23
Jul
2018

Weekly news roundup (16-20 July)

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Analysis

Energy scenarios presented by National Grid serve as a stark reminder that if the natural gas industry hopes to enjoy a long-term future in the UK, it may need to present a united front in support of hydrogen and carbon capture, usage and sequestration (CCUS).

Sempra LNG & Midstream has reiterated its commitment to the Port Arthur LNG project in Texas after Woodside pulled out of the liquefaction venture, citing unfeasibly low return on investment.

International

The European Commission, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to develop a new “future-oriented” contract for Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, after Naftogaz offered to cut transit fees ahead of trilateral talks last week.

Gas flaring fell by nearly 5% last year compared to 2016 despite an increase in global oil production, the World Bank said, calling its findings “encouraging” but not necessarily a watershed moment.

Academics from Loughborough University in the UK and the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand are working on a joint biogas project that converts food waste into biomethane.

US & Canada

US – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has acquiesced to demands from US utility Exelon to subsidise the 2 GW Mystic LNG-fired plant in Massachusetts by recovering fuel costs from electricity rate-payers in New England.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is days away from striking a formal agreement with other government bodies to streamline the permit and review process for LNG projects, with the commission’s chairman denying reports of delays to LNG application reviews.

Midstream player Williams is set to bring its Atlantic Sunrise gas pipeline project – an extension of the Transco pipeline system – into full service in late August.

Kinder Morgan has pushed back the startup of the Elba LNG plant in Georgia from Q3 to Q4, with the company citing a delay in getting units assembled and delivered to the project site, as well as construction delays.

The latest climate case against the energy majors was dismissed last week when a federal judge dismissed a case lodged by New York City.

Africa

Egypt – North Africa-focused independent SDX Energy is vying to bring Egypt’s latest gas field online before the end of Q4‘18 following successful production tests, as booming Egyptian domestic production tips the scales away from further imports of LNG into the country.

Asia Pacific

Taiwan – State-owned Taipower has issued a request for expression of interest (REOI) for an LNG supply tender, after the government of Taiwan approved plans to construct the Hsieh-Ho LNG terminal in the north of the country.

Australasia

Papua New Guinea – PetroChina has agreed to offtake 0.45 mt from the PNG LNG plant under a three-year deal starting this month.

Europe

Finland – The Finnish government is reportedly looking into a biogas project that would utilise droppings from farm animals for bio-fuel production.

France – Air Liquide has opened a new biomethane production unit in south-west France that will supply its multi-energy fuelling station in the area using biogas produced from organic matter from surrounding farms.

Germany – UK-based Carbon Clean Solutions has for the first time surpassed 500,000 cm/d of biogas processed with its Methpure solvent across Germany.

Italy – Snam has forked out USD 4.6 million for a 70% stake in IES Biogas, a leading company in the Italian biogas and biomethane sector.

Norway – Striking rig workers ended their protest and returned to work last week after the union representing 1,600 striking members reached a deal with employers.

Sweden – Skangas has carried out its first liquefied biogas (LBG) bunkering to Furetank’s newbuild dual-fuel chemical tanker Fure Vinga.

UK – North Sea-focused Independent Oil & Gas (IOG) has found that the 32-year-old pipeline it recently acquired to connect its five 303 Bcf Southern North Sea fields to the UK market is in “excellent condition” – despite being mothballed three years ago.

The UK government has unveiled plans to move shale gas fracking applications into the centrally-managed Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) planning regime – but only “major” schemes at the production phase.

Tullow Oil was dealt a further blow last week after Kosmos Energy won its arbitration case against the UK-based company.

Latin America & Caribbean

Brazil – The regional government of Rio Grande do Sul has signed a USD 25 million deal with local outfit JMalucelli Ambiental to build a biogas plant in the Montenegro region.

Mexico – TransCanada has completed what it called “one of the most ambitious and challenging” gas projects in Mexico’s history after the Topolobampo pipeline came into service, adding 670 MMcf/d to markets in the northwest.

Mexico's September oil tender has been pushed back to February to allow President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s new administration to check already granted contracts for signs of corruption.

Middle East

Qatar – Large chunks of Qatar’s energy industry have received a vote of confidence from credit ratings agency Moody’s, despite the ongoing economic, financial and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt.

UAE – A CNPC subsidiary has won a USD 1.6 billion contract to carry out what is claimed to be the world’s largest continuous 3D seismic survey – covering an area roughly the size of Croatia – for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Russia & CIS

Russia – Gazprom has committed to begin developing what is expected to become Russia’s largest gas production centre next year, the mammoth Kharasaveyskoye gas and condensate field in the Yamal peninsula.

Novatek’s first LNG cargoes to transit the Northern Sea route arrived into the Chinese port of Jiangsu Rudong China last week.

South Asia

India – GAIL is making progress with its plans to gasify India’s east, after the company connected 8,000 homes to piped gas and launched two compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling stations as part of its Varanasi city gas distribution network in Uttar Pradesh.

The Indian government has approved measures aimed at improving production sharing contracts (PSCs) and expediting oil and gas development, particularly in the north-east.

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