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[la forge] 07/1/2018 05:32

Alexander Bueso
WebFG News
06 Jan, 2018 21:16
Commodities: Analysts eye downside risks for WTI, even as spot natural gas hits triple digits
BP, oil, gas

Commodities were unwanted at the end of the week, amid heavy selling in the energy and agricultural space, as analysts eye the downside risks for crude oil futures from current levels.

In the former, the February 2018 natural gas futures contract on NYMEX came down noticeably, erasing 2.95% to trade at $2.80/MMBtu, even after spot prices in the northeastern US reportedly surpassed $100/MMBtu as a result of the ongoing winter blizzard conditions.

That came alongside roughly one percentage point drops for similarly-dated heating oil and gasoline contracts on the same exchange.

West Texas Intermediate also gave back some of its weekly gains, trading down by 0.92% to $61.44 a barrel after having hit a three-year high during the previous session.

For the week, WTI was ahead by 1.7%.

To take note of, CME reduced the margin requirement for trading WTI for prompt month delivery from $2,100 to $1,950.

Commenting on the outlook for WTI, analysts at Barclays said: "Recent oil market strength has been driven by a multitude of factors including supply disruptions, heightened geopolitical risks, strong economic growth, and more recently, colder weather in the Northern Hemisphere and technical buying.

These factors are a perfect storm of events that have pushed oil prices to multi-year highs. And there are still several tail risks, including a Venezuela crisis and renewed Iranian sanctions that could take prices higher. Yet we think risks for oil are skewed to the downside from here as fundamentals on the horizon suggest a reversal is in order."

Among soft commodities, live cattle futures for next month delivery on the CME were the weakest segment of the market, falling by 2.45% to $1.1925/lb..

ICE-traded cotton futures were also walloped, losing 1.56% to $0.7801 a pound.

Three-month copper futures also ended lower, as did most base metals, slipping from $7,199 per metric tonne to $7,121 by the end of trading.

Tin was the exception in LME trade, risingfrom $19,925 per tonne to $19,975.

Precious metals on the other hand did manage to hold onto recent gains, for the most part, with February 2018 COMEX gold up by 0.05% to $1,322.30/oz..

From a bird's eye view, the US dollar spot index managed a small bounce, adding 0.10% to 91.94, albeit amid a good dose of intra-day volatility, yet the Bloomberg commodity index dropped sharply, retreating 0.74% to 87.92.

[waldron] 05/1/2018 12:35

United States to host Largest Global Gas Conference, WGC 2018
By Oil and Gas Republic on Jan 5, 2018@ogrepublic

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The 27th World Gas Conference (WGC 2018)

The 27th World Gas Conference (WGC 2018) takes place in Washington DC from June 25-29, 2018 and is the first time in WGC’s 86 year history that it will be held in a country that is both the world’s largest gas consumer and gas producer. This is an exciting time for the US, which according to the IEA at the COP23 summit in November is “set to become the undisputed leader of oil and gas production worldwide”. In addition, the last Potential Gas Committee assessment released earlier this year reported a record future supply of natural gas in the US – the highest resource evaluation in the Committee’s 52 year history.

WGC is truly a global event for the industry, with US Energy Secretary Rick Perry recently telling the American Gas Magazine; “The World Gas Conference, now in its 27th edition, is a wonderful opportunity for the United States to share our technological advancements and strategies for natural gas on a global platform. The conference allows us to collaborate with foreign leaders and experts in the industry to ensure energy security and reliability throughout the world.”

Held under the patronage of the International Gas Union (IGU) and hosted by the American Gas Association (AGA), WGC 2018 receives exceptional industry support and is expected to draw more than 12,000 representatives from the entire natural gas value chain – the most definitive global gas industry gathering of influential leaders, policy-makers, buyers, sellers and experts to date.

