29 April 2024
Gas Matters Today | news roundup | w/c 12 Oct 2020
Publication date: 18 October 2020
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The outlook for global gas demand faces “significant uncertainty” [2] and is forecast to be lower in 2040 than previously anticipated, while mature European and US gas markets face “existential questions”, the IEA has said in its latest World Energy Outlook.
The greatest near-term threat to global gas demand [3] is a delayed economic recovery, according to a new scenario added to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2020, which warns that many liquefaction investments made in 2019 might struggle to break even for the rest of the decade.
The world’s largest oil services firm Schlumberger posted a third straight quarterly loss [4] last Friday, however losses narrowed significantly in Q3’20 after the firm cut 21,000 jobs, coupled with improved revenues from its production segment.
Mozambique – Maputo has published plans to invest most of the country’s gas export revenues into a Sovereign Fund [5], modelled on those in Norway and Alaska, to ensure that the country’s 277 Tcf reserves benefit “current and future generations”.
South Africa – DNG Energy is poised to start LNG bunkering at the Port of Coega [6] after receiving final authorisation from the Transnet National Port Authority to operate Africa’s first FSU-based based bunkering project.
China – Newly-formed infrastructure giant PipeChina has published available future capacity and prices for third parties [7] to access its network of pipelines and LNG facilities, saying it hopes to promote the opening up of China’s gas and LNG infrastructure.
Malaysia – Petronas has signed two deals to supply compatriot Godell Gas International with LNG [8] as part of the virtual pipeline company’s plans to establish two small-scale LNG networks and deliver LNG to off-grid and marine customers in Malaysia.
Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has lifted the moratorium on oil and gas exploration [9] in the West Philippine Sea, with energy secretary Alfonso Cusi subsequently issuing a “resume-to-work” notice for offshore licence holders.
South Korea – South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo has secured orders for six LNG carriers [10], bringing the firm’s newbuild orders to USD 3.3 billion so far in 2020, however the figure is only 46% of its annual order target for newbuild LNG carriers.
Australia – Cooper Energy has pledged to become Australia’s first “organisationally… carbon-neutral” gas producer [11] after activist investors filed a resolution for the company to align with the Paris Agreement.
Argentina – President Alberto Fernandez was expected to announce a plan last week to revive Argentina’s stagnating gas sector [12] in the Neuquen province, home to the country’s largest shale play Vaca Muerta.
Brazil – Golar LNG’s fortunes are turning from bad to worse, with LNG-to-power joint venture Hygo Energy Transition los [13]ing a potential LNG terminal capacity deal [13] with key customer Norsk Hydro in Brazil and simultaneously revealing that CEO Eduardo Antonello has resigned.
Separately, Hygo has teamed up with a local distribution company [14] in northern Brazil to explore the potential to supply gas to commercial and industrial consumers from the proposed Barcarena LNG terminal in the remote state of Pará, which might go some way to replacing the loss of Norsk Hydro.
Greece / Turkey – The Trans Adriatic Pipeline is complete [15] and filled with gas from the Greek-Turkish border to the receiving terminal in southern Italy, the consortium behind the project announced last week.
EU – The European Commission has released its highly-anticipated methane strategy [16], in which Brussels revealed it is considering implementing much stricter compulsory measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) for all energy-related methane emissions in the bloc.
UK – Qatar Petroleum has signed a 25-year deal with National Grid to reserve 7.2 mtpa of capacity at the Grain LNG terminal [17] from mid-2025, moving QP one step closer to FID on its planned expansion of the Ras Laffan LNG plant.
Iraq – Oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar has opened a new tender to invite IOCs to bid on the development of the 4.5 Tcf Mansuriyah field [18], many years after Turkey’s TPAO and partners quit citing insecurity in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province.
Oman – BP has commenced production from the Ghazeer field [19] four months ahead of schedule, marking the second phase development of one of the Middle East’s largest tight gas accumulations, with the additional supply aiding efforts to bolster LNG exports.
US – Delfin Midstream has underscored the cost advantages of a near-shore [20]FLNG solution [20] in the US Gulf of Mexico, after completing engineering studies for a 3.5 mtpa vessel for deployment at its Delfin FLNG project off the coast of Louisiana.
Gas benchmark Henry Hub settled at its highest since March 2019 [21] last week on the back of forecasts of colder weather heading into winter and expectations of lower storage injections due to supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Delta.
Pakistan – The government has launched an exploration tender offering 20 onshore blocks [22] to address growing reliance on imports, while state-owned Pakistan LNG and Pakistan State Oil have procured 12 cargoes to avoid a winter supply crunch.