomethane-and-biomethanol-fuels/

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Hydrogen is expected to play a major role in the future low-carbon economy. It can be produced renewably and consumed to generate electricity or heat via fuel cells or combustion. Some of the areas that stand to gain the most from hydrogen energy are steelmaking, glass and cement production, and the chemical industry. International shipping—and transportation and mobility in general—would also benefit greatly from hydrogen. Besides that, hydrogen could help balance the electrical grid by storing excess energy, including the irregular supply from renewable sources.

A major obstacle preventing the widespread adoption of hydrogen power is the lack of safe, sustainable, and economical technology for storing this extremely light (14 times lighter than air), reactive, hard-to-contain, and explosive gas. To accumulate and transport hydrogen in gas cylinders, tubes, cryogenic tanks, and pipelines, it can be compressed or liquefied or perhaps even turned into a solid made up of H2 molecules. But there are multiple pitfalls to this:

First of all, such processing is very expensive. The compression and refrigeration involved expend the equivalent of about 20%- 40% of the total energy ultimately provided by the hydrogen—a very high penalty.

Even then, hydrogen is so light that despite being by far the most energy-dense chemical fuel by mass, it still packs only about half as much energy per unit volume as natural gas—compressed or liquefied. This is particularly inconvenient for vehicles.

Finally, hydrogen is the smallest molecule, so it easily escapes from containers and even permeates into their metal walls, making them brittle and causing cracks and leaks.

“The alternative is chemical storage,” says one of the study’s lead authors, Dmitrii Semenok, who holds a PhD in materials science and engineering from Skoltech. “Certain materials, for example magnesium-nickel and zirconium-vanadium alloys, can store hydrogen in the voids between the metal atoms that make up the crystal structure. Such accumulators provide relatively dense and safe storage and release hydrogen fairly quickly upon demand if heated. But while you can tweak the metal alloys in terms of the conditions they require for hydrogen capture and release and how many charge-discharge cycles they withstand, there is a relatively hard limit on how much hydrogen you can cram into those materials: about two hydrogen atoms per one metal atom. And that is the chief figure of merit.”

“The compounds we synthesized — cesium heptahydride CsH7 and rubidium nonahydride RbH9 — pack as many as seven and nine hydrogen atoms, respectively, per metal atom. And we expect them to be the first such hydrogen-rich materials stable at atmospheric pressure, although the latter requires further confirmation. At any rate, the proportion of hydrogen atoms in these compounds is the highest among all known hydrides, twice as high as in methane CH4,” Semenok added.

The study’s principal investigator, Professor Artem R. Oganov, who heads the Material Discovery Laboratory at Skoltech, explained the details of the experiment: “We react the hydrogen-rich powder of ammonia borane with either cesium or rubidium. This produces salts known as cesium or rubidium amidoboranes. Heat decomposes those salts into cesium or rubidium monohydrides and lots of hydrogen. Since the experiment is run in a cell between two diamonds exerting 100,000 times the atmospheric pressure, the extra hydrogen is forced into the crystal lattice voids, forming cesium heptahydride and rubidium nonahydride — the latter, in two distinct crystal lattice varieties.”

According to the researchers, cesium and rubidium are “predestined for this,” because of how large their atoms are, resulting in bigger voids in the crystal structure for hydrogen to occupy. The formation of the compounds agrees with the predictions of both the team’s simulations and the calculations based on fundamental physical laws. The presence of the compounds was also confirmed with multiple analytical techniques: X-ray analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and reflection/transmission spectroscopy — the latter was enabled by the contribution of Research Scientist Denis Sannikov from Skoltech’s Hybrid Photonics Lab.

The team now intends to repeat the experiment using large-scale hydraulic presses at a lower pressure — about 10,000 atmospheres — to obtain larger amounts of cesium and rubidium polyhydrides and verify that once synthesized, these compounds remain stable even at atmospheric pressure, unlike the other polyhydrides known to date.

https://www.techexplorist.com/revolutionizing-hydrogen-storage-new-material-power-future/82982/

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