Under the theme “Fueling the Future” the event aims to solidify the pivotal role of natural gas as a critical source of energy that is clean, abundant, economical and sustainable. Over 45 global energy industry leaders are already confirmed as keynote speakers and these CEOs of international energy companies, global gas experts, distinguished energy officials, policy makers and government representatives from across the globe will present their views on the most timely and topical, technical, commercial and strategic issues and opportunities facing the natural gas industry.

Delegates can look forward to Keynote Sessions including ‘The Biggest Challenges and Opportunities facing the Global Gas Industry’, ‘The Role of LNG in Shaping the Natural Gas Landscape’, ‘What next for the Asia Pacific Gas Market?’, The Future of Europe’s Energy Market’, ‘Access to Sustainable Energy in Developing Economies’, ‘The Role for Gas in an Integrated Americas’ and ‘Innovation to Drive the Energy Industry Forward’. There are over 100 conference sessions in total, with speakers representing the entire gas value chain.

CEOs speaking on these panel sessions are from companies including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Qatargas, Gazprom, BP, Total, ConocoPhillips and Sonatrach, as well as Government Ministers from the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, India and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia to name a few.

The conference program is shaping up to be the most comprehensive and diverse WGC program to date, with a strong emphasis on attracting participants from both in and outside of the traditional gas industry. For example, the financial community is represented by confirmed speakers from the InterAmerican Development Bank, Lazard International, the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Standard Bank of Africa, with others due to be announced shortly.

For gas industry customer groups, such as those involved in fertilizers and chemicals, it will be an opportunity to hear from high level confirmed speakers from CF Industries, Potash Corporation, LyondellBasel and ExxonMobil Chemical.

The WGC 2018 exhibition is also a huge draw for anyone involved in the gas industry, featuring 350 exhibitors from over 40 countries. Exhibiting companies cover the entire spectrum – Upstream, Midstream and Downstream – ranging from producers, through EPCs and contractors to specialist products and services. WGC 2018 has introduced the Sustainable Energy Pavilion where exhibitors include the Environmental Defense Fund and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Other specialist pavilions include the Natural Gas for Transportation Pavilion, the Showcase America Pavilion and the Technical and Innovation Center which will provide live demonstrations of the latest technology.

For more information and to register as a delegate: www.wgc2018.com

[grupo] 03/1/2018 21:04

GTT Wins Order from Korean Shipyard
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By MarEx 01/03/2018 07:26:58

At the end of 2017, GTT received an order from a South Korean shipyard regarding the design of the LNG tanks of a new LNG carrier. Its delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020.

GTT will design the LNG tanks of the unit, allowing for a capacity of 174,000 m3. The insulation solution Mark III Flex has been chosen for its ability to reduce the daily guaranteed Boil-Off gas rate to 0.085 percent of tank volume. 48 vessels in service already benefit from this technology.

The shipowner and shipyard's names are kept confidential at this stage.

[maywillow] 02/1/2018 21:29

Gas Wars: The First Energy Conflict In 2018
By ZeroHedge - Jan 02, 2018, 3:00 PM CST Gas

The eastern Mediterranean is expected to witness the first conflict of 2018, as developments at the end of 2017 are signaling worsening relationships between Turkey and the Greek Cypriot-Greece-Israel-Egypt bloc.

Territorial disputes over natural gas and newly discovered hydrocarbon reserves in the eastern Mediterranean basin are the reason.

Up until a few years ago, the hope was that these hydrocarbon reserves would offer a real opportunity for a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus conflict. But these optimistic hopes vanished with both Turks and Greek Cypriots unilaterally speeding up exploration and drilling operations.

In 2004, the European Union had declared the Greek Cypriots the sole entity representing the island of Cyprus and accepted it as an EU member. Feeling that its hand has been strengthened following the EU decision, the Greek Cypriots claimed the right of natural resources exploration in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Cyprus.

Turkey, however, has been insisting that the Greek Cypriot administration in Nicosia cannot unilaterally “adopt laws regarding the exploitation of natural resources on behalf of the entire island,” as it doesn’t represent the Turkish Cypriots. Also, there is a separate disputed EEZ between Turkey and Greece in the eastern Mediterranean — another point of tension in the conflict.

