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[waldron] 06/11/2017 20:00

Global gas players continue to downplay LNG role in Europe

Milan (Platts)--6 Nov 2017 236 pm EST/1936 GMT

LNG will continue to struggle to make a significant breakthrough on the European gas market in the coming years -- despite an expected global LNG supply glut -- because of competition for LNG from more premium markets elsewhere and the abundance of low-cost pipeline gas from Russia and Norway, senior industry officials said Monday.

Speaking at a conference in Milan, Italy, officials from Germany's RWE, France's Total and Engie, Norway's Statoil and trader Petronas Energy said the wave of LNG that had been forecast first for 2016 and then for this year had failed to materialize.

"This won't change much in the coming years," Philippe Vedrenne, gas supply director at Engie, said.

Asian demand for LNG has been much stronger than expected -- particularly in China -- and Europe has been able to meet its slightly higher demand from Russia and Norway.

Fasluddeen Hadi, CEO of Petronas Energy Trading, said he was doubtful that more LNG would flow to Europe as a result.

"Maybe not in the near future," Hadi said.

Hadi said the UK would not be expected to import more LNG this winter given that it still has the cushion gas from the Rough storage facility to be produced.

"We won't see much change this year," Hadi said.

"But that could change when Rough is totally out of the equation," he said, referring to when Rough is permanently closed and all the cushion gas produced. LNG COMPETITION

Statoil senior vice president Tor Martin Anfinnsen added that there had not been the expected volumes of LNG into Europe -- and especially not from the US.

But, he said, we do see this "looming volume potential" coming Europe's way.

Anfinnsen said Statoil welcomed increased competition for gas on the European market, not least because it felt it was at a major competitive advantage given its existing pipeline system and its proximity to the European market.

"We can compete with anyone," he said. "When it comes to competition, bring it on."

Andree Stracke, chief commercial officer at RWE Supply & Trading, also made the point that Europe is not the preferred market for LNG from global producers who can get a better price from more premium markets elsewhere -- currently markets such as China and Bangladesh.

Stracke said there had been a significant increase in demand for gas in power generation in Germany, and with the uncertainty surrounding nuclear availability in France, there could be incremental gas demand in neighboring countries too.

"It's not massive, but at least it is additional demand," he said.

Anfinnsen said too that he was buoyed by the increased gas demand in Europe, which has come despite relatively mild winters and the fall-out from the reduction of gas output from the giant Groningen field in the Netherlands and the closure of the UK Rough gas storage facility. CONTRACT LENGTH

Stracke, meanwhile, said any European gas user needed to make the most of the continued liquid gas markets in Europe to optimize their portfolio.

He said that LNG term contracts were still useful tools -- up to 10-12 years.

"Beyond that it would not be possible -- for us at least," he said.

But, he stressed, 10-year LNG supply deals were commercially realistic and RWE was "working on" developing the 10-year contract model -- a hybrid of medium- and long-term arrangements.

"We feel comfortable with a 10-year horizon," Stracke said, adding however that the main stumbling block remained price indexation and how to optimize portfolios.

"It is very hard to buy properly indexed LNG," he said, referring to a price indexed to a European hub such as TTF, NBP or NCG.

He rejected LNG indexed to oil or the US Henry Hub price.

He said, for example, that US LNG sellers are reluctant to index their supply contracts to European hubs.

Jean-Pierre Mateille -- vice president of trading at Total Gas & Power -- said that the benchmark for LNG deliveries into Europe should be the UK NBP or Dutch TTF hubs, and that there was no need to use oil as a benchmark for LNG pricing.

For buyers, liquid markets are also needed to be able to risk manage their portfolios for the coming five years, Stracke said.

He also expressed concern at the impact of falling European gas production -- from Groningen in the Netherlands and in Germany -- and how that could impact on the liquidity of northwest European hubs.

--Stuart Elliott, [e-mail]

--Edited by Maurice Geller, [e-mail]

[grupo guitarlumber] 02/11/2017 10:09

By Anthony Shevlin


France's Engie SA (ENGI.FR) said Thursday that it has renewed its gasification and storage services contract with Chinese energy group CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK) for the coming winter season.

