NGS’ NG/LNG SNAPSHOT – JUNE 2020, VOLUME 1
National News Internatonal News
NATIONAL NEWS
City Gas Distribution & Auto LPG
India’s CNG filling capacity up by 50,000 vehicles with 58 new stations
NEW DELHI: India’s CNG (compressed natural gas) network has increased by 50,000 vehicles per day with the addition of 56 stations that were completed after lockdown curbs were eased and
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work on projects was resumed. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated eight of these CNG stations and dedicated to the nation 48 others across 10 states and one union territory on Friday through video link. These include stations set up by both private and public sector companies. Adani Gas and Torrent Gas are among the private entities. BPCL, HPCL, GAIL Gas, IGL and IOC, in joint venture with Adani, are among the public sector companies. The CNG stations are in Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Completion of these stations was affected by the countrywide lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. India is looking at expanding the present network of 2,200 CNG stations to 10,000 and connect five crore kitchens with PNG (piped natural gas) service over the next 8-10 years. Development of city gas network is part of PM Narendra Modi’s COP-21 climate commitments for reducing India’s carbon footprint by 2030.
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‘City Gas networks will soon cover 72% of country’s population’
Oil Minister inaugurates 56 CNG stations. City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks will soon cover 72 per cent of the country’s population, said Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan.
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Pradhan dedicated 48 CNG stations to the nation and inaugurated eight other CNG stations on Friday (May 29). These 56 stations are spread over 11 States/Union Territories — Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, and belong to 11 different entities — public as well private, an official statement said. Completion of work at these stations was affected due to the countrywide lockdown. However, after easing of restrictions last month, the work gathered pace and was carried out ensuring all safety and social distancing norms, the statement said. This ensured minimum delay in commissioning of these stations as against the original schedule. With the addition of these stations to the CNG network, the daily filling capacity in the country has gone up by over 50,000 vehicles, the statement added. Pradhan said that the government is working on energy efficiency, affordability, security and accessibility. He said soon, customers will have to go to only one place, where all types of fuels — Petrol, diesel, CNG, LNG and LPG — will be made available. He said that the government has already started mobile dispensers for diesel, and would like to expand it to petrol and LNG. Pradhan said that people would be able to get fuel delivered at their homes in future.
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Gas sector finds itself in bright spot
At a time when most industry sectors in the country are reeling from consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the gas sector seems to have found a bright spot.
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During the lockdown period, when the overall demand for power was down by at least 30 per cent in the country, a different story unfolded for the gas-fired power generating units. Driven by the steep fall in natural gas prices, the gas-based units generated 5,012 million units (kWh) in the month of April as compared to 4,301 million units in March this year, according to Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data. Gujarat is considered a hub for natural gas and of the 22,000MW of installed capacity for gas power plants in the country, about 6,500MW is from the state. Torrent Power’s SUGEN unit generated the highest among gas-based units at 452 million units in April, up from 349 million units generated in March. Torrent Power’s total generation from gas-based units went up to 1,000 million units in April as compared to 651 million units in the previous month, CEA data shows. Apart from using a cleaner fuel option, gas-fired power plants are also easier to adjust to fluctuating demands, said sources. In India, the declining imported gas (LNG) prices and rise in availability of cheap domestic gas will lower consumers’ average energy cost as much as 21 per cent in 2020, reversing price escalation seen over the past decade, Morgan Stanley said in a report on May 19.The fuelling infrastructure, it said was expected to rise five times and residential connections to increase seven times over the next decade, helping India achieve its target of gas contributing nearly 15 per cent of its energy mix by 2030, up from 6.2 per cent currently. The demand for gas was down to only 30 per cent in the month of April and this has currently gone up to 50 per cent after recent relaxations given to industries, said an industry expert. He said the gas demand got the much-needed cushion from power generating units in the month of April when lockdown restrictions were stricter. “For downstream natural gas companies, the revenue models are very robust. The sector will command and do well as the economy opens. The normalization of volumes is expected around October-November,” said Harshvardhan Dole, vice-president, IIFL Institutional Equities. He said that given the large number of licensees that have been awarded in the past few years, there is a talent crunch. Some new CGD entrants, including one Delhi-based company, have even considered giving pay hikes to their employees, said sources. https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/gas-sector-finds-itself-in-bright-spot/76054843
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Delhi gas operators seek tax relief, loan restructuring to deal with lockdown impact
Pummeled by evaporating demand and fall in business due to the lockdown, city gas operators such as Adani Gas, GAIL and
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Torrent Gas have sought tax relief and loan restructuring to tide over difficult times. Natrual Gas Society (NGS), which represents CNG and piped natural gas retailers in the country, has written to the Oil Secretary Tarun Kapoor seeking government support in expansion of the city gas distribution (CGD) business and the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket. “The CGD sector has been among the worst hit during the current lockdown with consumption reduced by over 80 per cent and now, the further extension of the lockdown, this will only bring additional hardship to the industry,” it wrote. Barring supply of piped natural gas to households kitchens, all segments under the CGD have shown a sharp fall in gas offtake. “With falling demand, majority of the CGD entities are facing steep fall in revenue and margins and cash flow problems which could impact the ability to maintain the required investment/capex,” it said. Slowdown in the overall economic activity, it said, can be a dampener for infrastructure capex plans especially under the newly awarded city gas licenses. The association sought exemption of the CGD sector from excise duty (14 per cent) and a deferment of statutory tax compliances at least till September-December, 2020. “Banks may be asked to restructure the loans and provide a moratorium on interest payments for at least another six months to help the sector to recover quickly,” it wrote. NGS wanted government-priced controlled gas to be allocated to CGD operators. “Government should direct gas suppliers and transporters to bill CGD entities only for the quantities they consumed at normal prices / rates without any additional charges like excess gas, take-or-pay, imbalance etc,” it said. The association sought waiver of penalty for not making committed investment in a city gas area. “It is proposed that a deferment of at least 24 months in minimum work programme (MWP) be allowed post lockdown period and till the restoration of normalcy period in the industrial activities.” To help generate finances for investment and ease the financial stress being faced by the CGD entities, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas may consider financial assistance to the sector, it said, adding this could be through creation of a special fund. This could be through funding from the Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB) and the oil regulator PNGRB reserve.
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Maruti Suzuki launches BS VI CNG Super Carry small CV at Rs 507,000
Maruti Suzuki India today launched the BS VI-compliant S-CNG variant of its Super Carry small commercial vehicle (SCV).
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The launch is aligned to the carmaker’s Mission Green Million announced at Auto Expo 2020. Having already sold a million green vehicles (including CNG and Smart Hybrid vehicles), Maruti Suzuki aims to sell the next one million green vehicles in the next couple of years, spearheading their mass adoption across the country. Maruti Suzuki claims the Super Carry is the first light commercial vehicle in the country to upgrade to a BS VI engine. Launched in July 2016, the Super Carry has sold a total of 56,585 units till end-March 2020, as per sales statistics available with Autocar Professional. This works out to an annual sales average of 14,146 units over a near-four-year period. According to Shashank Srivastava, executive director (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India, “With over 56,000 units sold through the 320-strong Maruti Suzuki Commercial Channel network, the Super Carry has been consistently outperforming the mini-truck segment. Especially conceptualised for the SCV segment user, the Super Carry offers best-in-segment power, enhanced comfort, superior quality and versatile deck. The Super Carry has helped businesses enhance their profitability, a testimony borne by the fact that the model became the second highest selling within just two years of launch. The bi-fuel S-CNG variant has been accepted very well in the SCV market and already contributes around 8% to the Super Carry sales. The introduction of the competitively priced BS6 compliant S-CNG variant, coupled with the Government’s renewed focus on CNG fuel availability, will further strengthen the Super Carry brand.” Maruti Suzuki says its S-CNG vehicle range is aligned to and complements the government of India’s vision of reducing oil import and enhancing the share of natural gas in the energy basket of the country from 6.2% now to 15% by 2030. On its part, the government is working to rapidly increase CNG fuel pumps network in the country and the past year has seen a growth of 56% in new CNG stations. A total of 477 stations were added last year, against the previous five-year average of 156 stations
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North corporation gets Rs 1.3 crore from IGL to repair cremation furnaces at NigambodhGhat
The Delhi government has authorised only three crematoriums in the Capital to dispose of dead bodies of Covid-19 patients or those who had symptoms of the infection.
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The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has received a fund of Rs 1.3 crore from Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) to repair its damaged CNG-based cremation furnaces at NigambodhGhat. The Delhi government has authorised only three crematoriums in the Capital to dispose of dead bodies of Covid-19 patients or those who had symptoms of the infection.Two of these are CNG-based: NigambodhGhat in Jamuna Bazaar, under the north corporation, and one in Punjabi Bagh, under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The third is the electric crematorium on Lodhi Road under the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).esides these, five burial grounds for Muslim and Christian people, who die of Covid, have been approved at ITO, Mangolpuri, Madanpur Khadar and Shastri Park.While each CNG furnace is capable of processing only four bodies per day, they have been receiving up to 18 bodies for cremation as per Covid protocol daily. The Covid dead body disposal Standard Operating Procedures are followed for those who have died of the disease and suspected cases as well.“We are under a lot of pressure. We have six CNG-furnaces in NigambodhGhat, of which three were damaged and the rest functional. Till April, we were getting only four or five bodies for cremation with Covid protocol. The number has now gone up,” said Suman Gupta of the NigambodhGhatSanchalan Samiti.For instance, on May 12, the crematorium got 16 such bodies, and on May 13 and 14, they got 18 bodies each, Gupta said. From May 15-17, it has been getting 13 bodies each day, he said.
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.Electric Mobility& Bio- Methane
Covid-19 Impact: Global Electric Vehicle sales likely to drop 18 per cent in 2020
The global sales of electric vehicles are projected to fall by 18% to 1.7 million units in 2020 with the coronavirus crisis interrupting ten successive years of strong growth,
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according to BloombergNEF. It said in a report the sales of combustion engine cars are set to drop even faster by around 23% this year. The electric models are seen accounting for 3% of global car sales in 2020, rising to 7% in 2023 at some 5.4 million units.Colin McKerracher, head of advanced transport at BNEF, said the Covid-19 pandemic is set to cause a major downturn in global auto sales in 2020 and although the long-term trajectory has not changed much the market will be bumpy for the next three years. The report “Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook” projects electric models accounting for 58% of new passenger car sales globally by 2040 and 31% of the whole car fleet. Electric vehicles of all types are seen adding 5.2% to global electricity demand by 2040.
BNEF said that the figures have major implications for oil and electricity markets as transport electrification, particularly in the form of two-wheelers is already taking out almost 1 million barrels of oil demand per day and by 2040 it will take around 17.6 million barrels per day.BNEF added that it sees more than a short-term effect as lockdowns ease, instead there is likely to be a lasting reduction in ridership of municipal bus and metro services and more traffic congestion in cities. Shared mobility operators have suffered, but will rebound quickly on the back of food delivery, logistics and micro-mobility services, it said.
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Reviving the automobile sector
In the post-Covid world, electric vehicles will be key not only to breathing new life into the automotive sector but also to decarbonising it.
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It is no secret that the pandemic has hit the sectors that were reeling the most. A prime example is the automobile sector, which was experiencing a slowdown well before the virus hit Indian shores. The industry had been battling against a host of issues—declining consumer demand, difficulty in transitioning into BS-VI technology, extinguishing inventories of left-over BS-IV vehicles, and credit crunch in the NBFC sector. Post-lockdown, it will have to deal with a completely new environment, right from manufacturing capabilities and inventory management to emergency response mechanisms. Could the electric vehicle (EV) segment become a permanent and significant part of this new order?
