NGS’ NG/LNG SNAPSHOT – June 1-15, 2022
National News Internatonal News
NATIONAL NEWS
City Gas Distribution & Auto LPG
AG&P Pratham plans to set up 11 CNG stations in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu
The AG&P Pratham company has commenced laying of steel pipeline in Ramanathapuram and Keelakarai as it looks to provide easy access to CNG and PNG for households, commercial establishments and industrial units in this region.
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The pipeline work in Ramanathapuram is safe, secure and would not only benefit people by allowing them to access to cleaner, safer and economical fuel but also help the state’s economy.
AG&P Pratham, the city-gas distribution arm of Singapore-based (Atlantic Gulf and Pacific) AG&P Group has drawn up plans to set up 11 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations and provide piped natural gas (PNG) supply in Ramanathapuram district over the next eight years.
The company has commenced laying of steel pipeline in Ramanathapuram and Keelakarai as it looks to provide easy access to CNG and PNG for households, commercial establishments and industrial units in this region. AG&P Pratham would deliver 11 CNG filling stations and ensure PNG supply to 41,311 households in the next eight years.
The pipeline work in Ramanathapuram is safe, secure and would not only benefit people by allowing them to access to cleaner, safer and economical fuel but also help the state’s economy by accelerating industrialization, creating jobs, thereby improving the quality of life of people.
AG&P has been authorised to develop city gas distribution networks in Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Ramanathapuram, Kancheepuram and Chengalpet districts. The company aims to provide 10,000 PNG domestic registrations and seven compressed natural gas supply in the region by December.
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Kolkata State depot gets first CNG station in a major push for cleaner fuel
Bengal transport minister Sh. Firhad Hakim on Wednesday, June 01, inaugurated a CNG station at Kasba West Bengal Transport Corporation depot which paved the way for faster conversion from dirty fuel diesel to clean fuel CNG for public transport.
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This is the seventh CNG station in the city, but the first one at any of the bus depots across Bengal. Hakim dispensed CNG to a new CNG bus. With the bigger dispenser, 15 buses can be refueled in an hour. CNG is much cheaper than diesel. While one litre of diesel costs a consumer Rs 92.74, one kg (1.1 litre) of CNG costs Rs 76.5. Apart from affirming our commitment to cleaner and greener environment, CNG will give us an immunity from highly unstable prices of diesel and petrol, stated by Sh. Hakim.
A year ago, an agreement was signed between Bengal Gas Company Limited (BG CL) and West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) to construct CNG stations at eight depots, including Kasba, said a senior transport department officer. “We are authorized by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board to supply Compressed Natural Gas /Piped Natural Gas in Kolkata and parts of its adjoining districts.
Now we are bringing CNG in caskets to the city. Once it comes through the pipelines, supply will be steady and cost-effective, too,” said a senior BGCL official, a JV company of Gas Authority of India Limited & Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Corporation Limited. The official also applauded the transport department’s announcement of taxes and registration fees waiver for CNG vehicles
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12 more CNG stations are planned in Patna city by the end of this financial year
In a move that could be a breather for compressed natural gas (CNG) users in Patna, the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has planned to set up 12 more CNG stations across the state capital by March 2023. With this, the total number of CNG stations in the city will go upto 31 by next year. After the ban on diesel-powered auto-rickshaws in Patna and neighboring areas like Danapur,
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Phulwarisharif and Khagaul, the drivers have totally become dependent on CNG. As all the autos have been mandated to run on CNG, the demand has also increased since March 31.
The supply and demand have become almost equal. To meet the requirement and to reduce the long queues at fuel stations across the city, the proposal has been made to set up 12 more CNG stations mainly in the city areas. The 12 new stations would come up at Gandhi Maidan, Danapur, Bans Ghat, Kurji, Digha, Transport Complex at Phulwarisharif, Gola Road, Saguna Mor and bypass road.
There are some challenges in setting up CNG pumps at fuelling stations like Gandhi Maidan, where the pump is small while in congested areas like Kadamkuan and Nala Road, it is not possible to lay pipe for CNG supply. All such fuelling stations will get daughter station compressor. At these stations CNG is transported through mobile cascades (bunch of cylinders) and then dispensed to vehicles through CNG dispensers. Among the 19 stations, only one is mother station while five are online stations which are directly connected to the pipelines.
According to officials, the daily supply of CNG in the city is around 60,000-65,000kg while the demand is almost equal. It would be a challenge to meet the demand if the number of vehicles running on CNG continue to increase, they said. Patna has over 24,000 CNG vehicles, including 22,500 autorickshaws, 150 buses and private cars and cabs. CNG is made available in Patna through Haldia-Jagdishpur gas pipeline.
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Natural Gas/ Pipelines/ Company News
Great Eastern Energy to invest $2 billion in shale gas exploration
Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd, a pioneer in the field of coal bed methane in India, plans to invest about USD 2 billion (Rs 15,000 crore) in exploration of shale gas at its Raniganj South block in West Bengal, its MD & CEO Sh. Prashant Modi said. CBM (Coal Bed Methane) is gas trapped below coal seams.
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GEECL signed the first CBM contract in India for the Raniganj South block on May 31, 2001. Prior to this, the firm’s CBM block was under an agreement with Coal India Ltd. since 1993. At that time, CBM was practically not present in Asia and was still at a nascent stage worldwide.
Subject to the results obtained and analysed from the core wells, GEECL will drill some pilot production wells. Oil and gas prices depend on various factors main ones being supply and demand, geographical, and geopolitical issues. On including natural gas in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, Sh. Modi said, this has been a long-standing request of the industry.
When the ‘one-nation, one-tax’ regime was introduced in 2017, five commodities – crude oil, petrol, diesel, ATF and natural gas were kept out of its purview for the time being. This meant that the central government and states continue to levy excise duty and VAT respectively on these commodities. More importantly, the companies aren’t able to set off GST paid on inputs with the tax paid on the final product.
Environment-friendly natural gas currently makes up for 6.7% of all primary energy consumption in India.
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Oil regulator PNGRB fines H-Energy for delays in pipeline construction
Oil sector regulator PNGRB has fined H-Energy Private Ltd – a part of real estate giant Hiranandani group – for delays in laying a pipeline from Jaigarh in Maharasthra to Mangalore in Karnataka, via Goa, to carry natural gas to users.
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HEPL was granted a licence to lay the 635-kilometer Jaigarh-Mangalore natural gas pipeline (JMPL) on June 28, 2016. The line with a capacity to carry 17 million standard cubic meters per day of gas was supposed to be commissioned by June 27, 2019, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) said in an order dated June 7. Jaigarh is the port where HEPL is setting up a floating terminal to import LNG.
PNGRB ordered encashing 25% of the performance bank guarantee (submitted by HEPL at the time of winning the authorisation of the pipeline) amounting to Rs 5 crore. Even after five years from the date of grant of authorization, there has not been any satisfactory progress in the JMPL project, the order said. On the contrary, the entity requested an extension of 5 years which in itself is 2 years more than the maximum time period of 36 months normally allowed by PNGRB for the execution of any pipeline.
In the detailed order, PNGRB said HEPL had admitted to not starting work on the laying of the pipeline at a progress review meeting held on April 12, 2018. In 2019, HEPL submitted to PNGRB that while there is no visible physical progress, the pipeline project will be completed by May 2023.
The order said subsequent follow-ups didn’t yield any tangible results and HEPL in September 2020 sought force majeure for two years beginning March 20, 2020, due to the pandemic and projected completion of the pipeline by May 2025. The regulator, however, taking into account the outbreak of COVID-19, agreed to a time extension beyond March 31, 2021 subject to the satisfactory completion of remedial actions and progress of the pipeline.
