Posted - January 30, 2014 - Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
A subsidiary of ConocoPhillips has requested an authorization to export
liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Alaska to countries that do not have
free trade agreements with the United States, according to a filing from
the U.S. Department of Energy.
ConocoPhillips Alaska Natural Gas Corp (CPANCC) said it wants the
government to give approval for the equivalent of up to 40 billion cubic
feet of natural gas in total over a two-year period.
The LNG would be exported from facilities located in the Cook Inlet near
Kenai, Alaska, the DOE said in a filing posted on Wednesday in the
Federal Register. The request is subject to a public comment period that
ends on Feb. 28.
CPANCC and its predecessors have long exported LNG from the Kenai facility to Japan and other Pacific Rim countries.
The company let its most recent authorization lapse in March 2013 amid
perceived uncertainties about whether supplies in the Cook Inlet region
were adequate to meet regional needs, the DOE said.
"CPANCC states, however, that the uncertainties have been removed," it
added. The company wants rapid consideration of its request so that
exports can resume in the second quarter.
Source: Reuters
Post to be found at:
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/News.aspx?ElementId=c7b2a46e-3663-4000-a0f6-7841e402934f&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
News - Items - and other Posts
Angola LNG Sells Its First LPG Cargo
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GAIL to import 32-33 LNG cargoes in 2014/15
DigitalJournal.com - Angola LNG today announced the sale of its first LPG cargo from its plant in Soyo, the facility built to create value from Angola's offshore gas resources ..
GAIL to import 32-33 LNG cargoes in 2014/15
NDTV - State-run gas utility GAIL India plans to import 32 to 33 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the 2014/15 fiscal year that starts from April 1, ...
Chile LNG shipments unaffected by Egypt force majeure: BG
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MarineLink - The characteristic, red painted, gas vent lines, featuring “Powered by LNG” on top of the vessel. Norway-based shipping company Fjord Line's ..
Bloomberg - LNG
to be shipped over the next four to eight weeks rose to $19.30 per
million British thermal units in the week ended Jan. 27, up from $18.70,
the ..
PakTribune.com - According to sources, EVTL and SSGC have finalised the draft agreement for building an LNG handling facility at Engro's existing terminal at Port ..
Bloomberg - Yamal LNG,
a venture developing a liquefied natural gas export plant in the
Russian Arctic, plans to pick a terminal for transshipping the fuel in
Europe ..
MarketWatch - HAMILTON, Bermuda, Jan 28, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Golar LNG Partners LP (NASDAQ:GMLP) announced today that its board of ..
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
News - Posts and other Items
Oil Search Lifts Output Guidance Expecting Timely LNG Start
Wall Street Journal - SYDNEY--Oil Search Ltd. (OSH.AU) lifted annual production guidance for calendar 2014, as the company becomes increasingly confident its US$19 ..
Bomin-Linde LNG project concludes first delivery contract
Gasworld.com - The shipping company Aktien-Gesellschaft EMS (AG EMS) and Bomin Linde LNG have signed the first contract for the delivery of LNG in Germany...
Japan's 2013 LNG Imports Hit Record High
Energy Tribune - Jan 27 (Reuters) – Japan's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose to another record in 2013 as the country's second complete shutdown of its ..
Petronet LNG hits 52-week low amid weak Q3 earnings
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LNG-fuelled catamaran pushes frontiers in ferry powering
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Brazil Receives Spot LNG Cargo From Trinidad at Guanabara Bay
Wall Street Journal - SYDNEY--Oil Search Ltd. (OSH.AU) lifted annual production guidance for calendar 2014, as the company becomes increasingly confident its US$19 ..
Bomin-Linde LNG project concludes first delivery contract
Gasworld.com - The shipping company Aktien-Gesellschaft EMS (AG EMS) and Bomin Linde LNG have signed the first contract for the delivery of LNG in Germany...
Japan's 2013 LNG Imports Hit Record High
Energy Tribune - Jan 27 (Reuters) – Japan's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose to another record in 2013 as the country's second complete shutdown of its ..
Petronet LNG hits 52-week low amid weak Q3 earnings
Business Standard - Petronet LNG is trading lower by 1% at Rs 104, extending its over 10% fall in past two weeks, on concerns of weak financial performance for the ..