Ankara reacted strongly to the Greek Cypriots' natural gas drilling efforts in July. The Turkish army dispatched a frigate in the eastern Mediterranean to "monitor a drilling ship that is believed to have begun searching for oil and gas off ethnically divided Cyprus despite Turkey's objections,” The Associated Press reported.

On Nov. 20, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Greek Cypriot for a trilateral meeting in Nicosia to discuss hydrocarbon resources in the region. In addition to Egypt’s president, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also participated in the meeting, which was hosted by Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. The Turkish Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, declared the outcome of the trilateral meeting to be “null and void."

However, despite Turkey’s opposition, drillship Saipem 12000 sailed to carry out exploration and drilling operations on behalf of French TOTAL and Italian ENI companies in the Calypso region between March 1 and Dec. 26 in accordance with an agreement reached during the trilateral summit.

Moreover, Italy, Greece, Greek Cypriot and Israel had already agreed on the construction of a gas pipeline from newly discovered fields. The project — dubbed “East-Med̶1; — will cost some $6 billion. An over 2,000-kilometer-long (1,243-mile-long) pipeline will channel offshore reserves in the Levantine basin to Greece and Italy.
Related: U.S. Shale Can’t Offset Record-Low Oil Discoveries

The East-Med project could be interpreted as an effort to form a regional alliance between Greek Cypriot and Greece to confront Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean. The Greek Cypriots and Greece also signed a separate agreement with Israel to channel natural gas reserves in the Mediterranean basin via an undersea pipeline. Italy’s participation in this project didn’t come as a surprise, as Italy has already been exploring natural gas in the Mediterranean on behalf of the Greeks. The undersea pipeline is expected to channel natural gas from Israel’s Leviathan Basin and Greece's 12th plot — also called Aphrodite — to Crete, and then to Europe via Greece.

On Dec. 5, the energy ministers of Greece, Greek Cypriot and Israel and the Italian ambassador to Greek Cypriot signed an accord in Nicosia on the construction of the East-Med pipeline. The participation of EU representatives in the ceremony indicated Brussels’ support for the project.

In 2017, the Greek Cypriots, Israel and Greece conducted three joint exercises in March, June and November. At the beginning of November 2017, Greece and Egypt held their first joint naval exercise for the first time in quite a while.

In response, Ankara initiated its own moves and issued a navigational telex to reserve an area for military exercises. The area covers the disputed sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth blocs that the Greek Cypriots had declared as their EEZ. Ankara’s declaration came at a time when Saipem 12000 arrived in the Mediterranean.

Also, the Turkish army has kept some of its forces in the eastern Mediterranean following NATO’s Standing Maritime Task Forceexercise, which was conducted Nov. 7-16. The Turkish navy’s TCG Gediz and TCG Barbaros frigates; the TCG Kalkan, TCG Mizrak, TCG Bora and TCG Meltem gunboats; the TCG Akar fuel tanker; and four underwater commando teams are still in the sixth bloc.

In 2018, Turkey will have its first brand-new drilling vessel, the Deepsea Metro II. According to navigation data, the ship left Norway's Hoylandsbygda port some two weeks ago and is currently sailing west of Portugal. It is expected to arrive in Turkey on Dec. 31. The critical question now is whether the Turkish navy will be providing military escorts for the new drilling vessel.
Related: U.S. Rig Count Falls Slightly As Canada’s Rig Count Tanks

If the Deepsea Metro II is to be escorted by a Turkish navy fleet while sailing to the sixth bloc, then the affair is bound to heat up. In the meantime, the Nicosia administration also announced that drilling operations in its EEZ would begin Dec. 30 and that Saipem 12000 would join the operations as well.

Now the question is whether Turkey’s Deepsea Metro II and Saipem 12000 and naval fleets escorting them will confront each other in the disputed sixth bloc.