HEPL on June 20, 2021, submitted that it could not undertake any of the agreed activities, due to the pandemic and sought a revision in the completion schedule. At the review meeting on August 6, 2021, HEPL submitted that the project execution got hampered due to COVID-19 conditions for the last two years. HEPL proposed a viability gap funding along with a 60 months for implementation of the project; laying pipeline in parts or surrendering of the licence.
PNGRB said viability gap funding was not an option available with it and the option of laying the pipeline in parts could not be accepted as it was based on certain conditions.
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Gas found on both the east & the west coast, ONGC sees gas jumping 25% by FY25
Over the years, production has steadily declined; but the firm is now stepping up exploration to find more reserves. ONGC said its natural gas output would jump 25% after newer discoveries in the western and eastern offshore start producing.
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In an investor presentation post FY22 earnings, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) stated here that the gas production would rise from 20.907 billion cubic meters in FY22 to 21.097 bcm in the current fiscal and 24.387 bcm in the next. In FY25, the output would reach 26.124 bcm. The increase in output would be aided by projects to tap gas found on both the east and the west coast.
ONGC is betting on discoveries in KG-DWN-98/2 in the Bay of Bengal to do most of the heavy lifting, while the Cluster-8 marginal fields in the western offshore will supplement production.
ONGC said it would spend ₹31,000 crore from 2022 to 2025 on exploration campaigns throughout the country. This is a part of the company’s Vision 2040 that calls for raising capacities and production across its portfolio of oil and gas exploration and production, downstream oil refining and petrochemicals and new energy businesses. The company started with an equity infusion of ₹343 crore by the government more than six decades ago.
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AG&P wins the 2022 LNG ‘APAC Company of the Year’ award
Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific International Holdings (AG&P), a leading downstream LNG platform and industrial company, has been adjudged as the APAC Company of the Year for 2022 in the LNG category by Energy Council.
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The Energy Council’s Annual Awards of Excellence represents a global benchmark of excellence for the oil & gas and natural gas / LNG sectors. AG&P was recognised and honoured ‘for being at the forefront of value creation, innovation and exceptional performance’ over the last 12 months.
Mr. Joseph Sigelman, Chairman & CEO, AG&P Group, said, “AG&P cherishes this distinguished award from the Energy Council. After years of anticipation, we find ourselves in a revolutionary transformation of energy. This award recognizes the hard work that our team has invested to develop the terminals and city gas networks that we have already rolled out and are forthcoming across South and Southeast Asia and beyond. We are proud of our strategy of ensuring that people and industry have the choice of a fuel that will help them prioritize the environment and reduce overall costs at the same time. We profoundly thank the Energy Council for focusing on this important area.
AG&P is leading the transition to clean energy through its advanced technological energy solutions. AG&P develops LNG ecosystems that unlocks underserved/ unserved markets by delivering customised design powered by innovative standardized plug-and-play products that are commercially compelling and allow for rapid adoption of natural gas.
This year, AG&P will also commission the first LNG import and regasification terminal in Batangas Bay, called the Philippines LNG (PHLNG) to supply gas to one of the largest power producers in the country.
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Policy Matters/ Gas Pricing/ Others
CNG price reduced by ₹4/kg in Manguluru
The price of compressed natural gas (CNG) was reduced from Rs 88 per kg to Rs 84 on Tuesday, June 07, Dakshina Kannada Zilla CNG Balekadarara Sangha (CNG Users Association) has been demanding that the price of CNG be reduced.
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Sangha founder president Haikadi Srinath Rao said that the price of CNG has been reduced by Rs 4 per kg from Tuesday. “CNG supplied from Mangaluru is sold at Rs 73 per kg in Udupi. Hence, our demand is that the price of CNG should be at least Rs 5 less in Mangaluru, than in Udupi,” he said.
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LNG Use / LNG Development and Shipping
The Centre asked GAIL & PLL to import CNG in place of LNG to meet domestic demand
The oil ministry has asked GAIL and Petronet LNG to explore supply sources and shippers for importing CNG. India is considering importing compressed natural gas (CNG) in place of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet the incremental domestic demand at a lower cost at a time high prices have cut local
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LNG consumption. CNG, however, has 2.4 times less energy density per unit of volume than LNG and therefore is uneconomical to transport from far-off places, such as from the US to India. But the economics is favorable if the exporter is located within 1,500 nautical miles, a range that would cover gas-producing countries in the Gulf region.
CNG has a lower cost of production and storage compared to LNG, which requires sophisticated cooling plants and cryogenic tanks. CNG can be directly injected from the ship into the pipeline for use, but LNG must be regasified at import terminals before a transfer to pipelines. The combined cost of liquefaction and regasification is about $4 per mmBtu, something CNG importers can save. The current cost of LNG in the Asian spot market is about $22 per mmBtu.
It takes about three years to build a liquefaction plant or regasification terminal, a key reason LNG supply hasn’t been able to respond quickly to increased global demand in the past several months, resulting in record-high prices. CNG export or import facilities do not require such lead time. But the shipping of CNG is less popular and so fewer CNG carriers are available in the market. Indian companies are now trying to figure out if they can quickly tap into some existing supply chains or help build one to source CNG.
India has the ambition to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from the current 6.7%. Half of the domestic gas consumption comes from imports that have fallen due to high LNG prices.
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India’s GAIL is open to buying Russian oil & gas
India’s largest gas distributor GAIL was open to buying Russian gas assets despite western sanctions. GAIL has a long-term gas import deal with Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore, part of the Russian energy giant, to buy an average of 2.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year.
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Under the deal, Gazprom is progressively increasing supplies to GAIL and shipped 2 million tonnes of LNG in 2021. Supplies would rise to 2.5 million tonnes in 2022 and 2.85 million tonnes in 2023, a company official said on the sidelines of the conference.
Gazprom has informed GAIL that it was facing issues in procuring gas and has asked to reschedule a liquified natural gas (LNG) cargo. New Delhi has tried to balance its ties with Russia and the West but unlike other members of the Quad countries – the US, Japan and Australia – it has not imposed sanctions on Russia.
GAIL said it had to address surging local demand for oil and gas, including striking long-term LNG import deals with global companies. Natural gas buyers in Asia are seeking to lock in supplies via long-term contracts as a buffer against volatile global prices, in moves that will reverse the past decade’s trend of increasing spot purchases.
https://www.asiafinancial.com/indias-gail-open-to-buying-russian-oil-and-gas-says-chair
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Electric Mobility/ Hydrogen/ Bio- Methane
Bengal focusing to add 2,000 electric buses
In a bid to reduce vehicular pollution, the West Bengal government is focusing on adding 2,000 electric buses to its fleet in the next few years, state Transport Minister Firhad Hakim said on Sunday June 01. Around 80 electric buses are currently plying the roads of Kolkata and the results are encouraging.
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The core objective of the state transport plan is to reduce the use of fossil fuels, which will lead to a reduction in pollution and improvement of air quality. Asked about the paucity of charging stations as a cause for concern, he said there are 76 such facilities.
The state government has exempted registration fees, motor vehicles and other taxes for electric vehicles to facilitate faster adoption of green transport, the minister said on the sidelines of a programme organised by a civil society organisation EnGIO in association with Prabha Khaitan Foundation on the occasion of World Environment Day.
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Adani, TotalEnergies join hands to invest $50 billion in green hydrogen
French energy major TotalEnergies will pick up a 25% stake in the newly launched Adani New Industries Ltd (ANIL) from Adani Enterprises to jointly build a green hydrogen ecosystem. This is the fourth partnership between the two companies with earlier ones focused on LNG terminals, city gas distribution and solar power.