LNG-fuelled catamaran pushes frontiers in ferry powering
The Motorship - Incat's fastest ferry yet, the LNG-fuelled gas turbine-powered 'Francisco' has successfully entered service with Buquebus in South America: David ..
Brazil Receives Spot LNG Cargo From Trinidad at Guanabara Bay
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Teekay LNG Stock (NYSE: TGP): Get 6.7% Yield from This LNG ...
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Partners L.P. (NYSE: TGP) is a master limited partnership formed by
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The Express Tribune - Qatar has offered to revise the price down for export of LNG to Pakistan in a proposed government-to-government arrangement that will help ease ..
Monday, January 27, 2014
News and Posts
|
UPDATE 1-Japan's 2013 LNG imports hit record high on nuclear woes
Reuters - 2013 LNG imports at 87.49 mln T, up 0.2 pct yr/yr * 2013 crude imports fall 0.6 pct to 2-year low * Dec LNG imports rise 4.9 pct to 8.09 mln T (Adds ...
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Novatek Courts Gunvor for Yamal LNG Sales to Target Asia
Bloomberg - Novatek, which gained rights to export LNG in December, is leading the Yamal project to help expand Russia's share of the global LNG market as ...
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Japan's Chubu Electric, India's GAIL to ink MOU on LNG ...
Platts - This follows a statement by Japan and India in September last year to address higher prices of LNG in Asia compared with Europe and North America.
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Japan's 2013 LNG imports hit record high -MOF
Reuters UK - LNG imports increased 0.2 percent to 87.49 million tonnes last year, the ... Japan imported 8.09 million tonnes of LNG in December, up 4.9 percent ...
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No pre-election deal – LNG entrepreneur
Times of Malta - A businessman who had approached other entrepreneurs with a plan to develop a new LNG-fired power station in Delimara before the last general ...
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Algeria Building Mega-LNG Refinery
The Maritime Executive - OPEC member Algeria started modernization work at the 335,000 barrels-per-day refinery months ago and it began building the new LNG unit three ...
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Yemeni government to continue efforts of modifying price of LNG
Yemen News Agency - [26/January/2014] SANA'A, Jan 26 (Saba)- Yemen is to continue its efforts to modify prices of Yemen's liquid natural gas (LNG) in accordance with ...
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BG Says 2013 Profit Cut by Egypt LNG Diversions, U.S. Gas
Bloomberg - BG
Group Plc (BG/), the U.K.'s third-largest oil and gas producer, said
2013 earnings would be lower than expected on reduced liquefied natural
gas ...
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The Global Race To Secure LNG In Emerging Markets [Exxon Mobil ...
Seeking Alpha - The global race to get LNG into Asian markets has become an ambitious goal for three nations; Canada, Russia, and the USA. However, the U.S. ...
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Yemen versus France: President Hadi threatens TOTAL with ...
Yemen Post - A closer look at Yemen developing LNG industry revealed that under current arrangements Yemen had agreed to sell its LNG at a significantly ..
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News and Posts
Veliky Novogorod to become largest gas carrier in Gazprom
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Is Royal Dutch Shell plc Getting Cold Feet in Australia?
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From Glut To Panic: Natural Gas Soars
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Qatargas IPTC papers focus on tech innovations and challenges
Gulf Times - Hundreds
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Compass: Parnell gas line deal echoes Murkowski's
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Rival utilities eager for tie-ups with TEPCO in LNG, thermal
The Japan News - Jiji
Press Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s plans to explore strategic
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Algeria Lures Overseas Money With LNG Facility
The Maritime Executive - "The (LNG)
mega train will come onstream and maintenance at the refinery is
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Afcons Infrastructure eyes bigger role in LNG terminal space
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Chubu-GAIL eye LNG agreement
Gulf Daily News - Rising demand for LNG
in Asia, already the top destination for the fuel, has helped push its
price to near-record levels and now buyers such as India ..
Shell exits Wheatstone LNG project with 1.1bn-dollar disposal
IFA Magazine - Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell its stake in the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia in an effort to ..
Petroleum News - The prospect of Canada competing against itself in the global LNG market has yet to set off alarm bells in the British Columbia or federal governments
Groups launch LNG info website to help the public
HQPrinceGeorge.com - "It has information about each project proposal, all the eleven LNG proposals, five pipeline proposals and also information on fracking in Northeast ..
Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP): Energy Transfer Partners: How ...