Global forecasts
Today, studies from research universities claim that by 2050, every second car produced globally would be electrically powered. While marketing lessons teach us the importance of consumer acceptance for the successful adoption of any concept, research by Deloitte Global Automotive says that over 50% of the consumers are still unclear about the safety of the battery and the availability of adequate charging stations. Surprisingly, more than two-thirds of the consumers surveyed mentioned that their biggest fear is sharing the highway with heavy
commercial vehicles driving in autonomous mode. But, what has been seen is that despite high resistance to the introduction of CNG vehicles during the mid-1990s, consumers accepted the technology widely, so much so that a few big brands now have their factory-produced MUVs and SUVs retrofitted with CNG-run engines.
Indian scenario
The EV industry in India managed to post a decent 20% increase in sales in FY20 compared to FY19. Out of the 156,000 units that the industry sold in FY20, the bulk came from the electric two-wheelers segment. The industry believes that going forward, the fastest growth would come from the e-rickshaws and e-autos segment. The fact that the president of the US was ferried to the Taj Mahal by e-vehicles has not gone unnoticed by industry players!
However, the uptake of this segment has not been as rapid as expected, despite a slew of measures and incentives provided by the government. From a tax point of view, the GST council reduced the rates from 12% to 5% for vehicles, and from 18% to 5% for vehicle chargers. The Delhi 2019 e-Vehicle Policy aims at introducing more than 35,000 e-vehicles, and adding capacity of 250 charging and battery-swapping stations. It envisions the adoption of EVs such that they constitute at least 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2024. The National Electric Mobility Mission plan 2020 (NEMP) is also aligned similarly. The Kerala government has brought in a major policy shift, instructing all its departments to purchase only e-vehicles from the next financial year. Schemes like FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) have certainly incentivised local manufacturing and the growth of domestic technology. Looking at how other countries are keen to take their manufacturing out of China and are looking for alternative destinations, it is paramount that India steps up to offer them an attractive ecosystem in this sector in the post-Covid world. As global supply chains have been disrupted due to the crisis, the requirements of lithium-ion cells will be addressed by the upcoming 40 GWH of installed Li-ion capacity plants in India, which itself is a great opportunity.
Possibilities for growth in demand
Going forward, there are a lot of growth drivers for this industry in the new normal. Firstly, its commercial advantages should lead to a surge in the usage of e-rickshaws and e-carts in short distance logistics, and last-mile connectivity in the e-commerce segment. Second, surveys find that younger consumers, particularly females, more willing to invest in EVs than older generation. As India is overwhelmingly young, this presents a bright future for EV manufacturers. Given that personal mobility is going to pick up again post-Covid, there should be a further policy push (beyond what has already been announced in successive budgets) for a visible shift towards increased EV adoption, particularly since consumers are seeing the benefits of a cleaner environment. Banks should devise innovative credit schemes (now that repo rate is low) to push for such a shift. Simultaneously, the government should focus on augmenting the charging infrastructure and have in place a scrappage policy that drives new-vehicle sale. In the longer term, the existing brands will need to go for more indigenisation to make the vehicles more affordable and maintenance easier, with quick availability of parts (no dependence on import). This would ensure better services to customers; this, as of now, is a pain point. Besides, wireless and on-the-go charging are the new technologies coming up that might boost sales. EVs are the only way to decarbonise the transport sector and achieve India’s ambitious target of complete green mobility by 2030.Z
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/reviving-the-automobile-sector/1962211/
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Gas/ Pipelines/ Company News
GAIL to commission RLNG pipeline next month
After a delay of decades, the Gas Authority of India Limited (Gail) is all set to commission Kochi-Mangaluru Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) pipeline next month.
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Once the project is through, sales of LNG from the Puthuvyppu terminal will go up considerably benefitting the state government. Gail has resumed the work of laying pipes that had been stopped due to the lockdown. Only a small stretch in the Kasaragod district remains to be completed. “Barring a small stretch across Chandragiri river, laying of the pipeline has been completed and it will be over within a month unless there is any fresh hindrance. So, we expect that the Kochi-Bengaluru LNG pipeline network can be commissioned by the first week of June,” said P Murugesan, executive director, Gail. According to Gail authorities, pre-commissioning activities are going on in full swing. Supply of LNG from LNG Petronet, Puthuvype in Kochi is expected to go up once the pipeline is commissioned. “Many of the industrial units in and around Mangaluru are waiting for LNG connection. Our priority should be giving supply to industries like Mangalore Chemical and Fertilizers Limited (MCF). They had been waiting for the supply for quite some time. So, the supply of LNG from Kochi will go up by one million cubic feet soon. The increase in the supply will touch around 3 million cubic feet in the next few months after the commissioning of the pipeline,” Murugesan said. “Many small-scale industrial units, commercial units like hotels and other firms along Kochi-Mangaluru are also waiting for LNG connectivity. At a time when almost all the sectors are facing economic recession, connectivity of LNG which is cheaper, more effective, and safer than other fuels will be a boon for many industrial and commercial units,” Murugesan said. “Moreover, the tax revenue from LNG supply will also go up and the Kerala government will be benefitted out of that,” he said Commissioning of the Kochi-Mangaluru pipeline will also help expedite work on city gas projects in the northern districts of Kerala as well as in Mangaluru. Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has awarded the work on city gas projects in the districts from Ernakulam to Kasaragod to IOC-Adani Gas Private Limited. With Gail already commissioning the pipeline along Kochi-Chandragiri, city gas projects in the northern districts of Kerala can be started without any delay
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ONGC gas pipeline leaks in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari
East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh): There was a leak in the gas pipeline of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at Turpupalem village in Malikipuram Mandal here on Saturday.
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After villagers alerted officials the gas supply the situation was brought under control, police said. Malikipuram sub-inspector Nagaraju told that the gas leak started at around 6 PM. ONGC technicians rushed to the spot and closed down all the wells immediately. After that, they brought the situation under control by reducing pressure.”95 per cent of leakage is prevented. But sporadic leaks are occurring. Overall situation is under control. Technicians are still at work. Cause of leakage not yet known,” the sub-inspector said. (ANI)
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India’s gas demand gradually picking up as virus restrictions ease
India’s natural gas consumption is recovering slowly as the world’s biggest lockdown starts to ease with the gradual resumption of economic and industrial activity, several industry sources said.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is starting to pull back from one of the world’s tightest lockdowns of 1.3 billion people, which has left millions out of work and stranded in cities far from home while infections keep rising. The government has already allowed some economic activity to resume in areas where there are few cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus “Gas demand is rising as some industries are back, like chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Every industry wants to start operations,” a LNG industry official based in India said. “Some textile, ceramic, and steel (businesses) have started operations, (and) demand from refineries is back to normal.” Daily gas consumption in Morbi in western Gujarat state, the country’s largest ceramic industry cluster, has for instance risen to 0.9 MMSCMD from zero in April, the official said. Industry players last year pegged its usual gas requirements at 6.5-6.8 MMSCMD. Indian refineries such as Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd have come back into the spot market over the past two weeks to seek LNG cargoes for May to June delivery, traders said. The country’s state oil refiners, which together own about 60% of India’s refining capacity and are among the biggest buyers of gas, are scaling up crude processing as local fuel demand begins to improve. India’s Gujarat State Petroleum Corp is seeking five LNG cargoes for delivery over July to December, its first requirement since March, when it issued force majeure notices to its suppliers. An executive from India’s top gas importer Petronet, which declared force majeure on purchases from Qatar under long-term deals in late March, also said there had been some recovery in demand compared to last month. “Gas is also finding preference over some of the older coal-based power plants which are less economical or use older technology,” he said, adding that air-conditioning use from residential sectors are also rising. However, with Indian utility GAIL (India) halting LNG imports at its 5 MMTPA Ratnagiri terminal until end-September, any rise in imports of super cooled gas into the country will be limited, sources said. “Full revival of demand will take a few weeks or months, depending on the sector and location,” one said.
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Natural gas demand up a third from lockdown lows: Gail executive
Natural gas demand has risen by a third from its recent lows as factory activity expanded and more gas-driven vehicles came on the roads following the easing of lockdown curbs,
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according to an executive at GAIL, the country’s largest marketer and transporter of gas. Natural gas sales by GAIL has risen to 74 MMSCMD from 56 MMSCMD in the last week of March when the nationwide lockdown started, severely restricting mobility and shutting most industries. The volumes are still much lower than the 86 MMSCMD GAIL supplied before the lockdown began. Besides its own gas, GAIL also transmits about 24 MMSCMD of gas marketed by other companies through its pipeline network. This volume had dropped to about 8 MMSCMD at the beginning of lockdown but has now risen to about 12 MMSCMD, signaling refiners and other gas players are also witnessing a consumption recovery. Rising demand could act as a signal for ONGC, which had to shut some wells as demand weakened during the lockdown, to raise local output and for other gas players to increase import. “With further easing of lockdown, the demand would continue to rise,” said a GAIL executive. The biggest jump in demand has come from fertilizer plants, which had slowed at the beginning of the lockdown but are now operating at full capacity or more to quickly deliver supplies to farmers for the current sowing season. GAIL has also restarted a petrochemical unit that was shut during the lockdown, contributing to increased gas demand. The city gas distribution business, which mainly caters to smaller factories, homes, shops and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, has been the worst hit and the biggest contributor to gas demand slump during the lockdown. “It has also started picking up. With more private vehicles coming on the roads, the demand for CNG will go up,” the executive said. Further strengthening of gas demand would depend largely on how fast factories return to production levels seen before the lockdown. Factory activity will be challenged by the paucity of labour and demand in the economy, the executive said. Lakhs of migrant workers have gone to their villages from cities and getting them back to factories could take months. Besides, CNG demand growth would be determined by how quickly people start attending offices. The recent spurt in the Covid cases in the country may prompt companies to continue with work-from-home arrangement for their employees.
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Oil Minister reviews pipeline projects worth ₹8,000 crore
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed pipeline projects worth approximately ₹8,000 crore on Thursday (May 21).
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An official statement said that these projects are under various stages of implementation. Pradhan also pitched for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in pipeline projects and called for complete indigenisation. In a series of tweets, Pradhan said, “GAIL is processing line pipe tenders of more than ₹1,000 crore for around 1 lakh tonnes of steel procurement by September 2020 for progressive supply of 800-km-line pipe from domestic bidders. This quantity is expected to be doubled by the end of current financial year.” Pradhan said that project work along the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga, Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra pipeline, has resumed in full swing post Covid-19 lockdowns and is gearing up to connect Eastern India with the West to Central natural gas pipeline corridor for boosting gas-based economy in the country. He also said that Indian Oil is implementing 1450-km-long natural gas pipeline project in southern India with a project cost of ₹6,025 crore. This project will require approximately 1.65 lakh tonne steel pipes that can be potentially manufactured in India. Commenting on the progress of the Indradhanush Gas Grid, aimed at connecting the North Eastern part of the country, Pradhan said, “The Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited is processing line pipe tenders of more than ₹950 crore for around 73,000 tonnes of steel procurement by July 2020 for progressive supply of 550-km-line pipe from domestic bidders.” “This quantity is expected to be doubled by the end of current financial year,” he added.
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Policy Matters/ Gas Pricing/Others
Industry awaiting gas exchange policy
The Centre is yet to take a call on the regulations under which the Indian Gas Exchange Limited (IGX) would operate.
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According to officials in the know, clarity is awaited on which body can monitor and regulate the operations of IGX. The formation of IGX was announced by Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX), the country’s largest energy exchange and the parent company. IGX is projected as India’s first automated national level trading platform to promote and sustain an efficient and robust gas market and to foster gas trading in the country.