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Adani Enterprises in a public statement said ANIL plans to invest over $50 billion (Rs 3.9 trillion) over the next 10 years in green hydrogen and the associated ecosystems. In the initial phase, ANIL will develop a green hydrogen production capacity of 1 million ton per annum before 2030, the company said.
Sh. ANIL was incorporated in January this year for steering the new energy and low carbon initiatives of the group. It aims to be the largest fully integrated green hydrogen player in the world, with presence across the entire value chain, from the manufacturing of renewables and green hydrogen equipment (solar panels, wind turbines, electrolysers, etc.), to large scale generation of green hydrogen, to downstream facilities producing green hydrogen derivatives.
In September 2021, Gautam Adani had announced that Adani Enterprises will invest $20 billion (Rs 1.48 trillion) over 10 years in the renewable energy supply chain, including power generation, manufacturing, transmission, and distribution. Adani had in 2020 announced the group would invest over 70 per cent of the budgeted capex of its energy vertical in clean energy and energy-efficient systems.
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META4 to invest ₹250 crore in electric two-wheeler manufacturing in India
Looking to grab a piece of the EV pie in India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) based META4 has announced that it will be investing Rs 250 crore in the state of Telangana to set up an electric two-wheeler manufacturing facility.
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META4 has also held that it has signed a pact with the Telangana Government under which delves into the business of electric two-wheeler manufacturing and energy-efficient EV charging solutions for all EVs.
The MoU was signed in the presence of state IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao. The company says that it will be producing cutting-edge products for the Indian market. The upcoming manufacturing facility will house key automation integration which includes the latest semi-robotics and manufacturing machinery. The manufacturing set up is expected to be ready by the end of the current financial year.
The Telangana Government will provide land on subsidized rates of a size of 15 acres in Zaheerabad to META4 to build manufacturing facility. META4 informed that the investment in India is being made through Voltly Energy.
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Switch mobility launches Ei V12 electric bus range for India
Ashok Leyland’s electric mobility arm Switch Mobility has launched its EiV 12 electric bus range for the Indian market. The new Switch Ei V12 is available in two variants – Low Floor and Standard, and the buses promise to offer reliability, range and comfort.
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The company says it currently an order for over 600 units for the 12-metre long buses. The new Switch EiV 12 also gets the manufacturer’s proprietary connected technology solution ‘Switch iON’, enabling remote, real-time diagnostics and monitoring services, as well as digital battery management tools. The EV architecture of EiV platform is common with the recently launched European Switch e1 bus.
The Switch EiV range of buses can meet intra and inter-city requirements. This includes staff, school and public transportation needs. The electric bus range is powered by the new-generation, lithium-ion NMC batteries that are said to be specifically formulated for the Indian climate and conditions. The company claims a range of 300 km per day on the Ei V12 buses, while the dual-gun fast-charging feature extends the range to 500 km per day. With a 98% uptime, the buses promise high reliability, long battery life and a low cost of ownership. The Ei V range gets a PMS AC motor with 315 bhp of peak power (188 bhp continuous power) and 3,100 Nm of peak torque.
The company says its existing buses have clocked over 8 million km on India, which translates to savings of over 5,000 tonnes of CO2 or an equivalent of planting more than 30,000 trees. The Switch Mobility India team has over 450 employees at the moment and will grow its human resource network steadily in the next five years.
https://www.carandbike.com/news/switch-mobility-launches-ei-v12-electric-bus-range-for-india-3065881
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Natural Gas / Transnational Pipelines/ Others
Turkey begins laying the Black Sea natural gas pipeline
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan watched via video link as the first pipeline section was laid and connected to the seabed from the port of Filyos, around 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of Istanbul on the Black Sea coast. Further, he said the Sakarya gas field could produce 10 million cubic metres (353 million cubic feet) by the first quarter of 2023.
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The Sakarya gas field, 170 kilometres out to sea, was discovered in August 2020. At the time, Erdogan described it as “the largest natural gas field in Turkey’s history”, citing estimated reserves of 320 billion cubic metres.
Turkey is still highly dependent on imports to cover its energy needs and is paying a high price, especially following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Last year 45 percent of the gas used in Turkey came from Russia, and the rest from Iran and Azerbaijan.
Inflation in the country is running at 73.5 percent, a rate not seen since 1998, and the currency is in free fall, making the cost of living hard to bear for most Turks. Turkey’s annual gas consumption has risen from 48 billion cubic metres in 2020 to 60 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach 62-63 billion this year.
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Belgium: Climate lawyers challenge EU support for gas pipelines
Climate lawyers are challenging the EU’s support for gas pipelines, arguing it is incompatible with the bloc’s climate targets. The European Commission has put €13bn ($14bn) worth of gas infrastructure on a list of priority projects, which helps the developers secure funding and permits.
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Projects at stake include the Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline bringing methane gas to mainland Europe through Greece and the Melita pipeline from Italy to the island of Malta. The lawyers will use a new legal option known as an internal review. Client Earth are also using this mechanism to challenge the European Union’s classification of biofuels as a green investment.
The most significant gas project on the PCI list is the Eastern Mediterranean pipeline. This 1,870 kilometre installation would link the island of Cyprus to the large Greek island of Crete and the mainland Greek gas transmission system. Construction has yet to begin.
The pipeline is controversial as it will link to the Delimiara power station. This is part-owned by Yorgen Fenech, who was accused of killing journalist Daphne Caruana Galiza with a car bomb in 2017 after she investigated corruption allegations at the power station. Fenech denies wrongdoing and has blamed the former prime minister’s chief of staff for the murder.
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/06/07/climate-lawyers-challenge-eu-support-for-gas-pipelines/
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Let Africa exploit its natural gas reserves, says Mary Robinson
African countries should be able to exploit their vast natural gas reserves despite the urgent need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, the former UN climate envoy Mary Robinson has said.
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Robinson, the chair of the Elders group of former world statespeople and business leaders, said African countries’ need for energy was so great that they should use gas widely, in contrast to developed countries that must halt their gas use as quickly as possible to stave off climate breakdown. She pointed to the 600 million people in Africa without access to electricity and the 900 million who use biomass or dirty oil cooking stoves, who could use gas as a less polluting alternative.
African leaders will bring forward similar arguments ahead of Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in November, which is certain to make the issue a flashpoint at the UN climate summit that is seen as a chance for African countries to gain global attention for their vulnerability to the climate crisis, and their economic potential.
African countries are also unhappy that developed countries have exploited their own gas and are now seeking new sources because of soaring prices and supply constraints following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Africa has major gas reserves in countries including Nigeria, Mozambique and Senegal but many are still largely unexploited.
Robinson, the former president of Ireland and an influential figure in global climate diplomacy, acknowledged she had been very reluctant to encourage fresh exploitation of gas, but Africa’s energy poverty was so great that the transition to gas was needed. She said European countries and the US, which are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, had no basis on which to advise African countries to leave their reserves alone.
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Iran and Oman sign deals to build gas pipelines, oil fields along the maritime border
Oman and Iran signed deals to develop two gas pipelines and an oil field along their maritime border, Oman’s energy minister said Saturday, less than two weeks after Iran’s president visited the sultanate.
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The visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on May 23 came amid stalled international talks to revive a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program, leaving the Islamic Republic under sanctions. At the time, the official Oman News Agency reported that the countries had signed memoranda of understanding concerning oil and gas, but did not provide details. On Saturday, June 04, the agency quoted Omani energy minister Mohammed al-Rumhi as saying the agreements were related to the development of the two gas pipeline projects linking the two countries and the Hengam oil field.