Engie said that the service will be provided by a floating storage-regasification unit in the port of Tianjin in northeast China until spring 2018.

Liquefied natural gas--LNG--will also be transferred to smaller on-shore tanks used by CNOOC for LNG trucking activity.



Write to Anthony Shevlin at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 02, 2017 05:47 ET (09:47 GMT)

[ariane] 31/10/2017 08:57

Regulated natural gas tariffs, still applied by Engie to several million customers in France, will increase by an average of 2.6% on November 1, according to a decision of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CRE) published Tuesday in the Journal official.


Regulated tariffs will increase by 0.8% for consumers who use gas for cooking, 2.7% for those who use it for heating and 1.2% for those who use it for heating and cooking, details the CRE in its deliberation.


This is the second consecutive increase in regulated rates, which declined in the spring and summer before rising again in October due to higher gas prices on the wholesale markets.


Regulated gas tariffs are revised monthly, according to a formula that does not include the various taxes but takes into account gas prices on the wholesale market and the price of a barrel of oil.


Since the opening of the energy market to competition, the 10.6 million French consumers subscribing to gas have the choice between the regulated tariffs of the former monopoly, and the market prices, proposed by both Engie and competitors (EDF, Direct Energie, Eni, Lampiris, etc.).


Regulated tariffs have been suspended since the Conseil d'Etat, seized by competing suppliers of Engie, ruled in July that their maintenance was contrary to European law.




(END) Dow Jones Newswires


October 31, 2017 04:12 ET (08:12 GMT)

[sarkasm] 30/10/2017 10:04

Daily Sabah >
Business >
Energy

Turkey hits natural gas field in scans off Cyprus coast, Greek Cypriot daily claims
DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL
Published 23 hours ago

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Turkey's seismic research in the Mediterranean Sea has resulted in the discovery of a natural gas field located between southern Turkey and the northern coast of Cyprus, a Greek Cypriot daily claimed Monday.

According to the report of Phileleftheros, the natural gas field was discovered under the seabed between Turkey's southern Gulf of İskenderun and the Karpaz peninsula of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the northeastern-most part of the island.

The Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa (formerly Polarcus) seismic survey vessel produced detailed maps of the area. A newly-acquired drilling vessel of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), Deep Sea Metro II, will arrive in the area in the first months of 2018, the report said.

Following the end of the purchasing process, the ship, which has an advanced drilling bit able to operate in high seas, will be brought to Turkey and renamed, it added.

In June, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak announced that Turkey will drill its first well in the Mediterranean by the end of the third or fourth quarter of this year.

[waldron] 29/10/2017 20:54

Sun 29-10-2017 22:58 PM
World natural gas prices projected to rise 3 percent in 2018: World Bank

WASHINGTON, 29th October 2017 (WAM) -- World natural gas prices are projected to rise 3 percent in 2018, driven by robust demand in the United States, the World Bank said.

''In the United States, prices are expected to increase 4 percent to US$3.1/mmbtu on strong domestic demand, rising exports, and modest gains in production'' the World Bank said in its October Commodity Markets Outlook.

''More moderate increases are expected in Europe and Japan, largely tracking oil prices. Markets are expected to be well supplied over the next several years, owing to large increases in LNG capacity, mainly in Australia and the United States.'' ''European gas prices were unchanged at $5.3/mmbtu. However, spot prices rose to $7.0/mmbtu in October on strong demand ahead of winter for stocking, and reflected reduced nuclear capacity in France, high coal prices, and tight LNG supply,'' the report added.

Natural gas prices fell 2 percent in the third quarter (q/q), but averaged 26 percent higher in the first nine months compared to the same period in 2016, largely reflecting a similar increase in oil prices.

In the third quarter, prices in the United States fell 4 percent to $2.9/mmbtu due to mild weather, reduced demand from those impacted by hurricanes, rising production, and ample levels of storage ahead of winter. Looking ahead, demand for gas is expected to strengthen from new chemical and fertilizer capacity and from rising exports by pipeline to Mexico and via liquefied natural gas, LNG, worldwide.