“The rules are still unclear about who will be the regulator for this exchange and what terms will dictate its operations. The government in its wisdom may also introduce a levy on the trade to rake in some moolah from the gas trade. All these parameters will surely impact the operations and gains that a player seeks by becoming a member of the gas exchange,” representatives from a medium size oil and gas producer seeking to becoming a seller on the IGX told BusinessLine. The idea of a gas exchange was formally expressed in a tender that PNGRB had floated in 2018 for hiring the consultant who was to suggest policy changes for this exchange.
Preparations in full swing
But it is unclear whether the PNGRB is to regulate or oversee the operations of this hub/exchange. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and PNGRB in subsequent statements reiterated the Centre’s commitment to setting up a gas exchange in India. It was expected that price discovered at this exchange will enable policy makers to devise future policy changes that dictate domestic gas pricing. On its part, IGX has begun accepting members for a fee on its platform and is also holding promotional activities to prep up for a launch. According to some industry watchers, there is also a strong push to appoint the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) as the regulator for this gas market too. “The absence of any defined regulatory oversight is unusual in India for a sensitive commodity like natural gas. So, policy clarity will be essential to make the gas exchange operations a success,” a potential gas buyer in the ceramic industry said.
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Domestic oil and gas companies may soon get cess and royalty relief- Details
The government is considering to lower the cess and royalty for domestic oil and gas companies, with indigenous production
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becoming increasingly un-remunerative due to the huge fall in global crude prices. “The petroleum and natural gas ministry has recommended to the finance ministry to look into the expectations of the oil and gas producing companies, about the cess and royalty issue in a sympathetic manner,” Union oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told a business channel. “We are concerned about this issue, primarily ONGC, Oil India and other private companies,” Pradhan added. ONGC’s per-barrel production cost is in the range of $35-40 and global crude prices have been trading at below this rate for a long time. The price of domestic gas has also been slashed 26% to $2.39 per MMBtu, whereas ONGC’s output cost is around $3.8-6.6/MMbtu in various fields. The cess on crude production (value) is 16.7%, while royalty charged is 15%. “We understand that ONGC has requested the government to consider exempting it from payment of cess, royalties, and profit petroleum until crude prices are less than $45/barrel,” S&P Global Ratings said recently. The agency estimates ONGC’s consolidated earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) will decline by 30%-35% during FY21. According to sources, the industry has requested the government to defer and reduce the royalty, cess and profit petroleum it receives from domestic crude oil producers under the PSC regime. They also want PSCs, slated to be renewed in September, to be extended till FY21-end. Other demands include the removal of ceiling on gas price for deep water, ultra-deep water and high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) fields and zero GST levies on exploration and development activities. Apart from Cairn Oil and Gas, which is the key player, other private firms engaged in domestic crude production include Selan Oil, Hindustan Oil Exploration Company and Sun Petrochemicals.
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India will reduce the number of central government companies some of them will get bigger and some will be sold to private players
There are 339 public sector enterprises in India and often at the receiving end of the argument that the ‘government has no business being in business’.
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However, the Narendra Modi government has decided to use the COVID-19 crisis to merge or privatise many of these and expose them to private competition. India’s central public sector enterprises will exist only in ‘strategic sectors’ where the government role will be important. But there will be two different sets. Here’s how it will work. In one set, there will be at least one central public sector company which will compete with private players. In the second set, there won’t be more than four public sector enterprises and private players will be allowed. “If there are sectors where there are too many government companies, they will be brought together in such a way that there won’t be more than four. A detailed policy will soon be issued,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said but stopped short of mentioning what these sectors will be. Here’s the list of total of all the central public sector enterprises in India. As of March, 2019 the net worth of all CPSEs in India stood at ₹12.08 lakh crore. The government has already begun the process of privatisation of several public companies. Air India – the government-owned airline – has been on the block for a while now. Aside from this, there are also pending proposals to sell the central government stake in companies like BPCL, Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), and Container Corporation of India (Concor). It is not clear as of now whether the new reforms will affect these decisions. During the budget announcements in February 2020, the Indian government had set a target of gaining ₹2.1 lakh crore from disinvestments by FY21. This is even after in the previous financial year, the government had to revise its targets from ₹1.05 lakh crore to ₹65,000 crore.
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India’s fuel demand recovers in May
India’s fuel demand is recovering fast in May after falling at a record pace in April following the easing of lockdown that has permitted more vehicles on the roads and increased factory activity.
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The diesel and petrol sales by state oil companies have fallen by 28% and 47.5%, respectively, in the first fortnight of May from a year earlier, according to industry executives. This is a sharp improvement from April, when the sale of diesel and petrol had declined by 56.5% and 61%, respectively. State companies control nearly 90% of domestic fuel sales. A staggered easing of nationwide lockdown has got many factories humming back to life and more goods trucks and passenger cars on the roads, driving up demand for fuel. The first fortnight of April, which overlapped with the first and the strictest phase of the nationwide lockdown imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus had witnessed the sharpest fall in fuel demand with diesel and petrol sales falling 61% and 64%, respectively, from a year earlier. An expected further easing of the lockdown curbs may boost fuel demand in the second fortnight of May, executives said. Jet fuel sales, however, are barely recovering as passenger planes are still barred from flying. Jet fuel sales fell 87% in the first fortnight of May from a year earlier. In April, it had declined by 91.5%.The sales of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used mainly for cooking in the country, has jumped 24% in the first fortnight of May from a year earlier, further improving its scorching growth pace of the past many months. The LPG sales in the first half of April was 21% higher though for the full month reduced to just 12% mainly because dealers slowed taking delivery towards the end of the month in anticipation of a sharp reduction in cooking gas prices at the beginning of May, executives said. Increased fuel demand has come as a big relief to refineries, which are now increasing their run rates. Indian Oil Corp said its refineries have raised capacity utilization to 60% from 45% last month and plan to raise it further to 80% by end-May. A demand collapse and overflowing storage had forced all refiners to cut capacity utilization. None of the refineries was shut down though some came very close to it.
Fuel sales growth on the recovery path:
May 1-15 |
April |
|
Diesel |
-28 per cent |
-56.5 per cent |
Petrol |
-47.5 per cent |
-61 per cent |
Jet Fuel |
-87 per cent |
-91.5 per cent |
LPG |
24 per cent |
12 per cent |
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Covid-19 lockdown: Petroleum sector throttled
The lockdown has severely hurt the petroleum sector, with oil and gas as well as refining suffering a sharp decline in production. Gas output in April fell 18.6% to 2.16 BCM against 2.65 BCM a year ago, according to the oil ministry.
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The country’s top gas producer ONGC reported a 15.3% drop in output at 1.72 BCM. “The shortfall in gas production (by ONGC) is primarily due to less gas offtake by consumers,” the ministry said. State-owned Oil India Ltd also produced 10% less natural gas at 202.05 MMSCM because of the presence of carbon dioxide at one of its fields in Assam and less purchases by consumers because of the lockdown. Crude oil production fell 6.35% to 2.5 MMT in April. Production at ONGC was marginally lower at 1.7 MMT, while private player Cairn produced 19.2% less at 615,800 tonnes. ONGC had to shut down some of its wells on the western coast because of lower demand from GAIL and the restriction of movement of its staff. Refineries produced about 30% less fuel in April at 18.9 MMT as the lockdown kept most vehicles off the roads. “Reasons for the shortfall in production mainly include low demand due to Covid-19 lockdown,” the ministry said. Petroleum product demand is expected to fall eight per cent to 4,597 thousand barrels per day in 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said as part of its May oil market report. Demand is projected to fall 350 thousand barrels per day in the second quarter of 2020, primarily because of mobility restrictions. The IEA has projected demand to fall 60 per cent year-on-year in April and May. Diesel demand is projected to contract 690 thousand barrels per day in the second quarter of 2020, while demand for aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and kerosene is projected to fall almost 40% in April-May. Roughly half of the kerosene produced is used as jet fuel and will be severely impacted by airline restrictions, the IEA said. Overall, India’s oil demand is expected to fall 4.60 million barrels per day in 2020 compared with 5.01 million barrels per day in 2019. The agency expects domestic crude oil production to continue to decline in 2020.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/business/covid-19-lockdown-petroleum-sector-throttled/cid/1775547
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LNG Development and Shipping
Qatar ready to discuss India’s demand to cut long-term LNG prices
Qatar has agreed to discuss India’s demand to renegotiate the long-term LNG contract, reversing the stand it took just four months ago, as crumbling spot prices and collapsing demand
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during the pandemic has put global suppliers under tremendous pressure. “Qatar was earlier cold to the idea but has now agreed to discuss. A meeting is being arranged and should happen over the next week or two,” said a person familiar with the matter. Executives at Petronet LNG, which imports Qatari gas are likely to meet via videoconference with Qatar gas executives soon to discuss how prices can be cut for the 8.5 MMTPA of supply deal that expires in 2028.Petronet LNG is also planning to approach ExxonMobil to cut prices on its 20-year-contract for 2.5 MMTPA of LNG from its Australian project, said the person. The decision to discuss Indian demand is a climbdown for Qatar, whose energy minister had rejected at January-end Indian petroleum and natural gas minister’s suggestion to reopen the contract. India had then demanded delinking LNG price from crude oil rates, as the spot rate in the gas market had sharply fallen to around $4 per MMBtu while oil prices were around $60 a barrel, keeping long-term gas prices high at around $8-9 per MMBtu. Since then oil prices have fallen to $35 per barrel, going below $20 per barrel for some days in between. But LNG prices too have crumbled, falling to a record low of $1.3 per MMBtu last week. The Indian side would like Qatar to cut LNG prices either by delinking it from crude and linking it to some gas market benchmarks or lowering the Brent-linked slope that determines the price. Qatari LNG is priced at a slope of 12.7% of the three-month average Brent prices. The recent fall in crude oil prices has lowered Qatari LNG rates to about $5 per MMBtu, which is much lower than the rates three months ago but appears expensive compared to that in the spot market. Some of the recent global LNG supply contracts have been signed at a slope of around 10.5% and the Indian side is hopeful that Qatar could extend similar terms to the old buyers. “It’s a buyer’s market. Globally, suppliers are today far more worried about placing their volumes than about prices,” said an industry executive, who did not wish to be identified. Petronet had renegotiated long-contract with Qatar in 2015 under which Qatar had agreed to price gas at a three-month average of Brent crude instead of the 60-month average used until then. In return, Petronet agreed to buy an additional 1 MMTPA of LNG from Qatar. But this time, India may not be in a position to offer to buy more as domestic demand for gas is not so strong, said industry executives.
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Spot LNG price crash set to make life harder for Indian suppliers of long-term gas
Spot prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have fallen sharply to $1.3 per unit, which has serious implications for India because it will be difficult to sell the fuel to factories as supplies
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under long-term contracts have a much higher rate of $5-7. Industry fears a flood of disputes and litigation as factories are already struggling with very weak demand because of the lockdown. LNG rates have been under pressure for more than a year due to a supply glut but the extraordinary demand destruction by the coronavirus pandemic and the difficulty in storing the super-cooled liquid has hammered global gas prices like never before. International gas prices, a variable in the domestic price, have also been falling. Domestic prices fell 26% in the last six-monthly revision on April 1 to $2.39 based on the government-set formula. This triggered demands by local producers to lift all price controls. The formula price is derived from average rates at international gas hubs. Maximum price producers can charge for gas from fields located in difficult terrains has also dropped a third to $5.61 per MMBtu. The average of spot-LNG prices in April this year was $2.4 per million metric British thermal Units, compared with $5.2 in last April and $6.4 in December, according to Japan’s trade ministry data. LNG rates in the Asian region closely follow that of Japan. With LNG rates under long-term contracts being several times the spot prices, industry executives say it would be difficult to sell gas to Indian factories, which want to cut energy costs as the economy reopens amid general demand uncertainties. “Ever since global spot rates crashed, it’s been hard to sell long-term gas to customers. Following the lockdown, it may be harder to convince them to continue taking this gas,” said an executive at a state firm. Gas marketers like GAIL, Indian Oil, GSPC and Bharat Petroleum procure LNG via one or more long-term contracts with suppliers in Qatar, Russia, Australia and the US. They make this supply available to city gas distributors or industrial customers under a contract that requires customers to pay even if they can’t take gas during the contract period. “The disparity between long-term and spot is very stark,” said K Ravichandran, group head-corporate sector ratings at ratings agency ICRA. “Amid lockdown, consumers have declared force majeure but suppliers are not agreeing. Until the eventual suppliers like Qatar agree to it, the entire value chain will be caught in litigation.” Bigger consumers like fertilizer and power plants have a cost pass-through facility but other industries don’t. “Smaller players would want to get out of such expensive contracts. But that could result in suppliers encashing their bank guarantees, resulting in legal disputes,” said Ravichandran. The current situation would hurt margins of gas marketers. Pipeline utilization is falling and that would diminish returns for operators. Gas prices under long-term contracts with suppliers in Qatar, Russia or Australia are linked to moving average of crude oil prices for the past three or more months. GAIL’s US LNG contracts are linked to gas hub rates but high liquefaction and transport costs make it uncompetitive.