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Keel Laying of the World's First LNG Hybrid Barge
The Maritime Executive - The keel laying of the world's first LNG Hybrid Barge took place at a ceremony held at the ”SAM Shipbuilding and Machinery“ shipyard in Komárno, ...
Spain to receive 21 LNG cargoes in March, reload three
Platts - Spanish LNG terminals will receive 21 LNG cargoes (2.25 million cubic meters) in March and reload three vessels (360,000 cu m), according to an ...
Air Products Signs Agreement to Implement Yamal LNG Project
Azom.com - Air Products, the global leader in liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology and equipment, today announced it has signed an agreement with a ...
Terms for Alaska LNG project go before state lawmakers
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'Mozambique can meet India's LNG needs'
Business Standard - "If the Indian government, or anybody, wants to buy LNG (liquefied natural gas) from Mozambique, we are ready to meed the demand," Mozambican ..
LNG Stock Chart: 3 Stocks Crushing the S&P 500
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Algeria Building Mega-LNG Refinery - Maritime Executive
Posted - January 26, 2014 - Maritime Executive (Reuters)
Algeria has completed maintenance and improvement work at its largest
oil refinery, Skikda, and will start up a new 4.5 million tonnes per
year liquefied natural gas (LNG) unit at the complex, a senior energy
official told Reuters on Saturday.
Post to be found at:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Algeria-Building-MegaLNG-Refinery-2014-01-26/
Algeria has completed maintenance and
improvement work at its largest oil refinery, Skikda, and will start up a
new 4.5 million tonnes per year liquefied natural gas (LNG) unit at the
complex, a senior energy official told Reuters on Saturday.
OPEC member Algeria started modernization
work at the 335,000 barrels-per-day refinery months ago and it began
building the new LNG unit three years ago.
"The (LNG) mega train will come onstream and maintenance at the refinery is completed," the official said.
Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal was scheduled to visit the complex later on Saturday.
Algeria earlier this month announced a new
energy bidding round set for August, when the North African oil and gas
producer hopes to draw more foreign energy investment to help boost its
flagging production.
Post to be found at:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Algeria-Building-MegaLNG-Refinery-2014-01-26/
World buyers line up to buy U.S. natural gas - Reuters
Posted - January 24, 2014 - By Oleg Vukmanovic and Edward McAllister - Reuters
Countries across the world have been quietly signing deals in recent months to import natural gas from the United States, revealing a growing appetite for the fuel overseas as domestic output soars.
Up to a dozen long-term deals, each worth billions of dollars, have been penned behind closed doors with companies in China, Japan, Taiwan, Spain, France and Chile as global demand spikes, according to company, industry and trade sources.
Through the agreements, China in particular has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of cheap American natural gas that in the coming years will be piped to Gulf Coast plants and liquefied for shipment abroad in tankers.
The unannounced deals, which amount to about 2 percent of daily U.S. supply, are not the first of their kind, and they depend on U.S. government approval to construct two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants.
But the number of new buyers, and their global scope, show how the United States is taking steps to becoming a major export hub by stealing ahead of rivals in Australia and East Africa, successfully wooing needy Asian buyers even before projects begin construction. Global competition may squeeze profit margins on some exports of U.S. gas.
Companies like Britain's BP (BP.L) and France's GDF Suez (GSZ.PA), already committed to taking LNG from the United States, are now finding multiple buyers willing to take tranches of supply.
"As we see more contracts getting signed, it's an indication that the U.S. has really cheap natural gas that will help supply the global market," said Jason Bordoff, Director at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
The United States is producing record amounts of natural gas thanks to a drilling boom, and more than a dozen export projects have been proposed. But large domestic users of natural gas such as the petrochemical industry are worried that unfettered exports could push prices higher at home. The Obama administration has been approving exports on a case-by-case basis.
So far, only four projects are allowed to export across the globe and only one is under construction.
Cheniere Energy's (LNG.A) Sabine Pass project in Louisiana, expected to begin shipments late in 2015, has sealed deals with importers in Europe and Asia over the past two years.
This latest batch of gas sales will be exported from Sempra Energy's (SRE.N) Cameron LNG plant in Louisiana and the Freeport LNG plant in Texas, sources said. Both plants are expected to begin operations by the end of the decade, pending approvals.
Sempra is still waiting on permits to construct the Cameron plant, and to export the gas to countries with which the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement. Freeport has full export approval, but is yet to begin construction.