A deal was reached about two decades ago to allow Iran to supply Oman with gas, but the project never materialized. Sanctions on Iran complicated efforts to execute that project, and could also make it difficult to implement the new deal. The Hengam oil field is located in the strategic Strait of Hormuz near the United Arab Emirates. Oman has close political and economic ties with Iran and played a mediating role between Tehran and Washington in the build-up to the original nuclear deal in 2015.
Stop-start talks began in April last year to restore the deal, after the US unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to roll back its commitments. The 2015 agreement gave Iran relief from crippling economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities. The sultanate, which faces Iran across the Gulf of Oman, endured economic pain during the pandemic, with its GDP dropping 6.4 percent in 2020 and government debt soaring.
It saw rare protests over high unemployment and lay-offs last year. Raisi’s visit to Oman was his second to a Gulf country since he took office in August 2021. He visited Qatar in February, where he met Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and took part in a conference of gas exporting countries.
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Azerbaijan, Iran sign MoU on cooperation in field of natural gas
A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of natural gas was signed between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Oil of the Islamic Republic of Iran as Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov has met with Iranian Minister of Oil Javad Ovji.
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The document was signed by Minister Mikayil Jabbarov and Minister Javad Ovji. The sides exchanged views on the current state of economic and trade relations between the two countries, as well as opportunities for expanding cooperation in the oil and gas sector, and other issues of mutual interest.
https://azertag.az/en/xeber/Azerbaijan_Iran_sign_MoU_on_cooperation_in_field_of_natural_gas-2164691
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Shell to develop Crux natural gas field offshore Western Australia
Shell Australia and its joint venture partner, SGH Energy, have taken a final investment decision to approve the development of the Crux natural gas field, off the coast of Western Australia. Crux will provide further supplies of natural gas to the existing Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility.
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The Crux field is in Commonwealth marine waters in the northern Browse Basin, 620 kilometers north-east of Broome. The development will consist of a platform operated remotely from Prelude. Five wells will be drilled initially, and an export pipeline will connect the platform to Prelude, which is around 160 kilometers to the south-west of Crux.
Construction will start in 2022 and first gas is expected in 2027.
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UK: Britain approves plans for new Shell North Sea gas field
Britain’s regulator on Wednesday approved Shell’s revised plan to develop a North Sea natural gas field as the government seeks to boost domestic energy output following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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In a statement, Shell welcomed the decision and said it plans to move ahead with the development of the Jackdaw gas field which has the potential to produce 6.5 percent of Britain’s gas output.
British Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said the Jackdaw gas field had received final regulatory approval after it was initially rejected on environmental grounds last October.
Reuters last week reported that Britain’s Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning was poised to approve the field’s new environmental development plans, a major milestone for a new development. Under the new plan, Shell plans to start production from the field in the second half of 2025.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2094761/business-economy
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USA: Piedmont Natural Gas bringing compressed natural gas station to Wilmington, North Carolina
Piedmont Natural Gas has announced the opening of a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station in Wilmington, the 8th in North Carolina. Located at 141 Sutton Steam Plant Drive, near the intersection of Interstate 140 and U.S. Highway 421 and
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conveniently accessible to Interstate 40, the station provides a convenient fueling stop for trucks, fleet vehicles and other vehicles that run on CNG.
The station features four fast-fill fuel pumps, can accommodate Class 8 tractor-trailer trucks and is accessible 24/7. For resiliency, a natural gas backup generator is on-site to help ensure reliability during hurricanes and severe weather.
Approximately 50% of Piedmont’s own utility fleet consists of CNG-powered or CNG-capable vehicles, according to Duke Energy. CNG also is a more environmentally friendly choice; natural gas vehicles are 90% cleaner than the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s current NOx standard. CNG emits up to 21% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than comparable gasoline and diesel vehicles. Many state and local governments also offer incentives to encourage the adoption of natural gas vehicles.
Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, distributes natural gas to more than 1.1 million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
https://www.wwaytv3.com/piedmont-natural-gas-bringing-compressed-natural-gas-station-to-wilmington/
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Brazil regulator expected to change opinion on key gas pipeline undertaking
Brazil’s oil and gas regulator ANP is likely to change its opinion regarding the classification of the Subida da Serra gas pipeline in São Paulo state, rating it as distribution rather than transportation infrastructure, a source with knowledge of the matter told BNamericas.
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The 473mn-real (US$99.6mn) project will connect Compass Gás e Energia’s (Cosan) regasification terminal (TRSP) for liquified natural gas at Santos port to the grid of its gas distribution unit Comgás. With the capacity to handle 16Mm3/d (million cubic meters per day) of natural gas, or 20% of Brazil’s gas demand, construction of the 31.5km pipeline was authorized by São Paulo’s public services regulator Arsesp in 2009 as a distribution pipeline.
However, last September ANP said the project is a gas transport pipeline, which means the Compass-Comgás group would not be able to operate the pipeline, as it is already the distributor. Such an impediment is in line with the new gas law that was published earlier this year to reduce vertical integration in the sector, which is dominated by state-owned oil and gas giant Petrobras.
Published about a year ago, the new gas law established that a transport gas pipeline is one that starts or ends at an international border point or which connects an LNG terminal and another transport pipeline or two transport pipelines. Even though Subida da Serra does not link Compass’ LNG terminal to a transport pipeline, ANP originally considered that its technical characteristics, like diameter and volume to be flowed, are typical of a transport pipeline.
However, the agency is yet to publish the latest technical criteria for defining the type of pipeline, which left a regulatory gap that allowed Compass to move forward with the project.
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Natural Gas / LNG Utilization
China replaces Germany as the top Russian energy importer
China has replaced Germany as the largest buyer of Russian energy since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine began. The report estimates that Russia received €93bn ($97bn) in revenues from the overseas call of oil, natural gas and
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coal during the first 100 days of the invasion, which began on February 24. Some 61% of these sales worth €57bn went to the EU, despite the bloc’s concerted push to cut energy ties with Russia. The EU has banned coal imports from Russia and will introduce a similar embargo affecting 90% of oil supplies at the end of the year.
Some €12.1bn worth of Russian energy was received by Germany between February 24 and June 3, while €7.8bn was taken by Italy, €7.8bn by the Netherlands and €6.7bn by Turkey, CREA data shows. While Germany was the biggest importer of Russian fossil fuels during the first two months of the war, it was then replaced by China as the largest market, which purchased some €12.6bn worth of oil, gas and coal from Russia during the 100-day period.
As a whole, the EU slashed its energy imports from Russia by over €100mn daily in May. But this also reflects Russia’s move to cut off gas supply to Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Poland, and reduce flow to Germany, over buyers’ refusal to comply with a Kremlin decree on ruble payments for gas. In April-May, 68% of Russian crude deliveries were made on board ships owned by EU, UK and Norwegian companies, it said, while Greek tankers alone carried 43%.
https://www.naturalgasworld.com/china-replaces-germany-as-top-russian-energy-importer-98812
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Bangladesh plans to import 18 LNG cargoes from spot market
Bangladesh has planned to import a total of 18 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes from the spot market during the July-December period 50% higher than the January-June import.
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State-run Petrobangla will be importing the augmented quantity of expensive fuel to cope with the mounting natural gas demand as the country’s domestic natural gas production is on wane and its long-term LNG suppliers have rejected pleas to increase LNG cargo delivery. Bangladesh has been importing some 12 LNG cargoes from the spot market from January to June, 2022, said a senior official of the state-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state-run Petrobangla.