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IOC may use optionality clause for term crude, defer LNG imports: chairman
Singh said that closure of many downstream units had taken a toll on India’s LNG consumption. As a result, IOC would be deferring import arrivals of some of the cargoes under its term contracts.
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“There will be some impact on contractual cargoes because if we can’t sell, we have to find a way. We have asked for deferrals that is always the first preference, not cancellations,” he added. Singh said that the gap between spot LNG prices and the oil-linked LNG prices was also standing in the way of consumption. “Today, everyone is sensitive to the price. Therefore, this year we won’t see LNG demand growth to take place as expected. But for the longer term, we are on track.” He said that the lockdown had delayed pipeline construction work at some LNG projects. “We were very positive on the pipeline construction activity for Ennore terminal before the lockdown. We were hoping things would be completed by end of this year. But the project may get pushed back by a few months,” Singh said. “After the construction work is over we will see decent utilization of the terminal.” Singh said that IOC was working with ExxonMobil on gaining experience and technical knowledge on delivering cost-effective natural gas in India, in ways other than traditional pipelines. “It creates a virtual pipeline for LNG and helps small customers to get access to supplies. Separately, we are also working on a project called LNG on wheels which would look to replace CNG with LNG in larger trucks.” Platts Analytics expects India’s LNG imports to be roughly 36 Bcm in 2020, up 10% from 2019 levels. The country’s total natural gas consumption is expected to grow to nearly 60 Bcm in 2020, up nearly 5 Bcm over 2019 levels. However, there is more risk to the downside given the decline in consumption due to the country’s lockdown restrictions.
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India’s GAIL halts LNG imports at Ratnagiri port – source
Indian utility GAIL (India) Ltd has stopped importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes at its 5 MMTPA Ratnagiri terminal as the start of monsoon makes operations difficult without a breakwater,
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a company source said. GAIL hopes to resume receiving cargoes at the Ratnagiri Port in western Maharashtra state in October, the GAIL source said, adding that the company received its last LNG cargo at the port from Russia’s Gazprom on May 8. Maharashtra Maritime Board has ordered for closure of Ratnagiri Port from May 26 to Aug. 31, citing safety concerns, according to a notice seen by Reuters. “Downloading a cargo in September is most of the time difficult as the sea continues to be rough during month,” the GAIL source said. A GAIL spokesperson did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/indias-gail-halts-lng-imports-at-ratnagiri-port-source/
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Natural Gas / Transnational Pipelines/ Others
European gas prices hit new lows as demand weakens, supply rises
European gas prices are hitting new lows due to high temperatures, strong renewables generation and rising supplies from pipelines and liquefied natural gas.
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With gas storage at record highs and supply showing no signs of easing, some traders are expecting European gas prices to go to zero or even turn negative, similar to the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price move below zero last month. In the Dutch gas market, the day-ahead contract dropped below $1 per MMBtu on Thursday (May 21), for the first time since 2006, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. The month-ahead dropped to a record low of $1.2 per MMBtu. Such a dramatic drop was a surprise, a European gas trader said. “The aggressiveness (of selling), especially this week, was unexpected,” he said, adding that it was likely that prices for some contracts could drop below zero. He said there was a ‘put’ option on Thursday to sell gas during the third quarter at a pre-defined price of zero. Producers and system operators are delaying non-essential spring and summer maintenance due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is adding volumes to the market. “European gas prices are currently in the ‘no man’s land’, with several forward contracts at all-time lows and likely below the average production costs of the major piped suppliers into Europe,” said Refinitiv gas analyst Xun Peng. “With no clear sign of a slowdown in supply along with demand still muted due to COVID-19 protective measures, the landscape of an acutely over-supplied European gas market has become more pronounced,” Peng added. In the British gas market, prices also fell, with some prompt contracts down around 20%.
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Gas production to resume at Israel’s Leviathan after brief halt -company
Production at Israel’s offshore Leviathan natural gas field will resume in the coming hours after an emergency shutdown on Saturday, the project’s operator Noble Energy said.
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The platform’s flare system had been activated to burn off excess gas, generating a flame visible from shore, in what Israel’s Energy Ministry called an “emergency closure.” Noble initially referred to it as an “operational event” but updated later it had been a false alarm caused by a gas detector failure. “All the safety systems on the rig are working properly and natural gas production from Leviathan is expected to resume in the coming hours,” the company said. Leviathan, one of the largest gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, is owned by Texas-based Noble, Israel’s Delek Drilling and Ratio Oil. It came online at the end of last year and supplies Israel, Egypt and Jordan.
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China to bolster energy reserve capacity, support unconventional gas exploration
China said on Friday it will bolster the capacity of the country’s energy reserves and offer lower gas and electricity charges to key industries, as it looks to ensure energy supply and
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offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In energy announcements on the first day of the parliament, known as the National People’s Congress (NPC), authorities also pledged to boost the country’s oil and gas network and continue to support exploration for unconventional gas reserves. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement it would push forward construction of crude oil reserves. The coronavirus pandemic has led to a slump in demand for crude oil, with insufficient storage capacity worldwide. The NDRC said it would also press ahead with competitive trading of mining rights for oil- and gas-bearing zones, aiming to attract more market players into oil and gas exploration and production. The country will also accelerate construction of oil and gas network and encourage the opening up of pipeline facilities to all eligible users, said the state planner. China set up its long-awaited national oil and gas pipeline company in December aiming at providing fair market access to infrastructure and boost investment in oil and gas production. The Ministry of Finance said in its 2020 annual budget report that it will continue to support exploration and utilisation of unconventional natural gas, including shale gas and coalbed methane, as China looks to lower its reliance on imports. The ministry will also lower gas charges to agriculture-related sectors seriously affected by coronavirus, such as chemical fertiliser businesses that use natural gas as feedstock. It also plans to extend a 5% reduction in electricity prices for industrial and commercial businesses till the end of the year. It previously reduced electricity prices from Feb. 1 to June 30.
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Gazprom’s natural gas export revenue fell by 51% in Q1
Russian energy giant Gazprom’s natural gas export revenue via pipelines decreased by 51.6% to $6.8 billion year-on-year in the first quarter of the year.
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According to the data of the Russian Federal Customs Service, Gazprom’s natural gas export volume by pipelines decreased by 24% in the January-March period, compared with the same period of the previous year, to 46.6 billion cubic meters. The amount of income via gas exports decreased by 13% in March compared with the previous month and fell to $1.7 billion. Gazprom’s net profit decreased by 17% in 2019 year-on-year, falling to 1.2 trillion ruobles (about $17 billion). In Russia, only state giant Gazprom, one of the largest natural gas producers in the world, can export natural gas via pipeline a practice that has been long, if unsuccessfully, challenged by competitors while private gas producer Novatek has the right to export LNG. Oil revenue down 13% – Meanwhile, according to the data, the volume of oil exports in the country decreased by 5.8% to 63.1 million tons in the January-March period compared with the same period of 2019. Russia’s oil export revenue fell 13.6% to $25.6 billion, during this period. The country’s revenue from oil exports also fell by 6% down to $121 billion in 2019.
https://www.dailysabah.com/business/energy/gazproms-natural-gas-export-revenue-fell-by-51-in-q1
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Global gas demand to shrink by 2 per cent this year amid pandemic: Research
Global demand for natural gas is expected to fall by almost 2 per cent this year as commercial and industrial activity is reduced amid coronavirus lockdowns, consultancy Rystad Energy said on Monday (May 18).
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Global gas demand could total 3,878 BCM in 2020, down from 3,951 BCM last year, the consultancy forecast. Before the coronavirus outbreak, demand was expected to grow to 4,038 BCM. “2020 will be the first year since 2009 where there will be no growth in consumption. This will be a hard blow for an industry accustomed to yearly growth rates of more than 3%,” said Rystad Energy’s head of gas and power markets Carlos Torres-Diaz. However, gas remains competitive to other sources of energy, especially in the power sector where gas use has remained relatively stable in most countries, he added. Although gas demand in Europe has slumped, demand in the United States remains resilient, mostly as a result of increasing demand from the power sector which has compensated for a drop in other sectors. Gas demand from the U.S. power sector has averaged 25 billion cubic feet per day (708 MMSCMD) over the last two weeks, in line with last year’s level. Natural gas production is estimated at around 4,000 BCM this year based on lower investment activity in the exploration and production industry. As storage capacity is very full, producers are expected to push volumes into the market. “This could trigger a demand response to absorb the additional volumes, but this will be very dependent on gas prices remaining competitive to coal,” the report said. Dutch gas prices, the European benchmark, are expected to average $3.3 per MMBtu and Asian spot prices to average $3.8/MMBtu this year, below the range at which coal-to-gas switching takes place in most countries.
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Trans-Australian $6b gas pipeline gets fresh legs
The idea of a $6 billion pipeline linking large gas fields off Western Australia to the east coast has got a new lease of life under the Neville Power-led COVID Coordination Commission
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with the aim of reviving gas-based manufacturing despite serious doubts about its economics. The trans-continental pipeline, which was found to be unviable two years ago, is among options being considered by the Commission as it works up recommendations to be put to the Morrison government, according to sources. A potential trans-Australian pipeline is back on the table thanks to the COVID Coordination Commission. James Davies. Several members of the Commission for its manufacturing taskforce have previously spoken in favour of such a pipeline, including Mr Power himself, special adviser Andrew Liveris and manufacturing taskforce member Daniel Walton, national secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union. Mr Power, the former Fortescue Metals Group chief executive, last September described a West-East pipeline as “a permanent and low-cost long-term solution”, allowing businesses to tap into the line all the way across Australia. He is also on the board of Strike Energy, a junior gasfield developer that is seeking to develop the large West Erregulla find north of Perth. Some manufacturers such as Qenos and Dow Chemical are also keen to see a West-East pipeline further explored, believing that the alternative of LNG imports will be unaffordable for their operations. The pipeline could run from the West coast to Moomba in South Australia’s north, from where the existing gas grid would be used to deliver fuel to manufacturers in NSW and Victoria.