The World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook provides detailed market analysis for major commodity groups, including energy, metals, agriculture, precious metals, and fertilisers. The report includes price forecasts to 2030 for more than 45 commodities. It also provides historical price data and supply, demand, and trade balances for most commodities.
WAM/Tariq alfaham/Hatem Mohamed

[grupo guitarlumber] 24/10/2017 11:40

BARCELONE (Agefi-Dow Jones) - Engie (ENGI.FR) could reap more than 100 million euros if the strategic review of its upstream activities of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which include liquefaction, transportation and international LNG trading, results in divestment, according to analysts Bryan, Garnier & Co. The company believes that a sale would send positive signals to investors, indicating that Engie refocuses its strategy on regulated activities and under contract, and turns away from an unprofitable business that is difficult to model. Macroeconomic conditions also favor divestments, as the over-supply of international LNG markets is expected to worsen with the start-up of new production capacity in the United States and Australia. The Engie share gained 0.1% to 14.63 euros.




-Nathan Allen, Dow Jones Newswires Ed: VLV




(END) Dow Jones Newswires


October 24, 2017 05:23 ET (09:23 GMT)

[waldron] 23/10/2017 18:29

(Boursier.com) - GTT announces that it has signed a service agreement for Shell's Prelude FLNG (Shell Fluid Liquefaction and Storage LNG) membrane cargo containment system. This covers engineering, inspection, maintenance and testing related to the containment system.

FLNG Prelude has recently arrived on site, 475 km northeast of Broome, where the connection and commissioning phase of the project is underway. Prelude FLNG has a liquefied gas storage capacity of 326,000 m3. It contains 10 tanks (6 LNG and 4 LPG), each equipped with the Mark III membrane containment system developed by GTT.

[waldron] 19/10/2017 11:34

(Boursier.com) - GTT is shaken at the beginning of the session, down by nearly 7% to 43.3 euros. While the LNG transport and storage specialist confirmed its annual targets, operators seem to retain the 4.6% decline in activity over nine months with a share of royalties that dropped by 6.3% to 157.1 ME and Services up 26.6% to E11.4 million.

On the current basis, valuation remains modest (11 times the EV / Ebit 2017/2018), explains Oddo. Nevertheless, the broker must validate the trend of order improvement in order to refine its 2019 estimates and the risk of low point. Also, the broker remains 'neutral' on the record, especially since the recent stock market has been particularly dynamic (+ 25% since the publication of the half-year results at the end of July)

[grupo guitarlumber] 16/10/2017 20:55

Its expertise, its commitment to innovation and its loyalty-based customer relationships have established GTT as a leading global stakeholder in the shipping of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
AN EXPERT IN ITS FIELD

As a leading engineering company in containment systems for the shipping and storage in cryogenic conditions of LNG (liquefied natural gas), GTT offers engineering, consultancy, training, maintenance support and technical design services. Approved by leading classification societies, its technologies are underpinned by a substantial return of experience over many decades.
A RESEARCHER

The GTT Innovation strategy is designed to respond to the operational efficiency and safety expectations of its customers in full compliance with developments in international maritime regulations and legislation. To fulfill those expectations, the company runs its own test laboratory and is actively involved in research via its partnerships with engineering companies, research institutes, laboratories and universities.
A PIONEER

In order to meet the requirements of the industry, GTT is continually working on new LNG containment technologies, as well as on solutions for use with other liquefied gases. Thanks to the expertise of its engineering teams, the company continues to expand its offer with bespoke technologies and engineering solutions for the offshore industry, multi-gas carriers, and small and midsize carriers. GTT also offers new applications for the growing market for LNG as a propulsion fuel. As part of its commitment to working closely with customers to provide support and assistance, GTT is also constantly expanding its range of high-added-value services.
A PARTNER

Its substantial portfolio of patents and continuous investment in research and development are what gives GTT its unique market position. They have enabled the company to build long-term trust-based partnerships with stakeholders all along the LNG chain, from the largest shipyards which have access to its technologies under licensing contracts, shipowners and terminal operators to classification societies and gas operators.