One should also consider domestic developments in relevant countries when trying to measure the extent of a possible crisis. A possible hydrocarbon crisis is an excellent domestic political issue that all governments can use to consolidate their nationalist support base.

In sum — and in comparison to 2017 — one will witness more eventful scenes in the eastern Mediterranean in 2018. The only actor that could mediate between Ankara and Nicosia is not Washington but Moscow, the new shining star of the Middle East.

By Zerohedge.com

[maywillow] 02/1/2018 21:28

US Shatters All-Time Record For Natural Gas Usage During Arctic Freeze
Photo of Chris White
Chris White
Energy Reporter
4:14 PM 01/02/2018
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The U.S. broke a record Monday for most natural gas ever burned amid a prolonged winter freeze that as covered half of the country under a thick layer of snow.

Americans used more gas during the most-recent cold snap than they did during the so-called polar vortex that covered the U.S.’ eastern half with arctic air in 2014, according to data from PointLogic Energy, an oil and gas firm that monitor gas usage.

The country consumed more than 143 billion cubic feet of gas as temperatures dipped to all-time lows on New Year’s Day, the data show. Prices for natural gas skyrocketed to the highest level in a month — gas is not the only fossil fuel states are turning to for warmth this winter.

Coal-fired power generation also jumped from around 20,000 megawatts on Christmas to more than 45,000 megawatts, according to a Dec. 29 report from Bloomberg. Demand for oil also jumped sixfold, Bloomberg reported.

Access to gas, oil, and coal come as snowstorms and frigid temperatures continue to hit parts of the Northeast and the Midwest. Pennsylvania county was clobbered with 60 inches of snow in two days following Christmas day – the national guard was used to help keep the state’s roads clear and residents safe.

Northern Erie County, Penn., accumulated over 60 inches of snow a day after Christmas, according to Cleveland’s National Weather Service (NWS), GoErie.com reports. Thirty-four inches of snow descended on Christmas Day, marking a single-day record snowfall in Erie.

[maywillow] 30/12/2017 08:47

Yamal LNG's First Cargo Sparks Diplomatic Row
marg
The Christophe de Margerie on sea trials (file image courtesy DSME)

By MarEx 2017-12-29 20:54:46

On Thursday, Russia's embassy in London announced that the first shipment of LNG to depart Novatek's Yamal facility would help meet heating demand in Britain, which is in the midst of a deep cold spell. "Feeling cold? Help is on the way," the embassy wrote in a Twitter post. Kremlin-backed outlet RT reported that "London had to urgently turn to Russian gas . . . due to supply outages,” which it attributed to the shutdown of the Forties oil and gas pipeline.

However, the Russian news was fake, UK government and industry sources said: Britain's National Grid is already well supplied, and the gas will only be on English soil temporarily while it awaits transshipment to a foreign buyer. Yamal's operator, Novatek, said earlier this month that it had sold the first cargo to Petronas LNG UK, a subsidiary of Malaysia's state oil firm.

"It is nonsense. We are not worried about energy supplies and this is not the Russians riding over the hill to save us from shivering to death," an unnamed government source told the Daily Mail.

The icebreaking LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie arrived at Thamesport on Thursday, departing Friday evening. She is presently en route to the port of Sabetta, Russia, where she will take on another load of cargo.

Yamal's next two cargoes are destined for the Gate facility in Rotterdam and Engie's Montoir-de-Bretagne terminal in France. Traders predict that like the first cargo, the second and third will be reloaded and transshipped to Asian markets, where the gas will command a much higher price.

Yamal LNG began commercial operation early this month, and Russian President Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to begin loading the first shipment on December 8. "This is not just an important event in our country’s energy sector, or gas production and liquefaction," Putin said in a keynote address. "Those who started this project took the risk, and the risk proved to be justified, and they achieved success."