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Turkey cools on Moscow’s natural gas to snap up cheaper Russian LNG
Russia’s Yamal LNG plant delivered a spot cargo to Turkey last month, trading sources said and data showed, only the second such delivery to date as lower LNG prices undermine
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Moscow’s natural gas pipeline exports to a key market. In Russia, only state giant Gazprom can export natural gas via pipeline – a practice which has been long but unsuccessfully challenged by competitors – but private gas producer Novatek has the right to export LNG. Supplies of Russian natural gas via pipelines and LNG are mainly sent to Europe and Asia but to different customers. Moscow has long said that its gas exports should not compete but rather complement each other. However, with demand weak amid the coronavirus pandemic, super-cooled LNG is much cheaper than gas via the pipelines, where pricing terms are largely fixed. According to two traders and LNG tracking data, Turkish state energy company Botas last month bought a Yamal LNG cargo in the spot market from Total, one of Novatek’s partners at the Yamal plant. Russia supplies gas to Turkey, one of its key customers, via the TurkStream and Blue Stream undersea pipelines which have a total capacity of 32BCM per year. Gazprom sales to Turkey fell by 35% to 15.5 BCM last year, or half of the pipelines’ capacity. Gazprom planned maintenance at Blue Stream for May 13-19 but a Turkish official told Reuters works will be extended by 10 days. A Turkish energy source told Reuters that Botas is expected to buy more LNG in the spot market, while the Blue Stream maintenance allowed the company to limit purchases from Gazprom. “For Botas it makes sense to reduce pipeline imports from Russia and substitute this with spot LNG supplies as LNG is currently much cheaper,” said Carlos Torres Diaz, head of gas markets at Oslo-based energy consultancy Rystad Energy. He estimates that the price for pipeline imports from Russia to Turkey will stand at around $6.5 per MMBtu in the second quarter compared to $1.5-2 per MMBtu for spot LNG deliveries. “A fall (in gas sales to Turkey) will be even deeper in the second quarter,” a Gazprom source told Reuters, adding that overall shipments to Europe, including Turkey, were down 19.2% year-on-year to 39.62 bcm in the first quarter. Gazprom declined to comment.
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Gazprom considers second gas pipeline to China
Russia’s Gazprom said Monday (May18) it was launching feasibility studies on constructing a second gas pipeline to China that would more than double the volumes it could deliver to the energy-hungry nation.
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“The objective is to connect the gas transportation infrastructure in the west and the east of Russia,” Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. The idea of a second Power of Siberia pipeline has been kicked around for several years to augment Russia’s ability to export energy to China. The more than 2,000-kilometre Russian section of the first Power of Siberia pipeline was inaugurated at the end of last year and will be able to carry up to 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually all the way to Shanghai once the Chinese section is finished in 2022 or 2023.While the first pipeline will tap gas fields in eastern Russia, the new one will likely link up to fields in western Russia such as the one on the Yamal peninsula which also supplies Gazprom’s European customers.Miller did not mention a potential date for construction of the pipeline, but said it might be built to carry up to 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year and might cross Mongolia. China signed a 30-year gas supply agreement with Russia in 2014 worth an estimated $400 billion.
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Oil prices ease on dim economic outlook despite signs of firmer demand
Oil prices dipped on Wednesday (May 13) as concerns over the lasting economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic outweighed signs of improving demand and production cuts by major oil producers.
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Brent crude futures for July delivery were trading down 11 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $34.54 per barrel at 0031 GMT.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July were down 13 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $31.83 a barrel. The July contract became the front month after WTI futures for June expired on Tuesday, avoiding the chaos of last month’s May expiry when prices slid into negative territory. Oil prices have risen in the past three weeks, with both benchmarks climbing to above $30 for the first time in more than a month on Monday, supported by massive output cuts by major oil producers and signs of improving demand. However, a bleak economic outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve put downward pressure on oil prices. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday (May 12) layoffs by state and local governments will slow the U.S. economic recovery, while Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said the U.S. unemployment rate is likely to stay at double-digit levels by year-end. “Crude oil prices gave up earlier gains amid concerns about the long-lasting economic damage the coronavirus has caused,” ANZ Research said in a note.U.S. crude inventories fell by 4.8 million barrels to 521.3 million barrels in the week to May 15, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed on Tuesday.
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Global LNG Development
Global LNG – European price slump drags down Asian LNG
Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) were dragged down this week by a sharp drop in European gas prices and global oversupply.
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The average LNG price for July delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was estimated at between $1.85 and $2.00 per MMBtu on Friday (May 22) compared to the $2.40 per MMBtu assessment of June delivery last week. “European gas prices are taking LNG prices lower across the globe,” an LNG trader said. The front-month price on the Dutch market dropped by almost 30% in the past week, trading close to $1.00 per MMBtu on Friday. The day-ahead dropped below $1.00 per MMBtu. “It’s a rolling oversupply that is getting worse and worse,” a gas trader in Europe said. The low prices globally have forced buyers of U.S. LNG to cancel up to 45 cargoes for July loading as delivery became unprofitable, after at least 20 June cargoes were cancelled last month. However, demand from some Asian buyers is recovering. Buyers in China are taking advantage of low prices and are looking for cargoes for delivery from July onwards. PetroChina likely bought a cargo from Russia’s Novatek that operates the Yamal LNG plant at $2.50 per mmBtu for the second half of July delivery. It also bought a cargo from BP at $1.85 per MMBtu for mid-July delivery at S&P Global Platts’ Market on Close window on Friday. Seven U.S. cargoes are expected to be delivered to China in May, the highest number of cargoes for this route since January 2018. Some Indian companies were seeking cargoes too, including Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) and Reliance Industries , while Taiwan’s CPC was looking to buy LNG for delivery from 2022 onwards, trade sources said. Sell tenders came from Angola LNG, Indonesia’s Pertamina and Australia’s Ichthys, with the latter cancelling its offer citing changes in its production forecast.
Source: LNG Global/Reuters
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Fuel price slump puts North American LNG projects on ice
A worldwide slump in fuel prices is putting billions of dollars of liquefied natural gas investment on ice. LNG has tied together once-disparate energy markets,
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as natural gas is condensed for shipment overseas. But the price differences have collapsed on either side of the ocean, removing much of the imperative for the once-booming marketplace. Global gas demand will decline this year for the first time in more than a decade as the pandemic drags on industrial output and power generation, the International Energy Agency estimates. Long-term forecasts are in tatters. The looming gas glut is clouding prospects for an ambitious queue of projects designed to export shale gas from the US and Canada. “We don’t see any additional North American export capacity getting sanctioned in the next decade,” said Ross Wyeno, an LNG analyst at S&P Global Platts. Exporting LNG requires massive investments in liquefaction plants and ports whose financing usually hinges on long-term sales contracts. Projects designed to ship out more than 900m tonnes a year await approval from developers, with North America accounting for two-thirds of this capacity, according to the International Gas Union. Developers had been preparing to profit from a period of scarcity expected in two or three years. But the low demand and the 41.8m tonnes of new capacity already added last year will prolong the glut into the mid- to late-2020s — and possibly later as the low-cost supplier Qatar forges ahead with a huge expansion push, the gas union said.
Strains are showing at some North American LNG developers. Houston-based NextDecade furloughed staff, cut executive pay and set out plans to lease smaller office space as it postponed a decision date on its $10bn project in southern Texas. “Our balance sheet is strong, we have no debt outstanding and the fundamentals of our Rio Grande LNG project remain firmly intact,” said Matt Schatzman, NextDecade chief executive. US utility Sempra Energy this month delayed a final decision to at least 2021 on a $9bn project in Port Arthur, Texas. Justin Bird, chief executive of its LNG subsidiary, said the market will need more supplies in the mid-2020s, and “we believe Sempra LNG projects are the leading candidate to supply this need”. Tellurian, developer of a $30bn project in Louisiana, has cut its headcount by 40 per cent and stretched out a loan repayment while it weathers what chief executive Meg Gentle called “extreme energy and financial market conditions”. CharifSouki, the Tellurian co-founder and chairman who owns 10.7 per cent of the company, has put his Aspen, Colorado ranch up for sale with an asking price of $220m, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. A person close to the company said the offering was for personal property that had nothing to do with Tellurian. Only one terminal is under construction in Canada, a Royal Dutch Shell-backed project in British Columbia known as LNG Canada. The pandemic has forced contractors to “significantly” curtail the workforce at the site to avoid contagion, the company said last week.
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Japan’s April LNG imports fall to decade low as coronavirus curbs demand
Japan’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell to the lowest in a decade in April as the coronavirus outbreak began to hit demand in the world’s biggest consumer
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of the fuel that is used for power generation and city gas. Japan imported 5.132 MMT of LNG last month, down 8.8% from a year earlier and the lowest since May 2010, data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on Thursday showed. The government declared a state of emergency in early April, effectively shutting down major sectors of the world’s third-biggest economy. With LNG cargoes imported in April being loaded well before the country’s emergency declaration, it is likely that shipments to Japan in the next few weeks will fall further as the coronavirus pandemic has hit gas demand across the world. Buyers in Asia and Europe cancelled loadings for about 20 LNG cargoes from the United States in June, trade sources told Reuters in late April. Spot prices for LNG in Asia LNG-AS hit a record low of $1.85 per MMBtu early in May as buyers in the region, the destination for about 75% of the world’s LNG cargoes, have curtailed imports.
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U.S. LNG cancellations swell with storage space vanishing
U.S. liquefied natural gas producers face a wave of order cancellations as global buyers struggle with growing stockpiles of the fuel along
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with demand weakened by the coronavirus crisis. All U.S. projects could get requests to cancel a total of 35-45 cargoes for July loading, which is higher than the number of shipments scrapped for June, traders surveyed by Bloomberg News estimated. That means more than half of the average monthly shipments from the fastest-growing LNG producing country could be scrapped in July. “With U.K. summer demand expected to be lower than average and with limits on storage capacity, it’s clear that there is very little space for any additional supplies,” Hadrien Collineau, a senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd., said in an emailed note. At least some cargo cancellations would translate into production curbs that could provide some respite from the global glut that has pushed prices to record lows. Shipments from other global suppliers have been robust despite the warm winter and the health crisis eroding demand as new plants keep pushing supply to the market. Cheniere Energy Inc., the nation’s biggest producer of LNG, received requests to cancel as many as 30 cargoes due for loading in July from buyers with long-term supply contracts, said people familiar with the situation. Cheniere may also cancel some of its own cargoes, which it typically sells into the spot market, the people said. For June, buyers told Cheniere that they would not lift at least 10 cargoes. Requests have been made to cancel shipments from both the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants in the U.S. Buyers from Europe to Asia have also made requests to cancel July loading shipments from other American projects, including from Sempra Energy’s Cameron terminal in Louisiana and Freeport LNG Development LP’s Texas project, according to the people. Freeport LNG declined to comment. Cameron LNG said in an emailed response to questions that customers have made some modifications to their production and cargo loading plans in response to current market conditions, without providing specifics. Economics for sending U.S. LNG to markets in Asia and Europe have rapidly deteriorated. The Henry Hub benchmark in the U.S., the main price link for U.S. LNG, is now above prices in European hubs. While Asian spot prices rebounded from record lows, they still don’t make U.S. exports profitable. Current forward prices indicate that traders will lose more than $0.70 per MMBtu on LNG export operations from the Gulf Coast to Rotterdam, and more than $0.40 per MMBtu for exports to Tokyo in July 2020, Anna Borisova, an analyst at BloombergNEF said in a note. “Negative profit margins for U.S. LNG exports suggest that cancellations may continue until October 2020,” she said. “Even the buyers that consider both liquefaction and LNG tankers as a sunk cost will make losses if they decide to export the commodity.” Storage sites in Europe, the closest market for U.S. cargoes, are already fuller than normal, limiting capacity to receive more imports in the latter part of the summer. There are signs U.S. LNG cargo cancellations may be starting to feed into actual production curbs as natural gas flows to U.S. export plants plummeted to their lowest level in seven months. Most of Cheniere buyers had to submit requests to cancel July loading shipments by Wednesday (May20). Cheniere declined to comment on commercial discussions with its customers or operations. “The flexibility inherent in our LNG contracts – destination flexibility and the option to not lift cargoes, but pay the liquefaction fee – helps our customers effectively manage their energy portfolios through market cycles, while still providing Cheniere with reliable cash flow,” the company said in an email.