RPGCL, which deals with Bangladesh’s LNG imports, will be inviting bids from each of the listed suppliers to purchase LNG from the spot market. Bangladesh imports around 138,000 cubic metres of LNG in each cargo from the spot market. Separately, Bangladesh will be importing more than two dozens of LNG cargoes from long-term LNG suppliers during H2, 2022. Currently, the RPGCL has 16 listed suppliers to purchase LNG from the spot market. But it has moved to increase the number and is currently receiving expressions of interest (EOIs) from the potential LNG suppliers, with the deadline for submission of the EOIs ending on June 12.
Bangladesh imports half a dozen LNG cargoes from two long-term suppliers – Qatargas and Oman Trading International, currently renamed as OQ. Petrobangla started importing LNG from the long-term suppliers in September 2018. It started importing LNG from the spot market in September 2020, two years after it initiated importing LNG from the long-term suppliers.
After importing the first LNG cargo from the spot market in September 2020, Bangladesh did not import LNG regularly until February 2022 due to ‘higher’ prices during summer and lower demand in winter seasons.
The imported spot LNG is blended with locally produced natural gas, which is sulfur free and sweet gas, before it is delivered to end-users. Spot suppliers supply the fuel on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis and the vessel sizes range between 125,000 cubic metres and 220,000 cubic metres.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/bd-plans-to-import-18-lng-cargoes-from-spot-mkt/
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Poland imports a record monthly number of LNG shipments
Poland received a record number of shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) through its terminal in Świnoujście in May. So far this year, the number of LNG deliveries have been one third higher than in the same period of 2021.
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Boosting supplies of LNG has been a key element in efforts to wean the country off Russian energy sources. Those have been ongoing for years with the Świnoujście terminal opening in 2015 but were given extra impetus by the invasion of Ukraine and later decision by Gazprom to cut off gas supplies to Poland.
State energy firm PGNiG yesterday announced that it had received its sixth LNG shipment in May at Świnoujście, a new monthly record. The latest arrival was 73,000 tonnes of LNG from the United States, which corresponds to 100 million cubic metres (mcm) of natural gas after regasification.
The firm noted that over the whole of May, the total volume of deliveries was 0.45 million tonnes of LNG, or 620 mcm after regasification. That is enough gas to cover use by all domestic customers for 2.5 months during the spring and summer, said PGNiG. Five of the shipments came from the US and one from Qatar.
Since the start of the year, PGNiG has received a total of 20 LNG shipments, one third more than in the same period of 2021. The regasification capacity of the Świnoujście terminal is now 6.2 bcm per year, which is 1.2 bcm more than in 2021. From 2024, capacity will be increased to 8.3 bcm per year. In addition to the six deliveries to Swinoujscie in May, PGNiG also took delivery of a cargo of LNG at the Klaipėda terminal in Lithuania.
A similar gas link between Poland and Slovakia is currently under construction and is set to be inaugurated soon, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced last month. This week, he visited Cairo to discuss, among other things, the potential import of LNG from Egypt.
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Santos to supply gas to ammonia plant in west Australia
Santos has entered into new agreement with Yara Pilbara Fertilisers to supply natural gas to Yara’s liquid ammonia plant on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.
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Santos will supply over 120 petajoules of natural gas over five years, starting at the completion of the current agreement with Yara in 2023. In addition to the gas supply agreement, Santos and Yara will also work together to explore decarbonisation opportunities in Western Australia, including carbon capture and storage.
Santos supplies around 40% of the state’s total domestic demand, and we are committed to ongoing investment in developing new gas supplies in WA. As Australia’s biggest domestic gas supplier and a leading Asia Pacific LNG supplier, we are committed to supplying critical fuels such as natural gas in a more sustainable way through decarbonising projects.
https://www.naturalgasworld.com/santos-to-supply-gas-to-ammonia-plant-in-west-australia-98565
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The USA reports gas production, consumption and exports climb
Dry natural gas production in March reached 95 Bcf/d, 2.9% higher than the previous year and the second-highest level for the month since 1973, when the U.S. Energy Information Administration began tracking natural gas production data.
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The total for March, which was released recently in the agency’s monthly overview, was the 12th consecutive month that production had increased from the prior year.
Gross withdrawals reached 116.6 Bcf/d, up 3.8% from one year ago. Estimated consumption for the month was 89.2 Bcf/d, up 5.7% from the previous year. All four sectors of consumers reported an increase in demand from the previous year. The largest component, electric power deliveries, reached 25.3 Bcf/d, up 4.1% from a year earlier.
Residential deliveries, consumed about 19.1 Bcf/d, up 4.2% from a year ago. Commercial deliveries of gas were 12.5 Bcf/d, up 9% from one year earlier. Industrial deliveries 24.1 Bcf/d, up 7.2%, the EIA reported. Net exports (exports minus imports) were 12.2 Bcf/d in March, the highest since the agency began tracking imports and exports in 1973. Net exports included total exports of 20.6 Bcf/d and total imports of 8.4 Bcf/d. Exports of LNG were 13.4% higher than one year earlier. Most of those exports were from LNG terminals, which sent 11.7 Bcf/d of LNG to 28 countries.
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NGTL’s west path gains permit to increase U.S.A natural gas deliveries
After a 19-month regulatory case that generated a 293-page decision, approval has been recommended for the first Canadian pipeline project reviewed under rules enacted by the federal government in its 2019 Impact Assessment Act.
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The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) tacked 34 conditions and two national policy suggestions onto the recommended permit for TC Energy Corp. to add 39 kilometers (23 miles) of pipe to its western supply grid, Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL).
The addition, West Path Delivery 2023, is scheduled to take only five months to build with 90% of its 48-inch diameter pipe laid in an established gas route to increase exports to the western United States by 166 MMcf/d. For a forecast C$355.5 million (US$284 million), the project southwest of Calgary would raise capacity by about 1.4% on the 25,000-kilometer (15,000-mile) NGTL network for about 12 Bcf/d from Alberta and British Columbia.
The CER decision report observes that the new impact assessment rules require even a modest pipeline expansion by industry standards to be scrutinized as if it affects the entire country. The federal cabinet has the final say on the NGTL project approval. The marathon review of the NGTL plan and the resulting project approval conditions focused chiefly on issues raised by 24 native communities. The new Canadian impact assessment rules emphasize native rights. Tribes received 19 of 21 case participation aid grants that totaled C$1.99 million ($1.6 million), reported the CER.
https://www.naturalgasintel.com/ngtls-west-path-gains-permit-to-increase-u-s-natural-gas-deliveries/
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Global LNG Development
Energy transfer signs LNG sale and purchase agreement with China gas
Energy Transfer LP and China Gas Holdings Limited today om Monday, June 05, announced that China Gas Hongda Energy Trading Co., LTD, a subsidiary of China Gas Holdings Limited (China Gas) has entered into an LNG Sale and Purchase
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Agreement with Energy Transfer LNG Export, LLC (Energy Transfer LNG), a subsidiary of Dallas-based Energy Transfer LP, related to its Lake Charles LNG project.
Under the SPA, Energy Transfer LNG will supply 0.7 million tonnes of LNG per annum to China Gas on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. The purchase price is indexed to the Henry Hub benchmark plus a fixed liquefaction charge. The SPA is for a term of 25 years, and first deliveries are expected to commence as early as 2026. The SPAs will become fully effective upon the satisfaction of the conditions precedent, including Energy Transfer LNG taking final investment decision (FID).