[la forge] 29/12/2017 12:27

Italian power, natural gas tariffs to rise 5% on January 1

Barcelona (Platts)--29 Dec 2017 704 am EST/1204 GMT

Italy's power, gas and water regulator, Autorita per l'energia elettrica il gas e il sistema idrico, said Friday it will increase both regulated domestic gas and power tariffs 5% from January 1.

* Power hike largest since Q2 2012

* Gas increase driven by seasonality, regional markets

AEEGSI said the power bill for the typical consumer would rise 5.3% in the first quarter, while the typical gas bill will increase by 5.0%.

The power tariff rise was the largest since a 10.4% increase for the second quarter of 2012 while the gas tariff increase was the highest since the fourth quarter of 2014, according to regulator data.

AEEGSI said its reference price for first-quarter electricity would be Eur0.20626/kWh (25 cents/KWh), up from Eur0.19589/kWh in the fourth quarter, with 49% of the tariff related to the cost of procurement, 19% for distribution, metering and related, 20% for system costs (generally renewable incentives,) and 13% for taxes.

The regulator said there were nine factors which had contributed to rising wholesale prices during the fourth quarter. Those included increased end-user demand, reduced imports of French power as a result of nuclear plant outages, low hydro caused by the driest year in 200 years, and higher regional wholesale gas prices.

Domestic costs such as balancing, likely expenditure on interruptible contracts from next year -- the mechanism for which was still awaiting clearance from the EU -- and increased costs for essential plants also contributed to the tariff increase, AEEGSI said.

For natural gas, AEEGSI said the reference price for the typical consumer would be Eur7,669 per cu m in the first quarter, up from Eur0.7305/cu m in the fourth quarter of 2017, with 41% of that corresponding to raw material costs, 38% taxes, 18% transport and metering and 3% for system costs.

The quarter-on-quarter increase was largely due to seasonality, the regulator said, with increased regional demand and prices impacting the scenario for Italy.

--Gianluca Baratti, [e-mail]

--Edited by Dan Lalor, [e-mail]

[waldron] 29/12/2017 08:39

Gas has biggest rally since Oct. with arctic freeze

By Bloomberg
Dec. 28, 2017 at 11:30 p.m.

0


U.S. natural gas staged the biggest rally in two months as a frigid forecast signaled demand for the power-plant fuel may surge to new highs through the start of 2018.

The eastern half of the country is locked in a deep freeze with the potential to generate the highest weather-driven gas demand for the last week of December and the first few days of January in data going back to the 1950s, according to MDA Weather Services. Chicago's low on New Year's Day will be minus 1 degree Fahrenheit, 11 below normal, according to AccuWeather.

The cold wave that started this week has catapulted U.S. gas consumption to an all-time high for this time of year while simultaneously curtailing record production from shale deposits that had helped cap prices. The one-two punch jolted gas futures higher Thursday after the latest computer models showed the cold persisting for the next two weeks and deepening a supply deficit.

"It's a crazy day," said John Borruso, director of natural gas trading at Con Edison Energy in Valhalla, New York. "They finally realize it's winter and that it gets cold in winter."

Gas futures for February delivery rose 6.7 percent to $2.914 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest percentage gain since Oct. 30.

[ariane] 28/12/2017 21:48

Natural Gas Stocks Showing Significant Move To The Upside
Thu, 28th Dec 2017 20:31


WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, natural gas stocks have moved notably higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index has advanced by 1.4%.

The strength in the sector comes amid an increase by the price of natural gas, with natural gas for February delivery climbing USD0.182 to USD2.914 per million BTUs.

