Deals wrap: JERA & Exxon seal ammonia JV, Woodside closes Scarborough sale, US midstream tie-up forms

It’s been a wind-heavy week in energy deals, with other low carbon solutions also high on the agenda.  

JERA and Exxon’s partnership to explore green hydrogen and ammonia production in the US was of particular interest as interest in low carbon ammonia has been significant among industrial players.  

Here's a look at the deals that made news this week. 

Tokyo Gas agrees deal to import bio-methane with Mitsui 

An agreement has been reached between Tokyo Gas and Mitsui to import around 40,000 cm of biomethane, produced from biogas that originated in US landfills.  

The first shipment from the Cameron LNG facility to Tokyo Gas’s Ohgishima LNG Terminal – in which Mitsui has a stake, alongside TotalEnergies, Sempra Infrastructure, Mitsubishi and NYK Line – took place on 19 March.  

Sakhalin 2 sale mired in uncertainty as Gazprom acquires Shell’s stake 

A subsidiary of Gazprom will buy Shell’s stake in the Sakhalin 2 oil and LNG project, the Russian government has announced, however there is no clarity yet as to what will happen to the funds from the sale or when the sales process will be concluded. 

The Russian government has confirmed and approved Sakhalin Project LLC, a subsidiary of Gazprom, as the new buyer of Shell’s 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin 2 project. The selling price is RUB 94.8 billion (USD 1.07 billion). 

Midstream firms form JV in bid to boost gas supply to Gulf Coast LNG projects 

WhiteWater, MPLX and Enbridge as well as asset manager I Squared Capital announced they had entered into an agreement to combine the Whistler Pipeline and the proposed Rio Bravo Pipeline project to meet growing LNG export demand on the US Gulf Coast.  

Enbridge will contribute its wholly owned Rio Bravo Pipeline project and USD 350 million in cash in exchange for an ownership stake in the newly formed joint venture. It will also fund the first ~USD 150 million of the post-closing capex to complete the Rio Bravo pipeline project, according to company statements. 

Ithaca in talks to buy Eni's UK asset base, chair notes 'fiscal instability' from windfall tax 

Ithaca Energy on Wednesday said it had entered into an exclusivity agreement with Eni concerning the Italian firm’s oil and gas assets in the UK with the potential deal disclosed against the backdrop of what executive chairman Gilad Myerson on Wednesday called “fiscal instability” in the country.  

Under the exclusivity agreement, which expires in four weeks, Eni would contribute its UK business, including assets gained from the USD 4.9 billion acquisition of Neptune Energy, in exchange for 38-39% of the share capital in Ithaca after the enlargement. 

Woodside completes sale of 10% Scarborough interest  

Woodside has completed the sale of a 10% non-operating participating interest in the Scarborough joint venture to LJ Scarborough Pty Ltd (LNG Japan).  

The completion follows Woodside’s announcement on 8 August 2023 that it had established a strategic relationship with LNG Japan that involved three elements: equity in the Scarborough Joint Venture; potential LNG offtake; and collaboration on potential opportunities in new energy. 

The sale proceeds received by Woodside of USD 910 million for equity in the Scarborough Joint Venture comprises the purchase price, reimbursed expenditure and escalation. 

QatarEnergy enters time charter agreements with Nakilat for the operation of 25 LNG vessels 

QatarEnergy signed time-charter party (TCP) agreements with Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) for the operation of 25 conventional-size LNG vessels as part of the second ship-owner tender under QatarEnergy’s historic LNG Fleet Expansion Program. 

Seventeen of the vessels are being constructed at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyards in South Korea, while the remaining eight are being constructed at Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) also in South Korea. 

Cadeler signs offshore wind turbine installation contract 

The contract entails offshore wind supplier Cadeler’s wind farm installation vessel Wind Scylla and has a value between USD 75 million and USD 150 million, including both the firm period and potential options.  

The installation work is set to commence in 2025. During the project duration, spanning between 300 and 550 days, the client will utilise Cadeler’s team and fleet expertise to complete the work.

Nordex Group receives 98 MW order from Sweden 

The Nordex Group has received an order from Holmen Energi AB for 98 MW in Sweden. The order also includes a Premium Plus Service for the turbines over a period of 30 years.   

In summer 2025, the Nordex Group will supply and install 14 N163/6.X turbines for the Blisterliden wind farm in a forested area in the county of Västerbotten in the Northern of Sweden. 

JERA and ExxonMobil to develop low carbon hydrogen and ammonia production project 

JERA has reached a Project Framework Agreement with ExxonMobil to jointly explore the development of a low carbon hydrogen and ammonia production project in the US. 

ExxonMobil is currently developing what is expected to be the world’s largest low-carbon hydrogen production plant at its Baytown Complex east of Houston, Texas. The plant is slated to have an annual production capacity of approximately 900,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen and annual production capacity of more than one mt of low-carbon ammonia. The project aims to commence production in 2028. 

Petrofac secures contract extension with ONEgas West in core UK market 

Petrofac has secured a contract extension in the Southern North Sea with ONEgas West (a NAM operated and Shell UK owned venture).   

The two-year brownfield Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract award extends the previous three-year contract. Petrofac will continue to provide services across ONEgas West’s Southern North Sea portfolio, supporting the Clipper South complex, Leman Alpha assets, Bacton Terminal, and ONEgas Barge campaigns. 

RWE secures 800 megawatts of wind capacity from Nordex 

On the occasion of the WindEurope conference in Bilbao, RWE and Nordex signed a multi-year contract for the supply of wind turbines with a total capacity of 800 megawatts (MW).  

Over the next two and a half years, RWE will purchase around 120 wind turbines from Nordex for its European markets. Both companies can look back on many years of cooperation – RWE already operates 53 wind farms with Nordex wind turbines in seven countries.