Energy Transfer is one of the largest and most diversified midstream energy companies in North America, with a strategic footprint in all of the major U.S. production basins. Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles LNG export facility will be constructed on the existing brownfield regasification facility and will capitalize on four existing LNG storage tanks, two deep water berths and other LNG infrastructure. Lake Charles LNG has received all federal, state and local permits necessary for the construction for the project, including authorizations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as export authorizations from the Department of Energy.
Lake Charles LNG will also benefit from its direct connection to Energy Transfer’s existing Trunkline pipeline system that in turn provides connections to multiple intrastate and interstate pipelines. These pipelines allow access to multiple natural gas producing basins, including the Haynesville, the Permian and the Marcellus Shale.
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Tanzania government signs natural gas deal with Shell and Equinor
Equinor and Shell, together with Ophir Energy, Exxon Mobil, and Pavilion Energy, intend to build the LNG export terminal. The Government of Tanzania has signed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) framework agreement with energy giants Equinor and Shell, Reuters reported. The signing of the deal will expedite the start of the construction of a $30bn LNG export terminal.
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The deal is expected to pave the way for a final investment decision on the $30bn LNG export terminal by 2025, the news agency quoted Tanzania’s Energy Minister January Makamba as saying. The facility, which is planned to be constructed near large-scale offshore natural gas discoveries in deep waters off, Tanzania’s southern coast, has been facing regulatory delays for a number of years.
Equinor and Shell, together with Ophir Energy, Exxon Mobil, and Pavilion Energy, plan to build the proposed LNG plant in the Lindi region. The project is planned to be commissioned by 2029 to 2030.
Equinor operates Tanzania’s Block 2, which is estimated to hold more than 20 trillion cubic feet of gas. Shell operates Block 1 and Block 4 in Tanzania. These blocks have a total of 16 trillion cubic feet of estimated recoverable gas. As per the government’s estimates, the country has total recoverable gas reserves of 57.54 trillion cubic feet.
https://www.offshore-technology.com/news/equinor-shell-deal-tanzania/
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Shell Eastern Petroleum signs MoUs with Japan LNG buyers
Agreement between Shell Eastern Petroleum, Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas aims to accelerate decarbonisation across respective production value chains. Shell Eastern Petroleum has signed separate non-binding MoUs with its long-standing LNG buyers Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas.
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The agreements will see the companies explore potential opportunities to accelerate decarbonisation across their respective production value chains.
They include assessing a range of potential low-carbon energy solutions including hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation & storage (CCUS), biomethane and renewables-based synthetic gas among others. In addition, a tripartite side letter has been signed between Shell, Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas to jointly explore and evaluate the potential of renewables-based synthetic gas.
Separately, the company, whose operating profit rose 51.6% in the year to March 31, announced a share buyback on the Tokyo Stock Exchange involving 3,079,000 shares at a total acquisition amount of ¥7,966,709,800. Osaka Gas is part of a consortium developing the Goto floating wind farm. Construction work is due to start in September and commercial operations slated for January 2024.
Shell’s target is to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050. Becoming a net-zero emissions business means offering customers more low-carbon products and Shell is working to build scale in decarbonisation technologies globally. GDI and EXERGY will offer comprehensive solutions for the development and completion of ORC power plants, starting with the design and engineering of the system to the manufacturing, erection, start up and aftersales services, leveraging on both companies’ expertise and know how in their fields.
Marco Frassinetti, sales director of EXERGY International Srl, said knowing that the Asian region has a huge renewables potential to tackle, it has been pursuing this key commercial area for years.
https://energydigital.com/oil-and-gas/shell-eastern-petroleum-signs-mous-with-japan-lng-buyers
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Norway LNG plant resumes LNG production, boosting gas exports
Norway’s Hammerfest liquefied natural gas plant has restarted LNG production following a fire almost two years ago, boosting the country’s gas exports. The company last week told Reuters the plant had completed repairs and was preparing to restart output.
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The plant had been offline since late September of 2020, and a restart was postponed several times while repairs were carried out.
A restart is welcome news for the gas market, which is scrambling to find alternatives to Russian supplies in the wake of the war in Ukraine, and as Norway seeks to cement its position as a reliable energy supplier. Europe’s only large-scale LNG plant, at Melkoeya island just outside the Arctic town of Hammerfest, can process 18.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas per day when fully operational, just over 5% of Norway’s gas export capacity.
LNG is made by cooling gas to temperatures that liquefy it, thus allowing large quantities to be transported by ship. It normally takes four to five days to fill the plant’s storage tanks before vessels are loaded. There are currently three LNG tankers – the Arctic Voyager, Arctic Lady and Arctic Princess – anchored outside Melkoeya, ready to receive new cargoes from Hammerfest LNG, it added. A fourth one, the Arctic Aurora, is approaching Hammerfest.
At Melkoeya, gas is piped in from the offshore Snoehvit field, 160 km (100 miles) away in the Barents Sea. The field was forced to shut as a result of the plant’s closure. The partnership includes Equinor, Petoro, TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, Neptune Energy and Wintershall Dea.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/norway-lng-plant-resumes-output-boosting-gas-exports/
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Egypt revenues from natural gas, LNG grow 98% YoY in 4 months
Egypt’s revenue from natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports jumped by 98% year-on-year (YoY) in the first four months of 2022, Reuters reported on May 31st, citing data from Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
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The country’s gas and LNG revenues stood at $3.892 billion during the period from January to April this year. Meanwhile, revenues from only natural gas exports soared by 768% YoY in 2021, recording $3.959 billion, compared to $456 million in 2020, data showed.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/egypts-revenues-from-natural-gas-lng-grow-98-yoy-in-4-months/
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Australia’s trade surplus widens in April on LNG exports
Australia’s trade surplus widened more than expected in April thanks to rising exports of liquefied natural gas and a return of tourists, while imports eased back a little after a very strong first quarter.
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Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out on Thursday showed the trade surplus widened to A$10.5 billion ($7.53 billion) in April, beating market forecasts of a $9.3 billion surplus and compared to an upwardly revised A$9.7 billion in March.
Exports rose 1% led by LNG and travel, while prices for most of Australia’s key commodities also remained high. Imports dipped 0.7% suggesting trade would be less of a drag on the economy as it was in the first quarter.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/australia-trade-surplus-widens-in-april-on-lng-exports/
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Australia’s trade surplus widens in April on LNG exports
Australia’s trade surplus widened more than expected in April thanks to rising exports of liquefied natural gas and a return of tourists, while imports eased back a little after a very strong first quarter.
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Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out on Thursday showed the trade surplus widened to A$10.5 billion ($7.53 billion) in April, beating market forecasts of a $9.3 billion surplus and compared to an upwardly revised A$9.7 billion in March.
Exports rose 1% led by LNG and travel, while prices for most of Australia’s key commodities also remained high. Imports dipped 0.7% suggesting trade would be less of a drag on the economy as it was in the first quarter.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/australia-trade-surplus-widens-in-april-on-lng-exports/
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Korea’s SK E&S, Beijing gas sign LNG pact
South Korea’s SK E&S and China’s Beijing Gas Group have agreed to work in the LNG, the Korean firm said on May 26. The two companies signed a joint cooperation agreement on May 25 at World Gas Conference.
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SK E&S and Beijing Gas, a unit of Beijing City, plan to explore opportunities for joint cooperation to expand the LNG value chain. The two companies agreed to share operational know-how for major assets such as LNG terminals in China and to further cooperate in terms of LNG imports and natural gas sales. The Korean company has decided to share its long-term portfolio strategy for future LNG businesses.