[waldron] 27/12/2017 08:43

GTT: announcement hailed

Aymeric Val, published on the 27/12/2017 at 09h29
GTT: announcement hailed
Photo credit © GTT

(Boursier.com) - Christmas at the balcony for GTT ... The specialist in cryogenic membrane containment systems used for maritime transport and for the storage of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) climbing on Wednesday from 2.5% to 50%, 73 euros on the Paris Stock Exchange, in volumes it is true modest. The benefit of the announcement made last Friday of an order from a South Korean shipyard concerning the design of the tanks of three new LNG carriers, with delivery scheduled for the first half of 2020. "This confirms our scenario of an acceleration orders in the coming months and a trough 2019 less pronounced than feared by the consensus ", welcomes Portzamparc in a note of analysis. In its projections, the intermediary expects a turnover of 196 ME for 2019, the expected low point of the cycle, compared to an estimate of 165 ME for the consensus calculated by Bloomberg. Portzamparc logically renews its opinion "buy" on GTT, always valued 54.1 euros per share. For the record, the file is in the list of convictions of the broker.

[sarkasm] 25/12/2017 17:40

Wan Lixin

Opinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily




Home » Business » Energy
Demand lifts LNG prices by 6.4%
Source: Agencies | 00:01 UTC+8 December 26, 2017 | Print Edition

China’s liquefied natural gas prices grew 6.4 percent in mid-December amid surging winter demand, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

The price of LNG was around 7,409.80 yuan (US$1,127) per ton nationwide from December 11 to 20, up 6.4 percent from the first 10 days of this month, according to the bureau.

Demand nationwide, especially in north China, has surged in winter boosted by policies to promote the shift from burning coal to using gas for heating, “which has been faster than expected,” said Zhang Yuqing, former deputy director of the National Energy Administration.

Natural gas consumption in Jiangsu, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Sichuan provinces, which have encouraged the switch from coal to gas, has grown more than 20 percent year on year in 2017, reported Shanghai Securities News.

Natural gas consumption grew 7 percent for the whole of 2016, data from the National Development and Reform Commission showed.

China suffered a supply shortage amid the rise in demand, prompting energy giants such as Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corp to accelerate exploration and import of natural gas to meet the growing domestic appetite.

Sinopec said yesterday that it will increase natural gas production by 1.1 million cubic meters per day in January by working at full capacity.

An official inspection has found about 5.6 percent of villages in north China’s 28 cities had reported a shortage of natural gas supply for winter heating.

Inspection teams in these cities that are located in or near the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region found that 426,000 households in 1,208 villages had faced natural gas shortage after their homes were heated with gas instead of coal, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in an online statement.

Officials took measures such as increasing gas supply or temporarily heating the homes with coal to ensure all the residents in these villages enjoy a warm winter as of Wednesday night.

To make the air cleaner, China has been replacing coal-fired boilers with natural gas and electricity-powered boilers in the smog-plagued northern region.

Over 4.7 million households in 21,516 villages in the inspected region have completed the coal-to-gas or coal-to-electricity conversion, 3.94 million of which finished the switch this year, according to the ministry.

China is intensifying efforts to fight pollution and environmental degradation after decades of growth left the country saddled with problems such as smog and contaminated soil.

Tackling pollution has also been listed as one of “the three tough battles” that China aims to win in the next three years, according to the Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded earlier this month.

Thanks to the initiatives, China’s northern region has been enjoying cleaner air this winter.

[the grumpy old men] 25/12/2017 15:13

Fitch: LNG market getting crowded, notably for Russia
today, 17:30Daniel J. GraeberNeftegaz.RU34

The markets for LNG will likely be oversupplied over the next few years, leaving funding at a premium, notably for Russia, Fitch Ratings announced on December 22, 2017.



«The LNG market is likely to be oversupplied for several years due to additional LNG capacity being commissioned in the United States, Australia and elsewhere, potentially resulting in depressed spot prices until demand catches up,» the ratings agency said.



The U.S. has pushed more shale gas into the open market in the form of LNG, hoping to eat into the Russian market share in Europe. Australia, meanwhile, aims to advance into the energy-hungry Asian market with gas from its giant Wheatstone LNG project.



Russia's Novatek, meanwhile, set its foot into the global sector when it sent its 1st shipment of LNG to the market in early December.

The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies last year found Russian energy company Gazprom could compete with LNG from the United States if it decided to engage in a price war.