Source: LNG Global
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Asia has already begun coal to gas switch
Cumulative thermal coal imports into the world’s top two consumers – China and India – began falling from March in line with spreading electricity demand destruction
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from the coronavirus pandemic, the company said in a webinar on Tuesday (May 19). On an energy content basis, the annualised decline in thermal coal imports in these countries in May was around ten times greater than the relevant fall in LNG imports. Falling cumulative coal imports since March also contrasted with growing LNG imports since February. “The LNG price decrease has been the key catalyst in our view,” said senior global energy analyst Alexandre Andlauer. “Many countries have been able to switch from coal to natural gas.” Spot Asian LNG prices have tumbled almost 80% over the past 15 months to around USD 2/MMbtu. Gas prices in Asia, Europe and the US have converged towards levels that were making it difficult for US exporters to cover their costs, Kpler said. It put the break-even price of US cargoes to Asia at around USD 5/MMbtu. The low prices also appear to have begun to deter LNG deliveries to Europe, which has historically functioned as a sink for excess global supply. Import schedules suggested cargoes to Europe would not climb in May, Kpler said. Qatari volumes to Europe peaked in April and those from the US in February. Both major exporters have been redirecting volumes from Asia to Europe this year due to the collapse in prices. Some of the change in Asian appetite for coal imports could be attributed to China sourcing more of the fuel domestically, Kpler noted. The extent of Indian lockdown measures had also accelerated a trend away from coal imports in May. These developments had primarily affected Indonesia as its share of coal imports for China and India fell from 65% to 61%. Other observers have suggested fuel-switching in Asia was only likely to get underway seriously later this year. Most Asian LNG supply deals are linked to the price of oil. This year’s slump in oil to some of its cheapest levels in two decades would start to show up in LNG contracts from summer due to the time lag built into oil-indexed deals, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/asia-has-already-begun-coal-to-gas-switch-kpler/
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Total’s Mozambique LNG to sign $15 billion financing in June
A Total SA-led liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique will receive commitments for about $15 billion of financing at a signing scheduled in June, marking rare progress for such a project as companies scrutinize costs.
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The first and most significant phase of the financing commitment for the LNG project — which will be Africa’s biggest private investment yet — involved lenders including about 20 banks, according to people familiar with the matter. That will move ahead at a time when plans for other facilities in the region and globally have been delayed. Acquiring funding for construction of the $23 billion project, which will chill natural gas into a liquid for export, comes as oil and gas companies globally are focused on cutting expenditure as the coronavirus curbs energy demand and pressures prices. The group of about 20 banks involved in the lending includes Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Societe Generale SA, which is acting as the financial adviser, according to one of the people familiar. Dele Kuti, Standard Bank’s global head of oil and gas, said the company was “pleased to see the progress” on achieving final credit approvals for the Mozambique LNG project, without confirming details of the financing. “We have also approved large participations in Mozambique LNG’s ECIC and commercial tranches. We look forward to signing the facilities in the next few weeks,” Kuti said. Rand Merchant Bank declined to comment. Societe Generale did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Plans for similar facilities have been put on hold or canceled. Royal Dutch Shell Plc exited a multi-billion-dollar LNG export terminal planned for Louisiana in March as coronavirus started to slash gas demand. Exxon Mobil Corp. delayed a final investment decision on its Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique that was expected later this year. The LNG market glut is expected to last through at least the middle of the decade, but some companies are betting global demand will recover after prices for the super-chilled fuel fell to a record low along with a drive for cleaner energy sources from India to China. A spokeswoman for the Mozambique LNG project said it expected to resume work in June after a coronavirus outbreak at the site, but didn’t respond to questions on its financing. First production is scheduled for 2024. The U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved the $4.7 billion loan to back American suppliers for the project. Japan Bank for International Cooperation will provide $3 billion, Mozambique state-owned newspaper Jornal Noticias reported on Tuesday (May 19). The so-called Area 1 LNG project will generate about $38 billion in revenue for Mozambique’s government over its lifetime, according to a Finance Ministry forecast. That will be supplemented by sales from the even bigger project led by Exxon and planned in the neighboring Area 4 offshore block.
Source: LNG Global/Bloomberg
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Colombia LNG imports rise on drought-depleted hydropower reservoirs
Power plant operators in northern Colombia are on track to double liquefied natural gas imports this year at the Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao port and regasification facility,
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to ensure supplies of fuel for electricity generation as a drought has sapped hydropower plants’ reservoirs. So far this year, nine shipments of LNG totaling 409,000 cubic meters have been offloaded at the SPEC facility near Cartagena, according to Carlos Barrios, a spokesman for the installation. The last delivery arrived on May 9, he said. Throughout 2019, six shipments totaling 355,000 cu m were received. The SPEC facility, which includes a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), serves the LNG needs of three public power utilities operating thermoelectric power plants with a combined power capacity of 2,400 MW. They serve the populations of Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta and other urban areas in the north of the country. Colombia as a whole depends on hydropower for 65% of its electricity generation. However, drought this year has caused reservoir levels to fall to an average 32% of capacity, forcing the power utilities to bring in more LNG loads to ensure fuel for more thermoelectric power than usual if needed. The SPEC spokesman said seven of the nine LNG cargoes have been purchased from Atlantic LNG, based at Point Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago, which operates four gas liquefaction trains. Atlantic is a consortium that includes BP (34% ownership), British Gas (26%), Repsol (20%), NGC Trinidad and Tobago (10%) and Suez (10%). Formerly self-sufficient in natural gas, Colombia has seen its natural gas reserves fall steadily since 2016 and expects its reliance on imported LNG to increase in coming years unless a significant natural gas discovery comes online. Colombia consumes close to 1.1 Bcf/d of natural gas and has seen consumption grow between 3% and 5% each year over the last decade.
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Asian spot prices fall on supply overhang pressure
Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices fell this week amid a weak European gas market and ample global supply, trade sources said.
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The average LNG price for July delivery into northeast Asia fell to an estimated $1.85 per MMBtu, down 7 cents from the previous week, traders said. Several cargoes were offered in the spot market this week, dragging down prices in Asia, they added. Russia’s Sakhalin 2 plant had offered a cargo for July loading while Angola LNG offered cargoes for June to September delivery through two separate tenders, traders said. Papua New Guinea LNG had also offered a cargo for June loading, though results of the tender were not immediately clear. Woodside Petroleum had likely sold a Northwest Shelf cargo for June loading at about $1.85 per MMBtu, but this could not be immediately confirmed. On the other hand, demand remained stale globally with industrial demand for gas still not picking up pace amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Some demand was seen from China with Guangzhou Gas seeking two cargoes for delivery in August and September, while Thailand’s PTT was seeking a cargo for July delivery, traders said. Mexico’s CFE was seeking two cargoes for delivery in June while Portugal’s EDP was seeking a cargo for delivery over June to July, they said. Some Chinese buyers who had been scouting around for cargoes last week may now be slowing down their requirements amid a slide in spot prices, an industry source said. Malaysia’s LNG exports in May are set to drop to their lowest since mid-2018, as producers globally are pressured to cut production amid record low spot prices. Australia’s APLNG has also extended maintenance at its Curtis Island plant to mid-June, according to a notice on the Australian Energy Market Operator’s website.
Source: LNG Global
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Malaysia’s Petronas to sell LNG to Chinese firm’s tank facility
Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd has signed a deal to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to an ISO tank-filling facility owned by China’s Tiger Clean Energy
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in the eastern state of Sarawak, the state energy firm said on Wednesday (May 20). The binding sales and purchase agreement provides for the Chinese firm to distribute the fuel to remote locations in China using ISO tanks, Petronas said, an unusual strategy as it is typically more expensive than employing the bigger LNG vessels. “Through this…approach, we established a virtual pipeline that effectively enables LNG to reach off-grid customers who are not directly served by the natural gas distribution system in China,” Ahmad Adly Alias, the vice president of Petronas’ LNG Marketing and Trading division, said in a statement. Petronas did not reveal volumes or prices of the cargoes sold. ISO tank containers, so called because they meet specifications set by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), offer quick access to the cleaner super-chilled fuel for end-users in locations far from main pipelines who require smaller volumes. Usually carried in container trucks instead of LNG vessels, they offer a back-up solution to meet excess demand faster than vessel deliveries that can be constrained by rigid schedules.
Source: LNG Global/Reuters
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Production starts at train 3 of Cameron LNG
Cameron LNG has started producing liquefied natural gas from the third and final liquefaction train of its Phase 1 liquefaction-export project in Hackberry, Louisiana.
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Commercial operations for Train 3 under Cameron LNG’s tolling agreements remain on track to begin in the third quarter of 2020. Cameron LNG achieved commercial operations of Tran 1 and Train 2 in August 2019 and February 2020 respectively. “We look forward to the completion of this world-class facility that will be an outlet for exporting abundant U.S. natural gas to world markets. Sempra LNG is proud of the thousands of engineering and construction jobs and millions of tax revenues the project has provided to Southwest Louisiana” said Justin Bird, Chief Executive Officer of Sempra LNG. Cameron LNG is jointly owned by affiliates of Sempra LNG, TOTAL S.A., Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and Japan LNG Investment, LLC, a company jointly owned by Mitsubishi Corporation and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha. Sempra Energy indirectly owns 50.2% of Cameron LNG.
Source: LNG Global
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FERC authorizes Alaska LNG Project
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today authorized the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) to liquefy natural gas from the North Slope of the State of Alaska and export as LNG.
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FERC granted authorization with conditions to the AGDC to site, construct and operate the Alaska LNG Project. The project would consist of liquefaction facilities on the Kenai Peninsula designed to produce up to 20 million metric tons per annum (MMTPA) LNG for export. The AGDC is an independent public corporation of the State of Alaska. The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported last week the state of Alaska was seeking a new sponsor for the project or it will sell off the assets. The project would also include approximately 807-mile-long, 42-inch-diameter pipeline capable of transporting up to 3.9 billion cubic feet of gas per day to the liquefaction facilities, a gas treatment plant that would be located in the Prudhoe Bay at the North Slope and two additional natural gas pipelines connecting production units to the gas treatment plant. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has already authorized the project to export 20 MMPTA of LNG to nations with which the United States has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). DOE also granted conditional authorization for the exportation of 20 MMTPA of natural gas to nations that do not have an FTA. FERC noted the Alaska LNG Project is the last remaining LNG project before FERC covered by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41 Act). FERC has acted on two other FAST-41 Act projects: Venture Global’s Calcasieu LNG Project, approved last year, and Jordan Cove LNG project, approved in March.
Source: LNG Global
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Alaska Corporation may sell LNG project assets if it cannot find backer
The state corporation behind the over-$40 billion Alaska LNG project could be ready to sell off project assets if it does not find a party to take over development of the massive
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natural gas transportation and export proposal. Larry Persily, a former deputy commissioner at the Alaska Department of Revenue and a veteran journalist, said the board of directors for the state entity Alaska Gasline Development Corp., or AGDC, “appears ready to sell off the project’s assets” in a formal bidding procedure. The assets for sale could include permits, studies and engineering work. Persily made the observation in an article he wrote for Alaska Business magazine. He said the AGDC board adopted a strategic plan on the project on April 9. Persily said the document was confidential but the board publicly reviewed assumptions in the plan, which include reduced construction costs, a viable Asian market for Alaska gas and a new lead sponsor. The corporation is updating a three-year-old, $43 billion cost estimate for the project. The state corporation has had the lead role on the gas export project since late 2016. It has advanced the project through permitting, and it has planned to turn it over to private interests when markets turn around. However, AGDC has had some trouble attracting a sponsor even before the COVID-19 crisis in the global economy and energy markets, and now many developers of new LNG projects and even existing LNG operators are facing difficulty. The Alaska LNG project would move natural gas produced on Alaska’s North Slope through more than 800 miles of pipeline to a gas liquefaction and export terminal in southern Alaska. It would be capable of exporting 20 million metric tons per year of LNG. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission plans to vote on a Natural Gas Act certificate authorization for the project at its monthly meeting on May 21. FERC released a final environmental impact statement in March.