SK E&S in September 2021 announced it plans to produce 280,000 metric tons (mt)/year of blue hydrogen and 10mn mt/yr of green LNG by 2025. The company also plans to produce 30,000 mt/yr of liquid hydrogen and 7 GW of renewable energy.
https://www.naturalgasworld.com/koreas-sk-eands-beijing-gas-sign-lng-hydrogen-pact-98500
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West Africa: Technip Energies eyes LNG, energy projects in Senegal
France’s Technip Energies and Senegal’s COS Petrogaz have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate in the fields of LNG, carbon-free energy solutions and decarbonisation in the African nation, Technip Energies said on May 25.
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The MoU aims to develop collaboration on technologies related to water, oil and gas treatment process engineering; different types of onshore platforms and installations; and offshore gas field development concepts. The agreement will also cover energy transition principles through the organisation of workshops and skills transfer.
The agreement also foresees Technip Energies carrying out studies as part of the overall gas development strategy defined by COS Petrogaz, the French company said.
COS Petrogaz is the body for steering, coordinating and monitoring the development of oil and gas projects.
https://www.naturalgasworld.com/technip-energies-eyes-lng-energy-projects-in-senegal-98524
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LNG as a Marine Fuel/Shipping
LNG tanker charter rates hit record highs as demand soars
Spot-market rates for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers this week set annual records as traders bid up available vessels to meet rising global demand for the chilled gas. Soaring demand for LNG and buyers shunning Russian cargoes and
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vessels over its invasion of Ukraine have led to more long-term charters, limiting the supply of vessels to the spot market, said shipbroker and LNG consultancy Poten & Partners.
The fire that knocked out the Freeport LNG gas-processing and export terminal has not affected the increase in spot rates. The plant is out of operation through at least month’s end. Spot rates for transporting 160,000 cubic meters of LNG in the Atlantic Basin is $100,000 per day, and $85,000 per day for Asia, or the East-of-Suez, cargoes, said Poten’s head of business intelligence Jason Feer.
Both prices are up substantially compared to the average for the year, with year-date average for Asia of $49,000 per day. Day rates bottomed in March and have been very strong since May.
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/lng-tanker-charter-rates-hit-record-highs-as-demand-soars
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Norway: Utkilen invests $131m in multifuel newbuilds and LNG retrofits
Norwegian chemical tanker operator Utkilen is investing €125m ($131m) in four multi-fuel newbuilds and the retrofitting of four existing ships to operate on LNG. The Bergen-headquartered firm has contracted Turkey’s Icdas yard for the 6,700 dwt quartet that will be delivered from the beginning of 2024.
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Utkilen said the new additions will run on LNG and gas oil, while further use of methanol and ammonia is being tested. The ships will also feature an optimal hull shape and can be facilitated for battery and shore power connections.
In addition, four of the existing fleet’s newest and most modern ships will be fit to operate on LNG fuel in 2022 and 2023. Founded in 1967, Utkilen owns and operates about 24 chemical tankers ranging from around 6,000 to 20,000 dwt.
https://splash247.com/utkilen-invests-131m-in-multifuel-newbuilds-and-lng-retrofits/
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DSME wins orders for first 4 units of Qatar LNG carrier project
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has become the first shipbuilder to win orders for Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier project. DSME announced on June 7 that it has landed orders for four LNG carriers with a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters from a Korean consortium consisting of H-Line Shipping, Pan Ocean and SK Shipping.
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The total contract value stood at US$857.9 million, with each ship priced at US$214.47 million. The ship price is not much different from the current average LNG carrier price of US$227 million. These ships will be built at Okpo Shipyard in Korea and delivered to the client by the first quarter of 2025. They will be used for QatarEnergy’s North Field expansion project.
Qatar is the world’s largest LNG producer and is planning to ramp up its LNG production capacity from 77 million tons to 126 million tons by 2027. As part of this plan, Qatar Petroleum (QP), Qatar’s state-run oil company which is now called QatarEnergy, signed slot contracts with Korea’s big three shipbuilders including DSME in June 2020 to build more than 100 LNG carriers. The total cost of the huge shipbuilding project is estimated at US$19 billion (about 24 trillion won). The LNG carriers that DSME will build are the first batch of the ships to be built for the project. Additional orders are expected to be awarded to other Korean shipbuilders in the near future.
DSME’s LNG carriers will feature low-pressure dual-fuel propulsion ME-GA engines and re-liquefaction facilities, which can significantly cut down on air pollutant emissions. In addition, the latest technologies such as DS4, the company’s smart ship solution, will be applied to them for efficient ship operations. DSME received orders for 26 LNG carriers, or nearly half of the total 53 ships, in a Qatar LNG carrier project between 2004 and 2007 and successfully delivered them. DSME builds about 20 LNG carriers annually.
https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=94180
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Swan Energy to commission first floating LNG unit
Swan Energy Ltd. is planning to commission India’s first FSRU (floating, storage and regasification unit) liquefied natural gas port near Jafrabad in Gujarat this year, as the country looks to boost its LNG imports. The FSRU with a capacity of 5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) has been built at a cost of around ₹6,500 crore.
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Swan has signed regasification agreements including with Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation covering the entire 5 mmtpa for 20 years, he said.
FSRU is a vessel that helps in transferring LNG through oceanic channels. The natural gas that is transported through the sea in liquid form needs to be reconverted into the original gaseous state before being pumped out into the storage tanks, and the FSRU helps in this process.
The port which was to be commissioned in 2019 was delayed due to two cyclones Vayu and Taukate in the region and Covid-19 pandemic.
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ADNOC orders LNG tanker trio at Jiangnan shipyard in China
ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S) has placed an order for an additional three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers at the Chinese Jiangnan Shipyard. This 175,000-cbm trio will be added to the previously announced LNG carrier pair, increasing the order book to a total of five newbuilds.
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All five new-build LNG vessels will be built at the Jiangnan Shipyard in China. Jiangnan Shipyard was also previously commissioned by ADNOC L&S in 2020 to build five Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) for AW Shipping, ADNOC L&S’ Joint Venture company with China’s Wanhua Chemical Group.
The acquisition of larger, more energy-efficient vessels will allow ADNOC L&S to meet growing customer demand while improving the environmental footprint of its fleet. The new vessels’ engine technology will reduce emissions (CO2, NOX, and SOX) and in combination with the innovative Air Lubrication System, further reduce fuel consumption by at least 10%.
Over the past 24 months, ADNOC L&S has acquired 16 deep sea vessels, including eight Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) in 2021, which added 16 million barrels of capacity. Furthermore, the company acquired six product tankers, which expanded the product tanker fleet capacity to over 1 million metric tonnes as well as five VLGC for AW Shipping.
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Japan: Wärtsilä signs guaranteed asset performance agreement
The technology group Wärtsilä has signed a long-term guaranteed asset performance agreement with Japan-based NYK LNG Ship Management. The agreement was signed in March 2022 and is valid for 15 years.
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It covers the engines and related equipment for an LNG carrier vessel, and is designed to maximise the ship’s uptime while providing long-term cost predictability, and optimised maintenance costs.
One of the features of the agreement is Wärtsilä’s unique expert insight digital predictive maintenance solution. By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced diagnostics, the service enables onboard equipment and systems to be monitored in real-time onshore. Should anomalous behaviour be detected, it is flagged to specialists at Wärtsilä Expertise Centres automatically, allowing them to support the customer proactively with an appropriate resolution to the issue.
Wärtsilä will also provide its dynamic maintenance planning solution. This innovation takes advantage of Wärtsilä’s extensive experience and capabilities in digitalisation and analytics to optimise major overhaul intervals, without compromising reliability or engine efficiency while also guaranteeing maintenance costs.