The study at the time said the price for Russian gas exported through pipelines to Europe was discounted to U.S. LNG by as much as $1 per million British thermal units.

This year, commodity pricing group S&P Global Platts said gas prices in Europe were too low to support U.S. LNG imports.



The report added, however, that contracts from companies like Gazprom may have been «tinkered with» to make piped gas more competitive.

Fitch said in its report that Russia has been able to improve its position on the global LNG market, especially with Novatek's recent shipment from its Yamal LNG project.



Novatek could secure some funding support from partners not already the target of U.S. sanctions and by establishing partners with companies in rich countries like Saudi Arabia and India.



Globally, Fitch said securing long-term contracts for any of the major LNG players will be challenging as the field gets more crowded. Russia may therefore be at a slight disadvantage because of Western sanctions.



Bankers in China, the world's 2nd-largest economy, have provided funding for Novatek's efforts, but there's no guarantee Beijing will continue to help.



China, Fitch said, is considering LNG projects in Alaska, a gas pipeline from Central Asia, a 2nd LNG effort in the Russian Arctic, as well as Gazprom's Power of Siberia gas pipeline «and it may not necessarily get involved in all these projects simultaneously.»

[ariane] 24/12/2017 11:11

Kuwait Petroleum Corp inks LNG import deal with Royal Dutch Shell
The sales purchasing agreement will start in 2020
By Bloomberg





















Sun 24 Dec 2017 02:43 PM

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. signed a 15-year liquefied natural gas import deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc to help the oil exporting nation meet growing domestic energy demand.

The sales purchasing agreement with Shell International Trading Middle East Ltd. will start in 2020, the companies said Sunday in an emailed statement. Shell has supplied Kuwait with the super-cooled fuel since 2010 and declined to say how much gas is covered under the new contract. While KPC is working to boost local natural gas production.

Kuwait has a “pressing requirement” to secure natural gas supplies in the meantime, they said.

LNG could help meet Kuwait’s domestic demand for power to run air conditioners during hot summer months and cut the amount of crude oil burned instead of exported for profit. The contract will cover 2 million to 3 million cubic meters of gas a year, priced at 11 percent below a Brent benchmark, a person familiar said, asking not to be identified because terms of the deal are private.

“The big issue for Kuwait is they burn a lot of oil, most of their power generated is from oil, and so importing LNG for them is cheaper and frees up oil for export,” Robin Mills, chief executive officer of Dubai-based Qamar Energy, said by phone.

Kuwait wants cleaner burning energy sources such as natural gas to reduce emissions and improve air quality, according to the Shell and KPC statement.

[waldron] 22/12/2017 16:03

Interview: Total Marine Fuels gears up for IMO 2020 rule, eyes LNG bunker fuel growth

Singapore (Platts)--21 Dec 2017 1014 pm EST/314 GMT

Global bunker supplier and trader Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions is gearing up for the International Maritime Organization's 2020 global sulfur cap rule for marine fuels, with LNG emerging as a key bunker fuel solution for some of its customers, Managing Director Olivier Jouny told S&P Global Platts in an interview last week.

He added that "2020 is a real date, and there will be no way to escape it. We believe there is no one solution. It will vary from customer to customer, depending on a variety of factors, including the type of fleet, areas where shipowners are operating, whether they are looking for a solution for newbuilds or existing fleet."

Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions, for its part, is already working with its other entities -- refineries, trading, logistics, research and development -- to come up with 2020-compliant marine fuel solutions, Jouny said.

The company will provide three main options -- 0.5% sulfur compliant fuels, HSFO with scrubbers and LNG bunkering -- to its customers. However, with regards to 0.5% sulfur fuels, it is too early to give an exact recipe, Jouny said.

"Total also has a large track record in adapting its refineries to the evolving fuel oil mix, as illustrated by the very recent upgrade of the Antwerp integrated refining and petrochemicals platform," Jouny said.