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Saudi Aramco’s Bahri puts LNG tanker plan on hold
Saudi Aramco’s shipping division Bahri has put on hold plans to charter up to 12 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers after Sempra Energy delayed its decision on
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whether to proceed with an LNG export project in Texas, two sources said. Bahri issued an expression of interest (EOI) last year to charter the vessels from 2025 in Saudi Aramco’s first foray into LNG as part of the state oil giant’s plan to become a major global player in the gas market. In May last year, Aramco signed a 20-year agreement to buy LNG from Sempra Energy’s planned Port Arthur export terminal and also agreed to buy a 25% equity stake in the first phase of the multi-billion dollar project.However, Sempra said this month it was delaying its decision about whether to proceed with the project until 2021 following the slump in global demand for energy because of the coronavirus pandemic. “The shipping requirement was meant for Port Arthur, so given the delay and also the current market, it makes sense to put the shipping on hold,” one of the sources said. Aramco declined to comment.
The Saudi state-owned company has been developing its own gas resources as well as eyeing assets in the United States, Russia, Australia and Africa, the company’s chief executive officer and the Saudi energy minister have said. The slump in LNG prices to record lows since the coronavirus struck may make financing more difficult and Aramco might be more cautious about its gas investments in the future, one industry source said.
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Malaysia’s LNG exports in May set to drop to lowest since mid-2018 -data
Malaysia’s exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are set to drop to their lowest since mid-2018 as producers globally are pressured to cut production amid record
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low spot prices of the super-chilled fuel, trade and shipping sources said. Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand worldwide, pushing Asia’s spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Malaysia, the world’s fourth largest LNG exporter, is set to ship out about 1.5 million to 1.64 million tonnes of the fuel in May, the lowest since June-July of 2018, shiptracking data from Refinitiv and Kpler shows. About 1.92 MMT was exported in April, data from Refinitiv showed. Malaysia’s main LNG exporter, state-owned Petronas, has cut its shipments of spot cargoes, said three industry sources who sought anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media. The oil and gas producer is now exporting about one to two spot cargoes, down from about five to 10 during the summer months in previous years, one of the sources said, adding that the reduction was due to a production cut. Petronas did not immediately reply to a Reuters’ request for comment. The company will still meet its term commitments for now, two sources said. It posted a plunge of 68% in first-quarter profit last week and said it would cut capital expenditure and operating expenses as it braces for a big hit to full-year performance from the virus pandemic.
Despite the production cut and cancellation of up to 45 cargoes from the United States for July loading, Asian spot LNG prices for the month are still hovering near a record low.
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Natural Gas / LNG Utilization
Argentina studies trucking corridor project to replace diesel with NGVs
Last year, Galileo Technologies launched an LNG station map for freight transport that is part of a blue corridor initiative. The National Gas Regulatory
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Entity (Enargas) organized an online working meeting with representatives of the entities that gather CNG vendors in order to advance on the regulatory, economic and commercial issues that the activity is experiencing, aggravated by the state of emergency generated by the pandemic. “We are in a difficult and exceptional situation, and we must work together in order to advance. The theory of shared effort is the doctrine of this organism; therefore, we are going to study the situation and find solutions, always within the framework of our competence related to the transport and distribution of natural gas,” said Enargas’ controller Federico Bernal. Regarding work with the sector, he stated: “We propose to establish a Commission of CNG vendors and retailers, just as we have been doing with other sectors of demand. Promoting this sector is a central matter of our organism, CNG is a cornerstone within the industrial and productive development of our country, and also key for the regional economies.” The meeting attendees also made a review of the current situation in the sector. They explained that before the pandemic, the fleet of CNG-powered vehicles reached 13% of the total fleet; however, in the medium term it could increase to 20%, if there were some penetration in the segment of heavy trucks, short- and medium- distance buses and a promotion on the current light vehicle fleet. This is relevant since it would imply a future demand that could represent an estimated 20 million cubic meters per day. “In the not too distant future, CNG and LNG used in vehicles may add a strong demand to contribute to making Vaca Muerta viable. The CNG and LNG industries add value and generate a lot of jobs because they cross several industries, favor regional economies and drive exports with development,” added Bernal. In terms of environmentally friendly fuels, Argentina has been the undisputed leader in natural gas for vehicles since the 1980s, with technological developments and safety regulations that are in keeping with the highest world quality standard. The industry has more than 1.8 million vehicles and 2,200 service stations throughout the country.
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New Jersey energy group commits to sustainability with NGV initiatives
South Jersey Industries (SJI) announced the formation of its Clean Energy and Sustainability team, responsible for the development, execution and oversight of all environmentally-friendly initiatives for the organization.
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These initiatives include:
- Investments in CNG: its subsidiaries South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas have invested in natural gas from fueling stations to fleet conversion – operating over 200 CNG-powered vehicles in New Jersey.
- Renewable natural gas: South Jersey Gas initiative to displace gas at all company-owned and operated CNG fueling stations with biomethane.
“SJI is committed to the clean energy and sustainability goals of New Jersey and is excited to build on its track record of successful clean energy initiatives by establishing a new Clean Energy and Sustainability team,” said Steve Cocchi, senior vice president and chief strategy and development officer, SJI. “With the formation of this team, SJI is poised to be a leader in clean energy, energy efficiency and carbon reduction initiatives, allowing us to expand on the progress we have already made, while continuing to deliver on our mission to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy.” Vice President Clean Energy and Sustainability Debbie Franco will lead the team, partnering with leaders from across the organization to develop and advance clean energy and sustainability goals – reducing energy consumption, educating customers on maximizing energy efficiency and conservation, reducing methane emissions and modernizing gas distribution systems via carbon reduction technology innovations.
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Egypt, “one of the world’s most promising alternative fuel markets”
Westport Fuel Systems Inc. have been awarded a competitive tender bid by the Egyptian International Gas Technology Company (GASTEC) to supply 6,300 CNG
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sequential injection fuel systems into the growing Egyptian market in 2020. This tender is evidence of the quality and performance of BRC’s sequential injection fuel system in a highly competitive market,” said Massimiliano Fissore, Executive Vice President Transportation at Westport Fuel Systems. “We are pleased to be GASTEC’s preferred partner to support the expansion of the CNG vehicle market in Egypt, one of the world’s most promising alternative fuel markets.” GASTEC owns the largest network of CNG stations and conversion centers in Egypt. Among the six natural gas vehicle companies in Egypt, it is consistently ranked first in terms of gas sales by volume and the number of vehicles converted annually. In August 2019, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced an integrated action plan to expand the use of natural gas for transportation and to incentivize drivers to convert their vehicles with a goal to switch 50,000 cars annually.
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Strategic acquisition will encourage adsorbed natural gas technology
Ingevity Corporation has acquired the assets of Adsorbed Natural Gas Products, Inc. (ANGP), Johns Island, South Carolina. Since 2013,
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Ingevity has worked with ANGP to advance adsorbed natural gas (ANG) bi-fuel vehicle technology. The performance characteristics of Ingevity’s activated carbon Nuchar® FuelSorb™ monoliths reduce the onboard storage pressure of natural gas and enables its cost-effective use as a transportation fuel. The acquisition comes after eight years of Ingevity’s continued investment in the commercialization of ANG technology and is intended to streamline and accelerate its adoption. Ingevity will assume direct responsibility for partnering with key stakeholders already engaged in ANG market and product development activities. Under the direction of ANGP’s CEO Bob Bonelli, the company developed a novel, industry-leading approach to fueling bi-fuel natural gas vehicles and assembled a coalition of development partners – including Ingevity – focused on bringing the technology to market. Recently, SoCalGas in California, Atlanta Gas & Light in Georgia, as well as Illinois-based Ozinga Energy, have implemented pilot programs for light-duty trucks to demonstrate ANG technology’s cost efficiencies and greenhouse gas reductions through the use of clean-burning natural gas. “Ingevity is committed to growing our core automotive carbon business and we continue to see ANG as an attractive innovation investment for the company,” said Ed Woodcock, executive vice president and president, Performance Materials at Ingevity. “Our acquisition of ANGP’s assets demonstrated our ongoing investment in ANG technology, and ultimately enables us to more fully dedicate resources to support this important platform.” “Ingevity has been an integral part of the development of ANG technology and is well suited to propel this business into the next phase of market introduction,” said Bonelli. “I look forward to being part of the Ingevity team and continuing to showcase the value of ANG to natural gas utility and commercial fleets across the U.S.”
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KP CNG association demands immediate relief – Pakistan
Office-bearers of the Compressed Natural Gas Association in Khyber Pakhtunknhwa on Tuesday (May 19) said they would go to the court after Eid-ul-Fitr
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if the government did not announce a special gas tariff relief package for the CNG sector forthwith. Addressing a news conference, President of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Engineer Maqsood Anwar Pervaiz, along with Chairman of All Pakistan CNG Association Fazal Muqeem Khan and Chairman of Real CNG Association Hammad Khan, here at the chamber on Tuesday (May19) said the government was using delaying tactics in provision of relief to the coronavirus-hit CNG sector. They said the CNG sector employed more than 0.5 million people. They said government’s apathy toward the CNG sector was deplorable. They warned that investment worth millions of rupees in the CNG sector would go to waste if the government did not change its policy toward this sector. They said that disparity in prices of CNG and petrol after decrease in the oil prices globally as well as locally had put the survival of the CNG sector at stake. Maqsood Pervaiz urged the government to announce a special gas tariff relief package for the lockdown-hit CNG sector.
https://www.brecorder.com/2020/05/20/598825/kp-cng-association-demands-immediate-relief/
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LNG as a Marine Fuel/Shipping
Nakilat takes delivery of newly-built LNG carrier
Nakilat has taken delivery of a newly-built LNG (liquefied natural gas) carrier, “Global Energy”, which will be commercially and
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technically managed in-house. Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), this is the first of four LNG carrier new-builds to be delivered to Global Shipping, a joint venture of Nakilat (60%) and Maran Ventures (40%). The delivery of all four new-build LNG carriers by end-2021 would bring Nakilat’s fleet to 74 vessels, which is about 12% of the current global LNG fleet in carrying capacity. “We are committed to grow our fleet in a sustainable manner to meet the rising demand for clean energy transport globally. The addition of this technologically-advanced new-build to our fleet not only gives us a competitive edge, but also allows us to provide additional capacity and flexibility to our customers, which is important in a dynamic marketplace,” said Nakilat chief executive Abdullah al-Sulaiti. The steady expansion of the fleet through the acquisition of these four new-builds and the second phase fleet transition that has already commenced, comes as part of its efforts to maximise returns for the shareholders and strengthen its position as the leading transporter of clean energy, he said. Constructed in South Korea, the four modern vessels each have a cargo carrying capacity of 173,400 cubic metres, equipped with some of the most advanced technology in the market today, with two of them being equipped with ‘ME-GI’ while the other two with ‘X-DF’ propulsion technologies. “Nakilat has been a strategic partner for many years and we are pleased to be taking delivery of this first LNG vessel under our new Global Shipping joint venture,” said Maran Ventures chairman John Angelicoussis.
https://www.gulf-times.com/story/663753/Nakilat-takes-delivery-of-newly-built-LNG-carrier
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CBI Disallows “Green” Bonds for LNG Carriers, Oil Tankers, PSVs
The Climate Bond Initiative (CBI) has excluded LNG carriers from its green financing certification scheme, citing the greenhouse gas (GHG) content of their cargo.