The agreement covers the vessel’s three Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines, as well as the gas valve units (GVU) and turbochargers. Two of NYK’s sister LNG carriers are supported by similar Wärtsilä agreements.
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LNG tanker rates soar to the highest level in 10 years
The world’s largest gas traders are scrambling to secure liquefied natural gas tankers ahead of winter after sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine triggered a reshaping of global energy flows.
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LNG shipowners and brokers say an unusually early annual rush is under way for the likes of the UK’s Shell, France’s TotalEnergies and China’s Unipec to secure enough shipping capacity to transport the superchilled fuel during the peak winter demand season.
Rates to charter an LNG tanker for a year are trading near their highest level in a decade at $120,000 per day, up more than 50% on a year ago. The market boom comes after the EU vowed to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of the year and import an extra 50bn cubic meters of LNG.
Shipowners say Total has been particularly active in shopping for LNG carriers to rent for between three and five years, a longer period than usual. Total said it did not comment on market rumours.
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https://www.ft.com/content/bc66773f-b1fb-4105-83c6-582a2c7735cb
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Tight Asia capacity limits room for new LNG ships- South Korea Shipbuilding exec
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) 009540.KS has mostly filled its order book for the next 2-1/2 years as the pandemic drove demand for container ships, leaving little room to meet the needs of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.
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With U.S. LNG exports rising, more LNG carriers are travelling longer distances to customers in North Asia and Europe while European countries have snapped up floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) as they ramp up LNG imports to replace Russian gas supplies in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
However, shipyards in South Korea and China are unable to accommodate demand for new LNG vessels as they work to meet a flood of orders for new container ships following global supply chain disruptions and port congestion that have held up ships in the United States and China. This supports spot chartering rates for LNG carriers which have hit all-time highs.
KSOE’s capacity is nearly full with orders stretching to 2025, he said, adding that container ships and LNG carriers each account for about 30% of slots. KSOE builds 20 to 22 LNG carriers per year. South Korean shipyards are also struggling to operate due to labour shortages while grappling with prices nearly doubling for key material steel plates.
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Poland’s Swinoujscie terminal receives record LNG cargoes in May
Poland’s Swinoujscie regasification terminal received six cargoes of LNG in May, which marks a monthly record, national gas company PGNiG reported on May 31. This amounted to a total of 0.45mn metric tons of LNG, or 620mn m3 of gas following gasification, PGNiG said.
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This is enough supply to cover demand among PGNiG’s customers for two and a half months in the spring and summer seasons.
Poland had its Russian gas supply cut off at the end of April, after Warsaw refused to comply with a Kremlin decree on ruble payments for shipments. Since then it has proposed developing another LNG terminal, in addition to Swinoujscie and a planned one in Gdansk. Poland is also awaiting the launch of the 10bn m3/year Baltic Pipe this October, which will provide it with gas from Norway via Denmark.
The Swinoujscie terminal has received 20 LNG cargoes in the year to date, PGNiG said, which is a third more than in the same period last year. In addition to six cargoes it received there in May, the company also took delivery of a seventh that was imported at the Klaipeda terminal in Lithuania. Poland can now access supplies from Klaipeda thanks to the launch of a cross-border pipeline in early May.
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Malaysia: Avenir LNG Limited announces delivery of the Avenir achievement
Avenir LNG Limited announces the delivery of the Avenir Achievement, the second 20,000 cbm dual-purpose, liquefied natural gas supply and bunkering vessel (LBV) delivered from Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co. (“SOE”). The Avenir Achievement is the sixth vessel to be delivered into the Avenir fleet.
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The vessel will be equipped with BOG reliquefication and simultaneous operations (SIMOPs) capabilities, making her the world’s largest, most efficient and versatile LNG Bunker Supply Vessel. From delivery the vessel will initially be employed on a 6 month Time Charter Party (“TCP”) with New Fortress Energy, before commencing a 3 year TCP with Shell NA LNG (“Shell”) to begin in Q1 2023. The TCP with Shell has the option to be extended up to 5 years.
This is yet another important milestone for Avenir as we successfully conclude our initial asset development programme, having brought 6 newbuild vessels and our small-scale terminal in Sardinia into service over the past 18 months. Avenir has an enormously bright future as we continue to build the company into the leading small-scale LNG supplier globally.
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Technological Development for Cleaner and Greener Environment Hydrogen & Bio-Methane
Ireland: New roadmap encourages the transition to biomethane
Ireland has the capability to produce sustainable biomethane which will help decarbonize the most difficult to abate, high thermal demand manufacturing and processing industries, as well as transport and agriculture while reducing waste and supporting the transition to agroecology.
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Up to 11 % of current natural gas demand in Ireland could be substituted with sustainably produced biomethane by 2030, when and if the correct policy supports are in place according to a shared Vision and Roadmap for AD Biomethane Production in Ireland, published by the Renewable Gas Forum Ireland (RGFI).
Speaking to the RGFI/REGATRACE event in Dublin, Matthieu Ballu, a senior EU Commission official, outlined details of the recently announced REPowerEU plan, which includes a biomethane production target of 35 bcm by 2030. Ballu, who is responsible for Renewables and Energy System Integration Policy, said the Biomethane Action Plan, contained in REPowerEU, sets out tools including a new biomethane industrial partnership and financial incentives to increase production to 35bcm by 2030, including through the Common Agricultural Policy. The Commission will continue to support innovative technologies for the production of sustainable biomethane. By 2024, Member States have to separately collect organic waste, which can be valorized in anaerobic digestors. This is an opportunity to upscale the production of biogas and biomethane sustainably, creating income opportunities for farmers and foresters.
Ireland, with its grass based agricultural systems, has the highest potential for biomethane production per capita in the EU and a proven business case as documented by the RGFI commissioned KPMG Integrated Business Case for Biomethane Production 2019 and subsequent reports.
The principal elements of the Roadmap for AD Biomethane Production in Ireland are a consumer-led collaboration to develop a scalable, sustainable biomethane industry based on environmentally responsible production, with end use biomethane contributing to the circular bio-economy, while delivering socio economic benefits a focus on difficult to decarbonize sectors supporting sustainable, diverse, profitable agriculture, and the circular rural bioeconomy and its principles supporting sustainable transport aligned with EU and National sustainability and climate action policies
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Tennessee, USA: Hydrogen could help decarbonize transportation – Net-Zero Carbon
Danny Gomez, managing director of financial and emerging markets at FreightWaves, is joined by Mike Hopkins, CEO of Bakken Energy, to discuss the basics of hydrogen and why hydrogen is an attractive fuel source for hard to abate emissions in long-haul trucking.
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About 95% of hydrogen produced in the U.S. today is considered gray hydrogen, which is made by natural gas reforming, according to the Department of Energy. This process produces hydrogen and releases carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
In terms of environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions, hydrogen produced from natural gas is better than that produced from coal but not as clean as green hydrogen. A lot of natural gas in the U.S. gets flared, meaning it gets burned off at oil fields. That releases large amounts of methane, a superpotent GHG, into the atmosphere. Bakken Energy is on a mission to end flaring and instead use that natural gas to produce hydrogen.
The company uses an energy-efficient technology called auto reforming to produce hydrogen. About 95% of the carbon dioxide emissions are then captured and sequestered underground locally, according to Hopkins. Two ways that hydrogen is being considered for trucking is by using it in internal combustion engines or by feeding hydrogen into a fuel cell that would run a motor in an electric truck. In the latter case, you wouldn’t need a large, heavy battery in order to power an electric truck, Hopkins said.
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-hydrogen-could-help-decarbonize-transportation-net-zero-carbon
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