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The plethora of blended and new fuel formulations that will emerge, is also likely to lead to issues around stability and compatibility of the fuels.

"Compatibility and stability among the various blends are definitely an area of concern globally. We, along with our R&D centers, are looking at what's a good blend. We are presently carrying out some laboratory tests; we will go in for trials in 2018 with our key customers to ensure we are prepared for 2020," Jouny said.

LNG BUNKERING

"We want to be a major player in the LNG bunker market. Our market share in the LNG bunker market will be definitely bigger than that in our conventional marine fuel business," Jouny said, adding that the LNG bunkering market was growing very rapidly.

He estimated that the global demand for LNG as a marine fuel would touch 1 million-1.5 million mt by 2020 and reach about 20 million-30 million mt by 2030, from the current figure of less than 500,000 mt.

LNG bunkering will be particularly attractive for certain segments of the shipping markets -- such as newbuilds and for vessels such as ferries, cruise ships and containers which traverse fixed routes, Jouny said, adding that the predominant areas for LNG bunkering will be ports in Asia and Europe, where LNG bunkering infrastructure is either already present or is developing.

Global capital expenditure, financial constraints, access to LNG, and the need for in-depth technical expertise will restrict the number of players in this space.

"We have an advantage, as we are in both bunkering and LNG, and can definitely be a dominant LNG bunker player," he said.

The company has reached a significant milestone in this regard. Earlier this month, Total announced that it had signed a strategic agreement with CMA CGM to provide LNG to fuel the French shipping group's nine newbuild ultra-large container vessels.

The new agreement covers the supply of about 300,000 mt/year of LNG for 10 years starting 2020, illustrating a huge uptake in the potential of LNG as a marine fuel.

As part of the agreement, the company also plans to charter an LNG bunker tanker.

"We have entered into a consultation with a number of shipowners and we have to take a decision quite soon," Jouny told Platts.

Four key elements to consider:


the vessel should be 18,000 cu m or more so that LNG bunkering can take place in one stem;
it should be highly maneuverable to serve high traffic areas and congested ports;
it should meet high safety standards; and
it should be in line with environmental standards to ensure there is no gas flaring during routine bunkering operations.


In addition to the CMA CGM deal in July, TMFGS also signed an agreement with Brittany Ferries to supply LNG to its vessel, the Honfleur, in the port of Ouistreham, France.

To address the lack of LNG infrastructure in the ports served by the Honfleur, TMFGS partnered with two other French companies -- Dunkerque LNG and Groupe Charles Andre -- to implement a supply chain solution using ISO containers for LNG bunkering.

The company also inked a deal with Singapore's Pavilion Gas to co-operate on LNG bunkering in the city-port. Under the agreement, Pavilion Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pavilion Energy, will supply LNG as a bunker fuel to TMFGS, according to a statement released in April.

COMPLIANCE TO IMO 2020

While TMFGS is preparing for 2020, it is also cautious about the enforcement of the upcoming rule as 100% compliance will be difficult to achieve, Jouny said.

A report by OPEC in November, for example, said that just 60% of bunker demand will be compliant with the sulfur limit in 2020.

"We do believe that our customers, who are also some of the big names, are going to fulfill the requirements [of the rule]. However, if there is no signal from the market that enforcement is compulsory, smaller shipowners may not comply, meaning that there will no longer be a level playing field," Jouny said.

"The 2020 global sulfur cap rule is a major change for the industry and it should be respected. Our commitment is to be transparent and we will support any initiative [as a supplier] required to support enforcement," he added.

In February 2018, the IMO is expected to discuss a proposal made by the International Bunker Industry Association to introduce a ban on the carriage of HSFO as bunkers on ships without scrubbers.

If this proposal is accepted and enforced globally, TMFGS, who is also an IBIA member, will definitely support it, Jouny said.

-- Surabhi Sahu, [e-mail]

-- Edited by Geetha Narayanasamy, [e-mail]