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The decision has drawn objections from LNG fuel association Sea\LNG, which advocates for the use of LNG for bunkering. CBI offers a screening tool for investors and governments which allows them to identify green bonds certified to address climate change. Since LNG carriers carry natural gas, CBI placed them on a list of intrinsically GHG-intensive investments, alongside other oil and gas industry asset classes like crude oil tankers, FPSOs, MODUs and PSVs. In its decision to exclude LNG carriers, CBI also cited rising levels of methane emissions due to methane slip from the unburned natural gas in dual-fuel engine exhaust. Methane is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2, and the quantity released by LNG-fueled shipping is contested. LNG carriers are the most numerous class of LNG-fueled vessels, using the boil-off gas from their cargo tanks to power their engines (or steam plants). Under the CBI criteria, most conventionally-fueled ships – boxships, bulkers, even product tankers – are eligible for certification if they meet a “decarbonization trajectory” with a plan to transition to low- and no-carbon fuels. The list of applicable future fuel options includes electric, hydrogen, wind or advanced biofuels, including biogas. The trajectory criterion acknowledges that these fuels are not currently available in commercial quantities, but anticipates that they may be in future years. The CBI rubric allows fossil fuel-powered ships on a biofuel transition pathway, but Sea\LNG warned that CBI’s decision discourages LNG-to-biogas options and may be over prescriptive. “Green bond financing for LNG fueled vessels, all capable of using Liquefied Bio-Methane (LBM) and Liquefied Synthetic-Methane (LSM), are at risk of exclusion. Immature and emerging technologies such as ammonia and hydrogen, that will require significant research and development investment over many years if they are to scale safely in the deep-sea maritime environment, appear to be favored,” warned the coalition. “While these technology pathways are worthy of investment, considering the high level of uncertainty, we believe it makes no sense to exclude an operationally proven, scalable, and existing marine fuel such as LNG and its decarbonization pathway through LBM and LSM.” Sea\LNG cited a recent study it commissioned from consultancy Sphera, which found that conventional LNG power – without biogas – reduces net GHG emissions from vessel operations by as much as 21 percent when compared to bunker fuel power. The association noted that dual fuel engine design has changed in recent years and has significantly reduced the issue of methane slip. In the future, the switch to liquefied bio-methane would reduce emissions much further, with no technical modifications to the vessel.
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Eagle Balder completes LNG bunkering at Port of Rotterdam
Malaysian shipping company AET has announced that its liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel dynamic positioning shuttle tanker (DPST)
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Eagle Blane has completed maiden bunkering at the Netherlands’ Port of Rotterdam. The other vessels in the fleet of AET are VLCC Bunga Kasturi Lima, Aframax Eagle Kinabalu and Product Tanker Bunga Laurel. The vessels were also present for the bunkering. Shell LNG Trading team arranged the ship-to-ship bunkering, which lasted for approximately 15h, including the cooling time. During the bunkering, approximately 1480m3 of LNG was injected into Eagle Blane. With this, 87% of the total LNG tank capacity of Eagle Blane was filled. This will enable the vessel to travel approximately 3,500nm. AET president and CEO Rajalingam Subramaniam said: “Our goal was always to develop vessels that really push the boundaries in what is possible in dynamic positioning operations and to prove the value of LNG dual-fuel solutions in the energy shipping segment. “Both Eagle Blane and her twin sister Eagle Balder are expected to surpass our expectations as the latest most eco-innovative vessels, emitting the least CO₂ per tonne mile of cargo carried in the world.” Eagle Blane emits 40% to 48% less carbon compared to similar vessels built in 2008, making it one of the most eco-innovative vessels in the world.
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First LNG bunkering operation completed in France
The Port of Marseille Fos, Shell and Carnival carried out the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation in France on the Costa Smeralda, operated by COSTA of the Carnival Group.
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Under contract with Carnival, Shell is supplying the LNG through one of their chartered bunker vessels, the Coral Methane, which is owned by the Dutch shipowner Anthony Veder. The bunkering operation was carried out in perfect coordination between the ship services of the Port of Marseille Fos (lookout, piloting, towing, mooring), Shell’s teams, and the crews of the Costa Smeralda and the Coral Methane, and with the reassuring presence of the nautical resources of the Marseille fire-fighters, who were closely monitoring this development in liaison with the teams of the Harbor Master’s Office at the Port of Marseille Fos. “We are all proud to have been able to complete this operation smoothly and safely. It has required studies, instructions and procedures to be agreed with the various players, and in line with European and global standards. This is a first in France and proves to what extent, even during the current health crisis, we are capable of supporting the development of LNG, which is one of the measures deployed by the port to reduce its environmental impact,” said Amaury de Maupeou, Commander of Marseille Fos Port Authority. “We’re pleased that even in these challenging times for the industry, Shell is able to play a small role in helping to ensure continuity of LNG supply to our customers. We’re glad that we have been able to work efficiently with the Port of Marseille and Carnival,” commented Tahir Faruqui, General Manager, Shell Global Downstream LNG. “Carnival is one of a growing number of organizations adopting LNG – the most affordable alternative to traditional marine fuels available today.” “We are happy that our new LNG-powered flagship Costa Smeralda was part of this new milestone for the Port of Marseille in partnership with Shell,” said Franco Porcellacchia, Sustainable Innovation and Infrastructure Development Vice President Costa Group “Carnival and Costa specifically have been the first cruise operator to invest in sustainable innovation with LNG and continue to be committed to ensuring the highest environmental standards for a more sustainable future of cruising.” The Port of Marseille Fos places environmental excellence at the heart of its strategy. It is preparing to become the Mediterranean hub for LNG, as refueling with natural gas is one of the flagship solutions for limiting the impact of emissions from ships.
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Technological Development for Cleaner and Greener Environment Hydrogen & Bio-Methane
New hydrogen station planned for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
Air Liquide Houpu Hydrogen Equipment Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Air Liquide Group, signed a contract with Zhangjiakou Jiaotou Hydrogen and New Energy Technology Co.,Ltd to
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supply hydrogen equipment to build a hydrogen station in Zhangjiakou city, Hebei province. This station will serve the fuel cell vehicles during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Located in the Economic Development Zone of Zhangjiakou city, this refueling station is one of the first hydrogen industry key projects for the 2022 Winter Olympics. After completion, with a capacity of 1,000 kg/day, it will be able to refuel the planned 2,000 vehicles for the Olympics. According to the terms of the contract, Air Liquide Houpu will supply, install and operate the equipment by the end of August, 2020. dhering to the “Green, Low-carbon” commitment of Olympic Games, Zhangjiakou, as one of the competition zones, is accelerating the development of its hydrogen ecosystem. The city plans to complete the construction of the first 10 hydrogen stations before the end of 2020, and another six before the end of 2021. “We are delighted to contribute to the Beijing 2022 Carbon Management Plan by leveraging the Air Liquide state-of-art technology in hydrogen. Together with our partners, we will continue to develop a hydrogen energy infrastructure network in China and support its ambitious vision for hydrogen mobility applications,” said Nicolas Poirot, Air Liquide China CEO.
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More than 25% of European natural gas stations are supplying biomethane
The Natural &bio Gas Vehicle Association (NGVA Europe) released extensive numbers about the current utilization of biomethane in the road transport sector in Europe.
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These numbers illustrate that renewable gas is already broadly available for consumers all across Europe. Today, sustainable production pathways based on circular economy are largely available, and renewable gas is distributed thanks to a constantly growing refueling infrastructure. In detail, out of todays 4,120 CNG and LNG fueling stations, more than 25% are delivering biomethane to European consumers. This equals a 17% average of all gas used as transport fuel (2,4 bcm/23,4 TWh). This translates in an impressive effect on the CO2 emissions footprint: compared with gasoline, the available 17% biomethane share boosts the CO2 emissions reduction from 20% (obtained with natural gas), up to almost 40%. Current natural gas infrastructure and vehicles are fully compatible with renewable natural gas and therefore are potent enabler of a carbon-free transportation. Even in the heavy-duty long-haul sector, bio-LNG is a growing reality, thus supporting in a very cost-effective way the transition towards carbon neutral mobility. “It is key to understand and acknowledge that a vehicle that is fueled with renewable gas, is effectively climate neutral. Europe’s renewable gas production capacity is proven and sustainability criteria in place are fully respected. Today, it is the best solution to boost the decarbonization process of the transport sector leveraging on a real circular economy,” said NGVA Europe Secretary General Andrea Gerini. “And while continuously increasing the rate of renewable gas in our network, there is future potential also in improving the efficiency of natural gas engines. This will progress hand in hand.” “We invite Policy Makers to consider these important facts when reframing our mobility system according to the Green Deal objective. Long-term targets need a robust pathway made with the right set of solutions – such as gas in transport,” added Gerini. “The incoming revision of the CO2 emissions regulation will be key to create a positive ground to better support the development of cost-effective solutions like renewable gas. They are perfectly suited to immediately start off the decarbonization of the mobility sector.”
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Filling station offering 100% bio-CNG opens in the south of New Jersey
South Jersey Gas announced the opening of its new CNG fueling station in Cape May County. The station, located at 650 Shunpike Road Burleigh,
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New Jersey, is open to the public and exclusively offers renewable natural gas. The new station and biomethane supply is part of an ongoing sustainability initiative at South Jersey Gas to reduce its carbon footprint and provide customer-focused solutions for homes, businesses and transportation. As part of the renewable natural gas initiative, South Jersey Gas is displacing traditional natural gas at all company owned and operated fueling stations with bio-CNG sourced from a landfill biogas project. This supply will further reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for all fleets using these facilities – including the South Jersey Gas fleet. “We are happy to offer drivers in the South Jersey Gas service area with this environmentally-friendly fueling option,” said Dave Robbins, president South Jersey Gas. “Across our organization, we’re committed to identifying and implementing solutions to help New Jersey residents and businesses reduce their environmental impact — the opening of our newest renewable natural gas station is another meaningful indication of this commitment.” In New Jersey, vehicles account for more than 40% of GHG emissions, according to the 2018 NJDEP (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. Switching from diesel to renewable natural gas, fleets can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by up to 48%.
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United Kingdom: 80% of dispensed CNG in 2019 was biomethane
UK’s industry trade body Gas Vehicle Network (GVN) has unveiled new statistics showing that in 2019 almost 80% of the total dispensed volume of natural gas for transport fuel was biomethane*,
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which represents a 22% increase compared to 2018. “Clean, low carbon, natural gas powered vehicles are an obvious, sustainable ‘no brainer’ for the freight and transport industry. These latest statistics- a 22% increase from 2018- clearly show the direction of travel for the HGV [heavy good vehicle] sector,” said Mike Foster, CEO of the Gas Vehicle Network. “This is the result of the NGV industry delivering vehicle technology and widespread infrastructure together with financial incentives- through the governments’ fuel duty differential scheme.” Biomethane fueled HGVs emit 85% less carbon into the atmosphere compared to a ‘clean’ Euro 6 diesel. The HGV sector accounts for a disproportionate share (17%) of transport carbon emissions but only 2% of vehicles on UK roads are HGVs and buses, and they travel 6% of miles. “Fleet managers and Government can achieve substantial carbon savings immediately by switching to low carbon natural gas powered heavy vehicle transport,” added Foster. “The government also has in place a fuel duty differential until 2032, thanks to the work of GVN making it financial a sensible decision to switch to natural gas from diesel.” Source: Gas Vehicle Network
* 14,466,554 kg of natural gas was used in transport in 2019. RTFO (Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation) Approved Biomethane (kgs) was 11,313,568 in 2019
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