THE DEALS
Securing buyers early can make or break an LNG project. Without buyers, a project will not receive financial backing or be built.
GDF Suez, which acquired export rights at Cameron last year, has agreed to sell all of its 4 million tonnes per year of capacity to buyers in Japan, Taiwan, China and Chile, according to a review of deals confirmed by industry sources.
Japan's Mitsubishi (8058.T) and Mitsui (8031.T), also with export rights at Cameron, have separately targeted major buyers such as Spain's Repsol (REP.MC), France's Total (TOTF.PA) and Japanese utilities. Mitsubishi is to sell a significant chunk of LNG to its own trading arm in Singapore. Sources said Japanese buyers were reluctant to commit to large deals while the fate of its nuclear fleet remained uncertain after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Mitsubishi is also in talks with Indian Oil Corp. (IOC.NS) to sell 1 mtpa of LNG for its planned terminal at Ennore in southern India, a company executive said. Exact volumes may be adjusted.
Sempra hopes to make a final investment decision to build the Cameron plant later this year. Once that decision is made, the deals agreed by GDF Suez, Mitsui and Mitsubishi automatically become formal sales agreements, industry sources said. The San Diego-based company expects to win export approval from the U.S. Department of Energy before April.
Meanwhile, BP is in talks to export LNG from the Freeport plant to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), giving the British company a foothold in the world's largest energy consumer. This and older deals with other exporters will soon make China one of the largest importers of U.S. gas.
BP has a further deal to supply Japanese utility Tepco with 0.5 mtpa, sources said.
BP declined to comment. Mitsui and its prospective Japanese utility customers Kansai Electric and Tohoku Electric also declined comment.
For a full list of deals, see table.
More than 12 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of LNG would be exported from the United States under the deals, or around 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas, though some volumes may alter in final negotiations, sources said. U.S. daily production is about 70 billion cubic feet.
"These deals will send a signal that there is still strong demand for U.S. LNG volumes," said Andres Rojas, analyst at Waterborne Energy in Houston.
GDF was also in talks with Thailand's PTT but these were abandoned after a failure to agree terms last year, a senior PTT source said. Mitsui also broke off talks with South Korean importer GS Caltex, a source at the company said.
HARD SELL
Despite these recent deals, sellers have found it harder than expected to find new buyers, and have had to offer favorable terms when they do.
A projected LNG supply spike between 2016-2020 from North America, Australia, east Africa, Russia and Asia has empowered buyers to push down the price of long-term deals being negotiated now.
This is partly reflected in the low profit margins U.S. exporters stand to make from many of the recently concluded agreements.
"The United States is not the only gas producer, so we are competing in a market with countries like Qatar, Malaysia, Australia and potentially East Africa," Bordoff said. "There is not infinite demand. There is only so much supply that the global market can take."
In its first long-term LNG deal into Asia, GDF Suez is selling 0.8 mtpa to Taiwan's CPC from 2018 at barely breakeven levels. According to the price formula reviewed by sources, CPC will pay around $12 per million British thermal units for the gas in the first year of the contract, a steep discount to the $16 its pays for LNG prices in Asia linked to oil.
Moreover, America's edge over rivals could easily dim should domestic gas prices rise nearer to pre-shale boom levels and crude oil prices simultaneously drop to around $80 a barrel.
At those levels, LNG deals linked to oil begin to look globally competitive, handicapping buyers of American gas.
Bearing these risks in mind, buyers nevertheless want limited exposure to U.S. LNG primarily as a way of negotiating down prices in oil-indexed, long-term contracts with Qatar and Australia.
Post to be found at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/24/us-lng-sales-idUSBREA0N0XS20140124
(Additional reporting by Michel Rose in Paris, Aaron Sheldrick and James Topham in Tokyo, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Jane Chung in Seoul, Pisit Changplayngam in Bangkok; Editing by David Gregorio)
Countries across the world have been quietly signing deals in recent months to import natural gas from the United States, revealing a growing appetite for the fuel overseas as domestic output soars.
Up to a dozen long-term deals, each worth billions of dollars, have been penned behind closed doors with companies in China, Japan, Taiwan, Spain, France and Chile as global demand spikes, according to company, industry and trade sources.
Through the agreements, China in particular has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of cheap American natural gas that in the coming years will be piped to Gulf Coast plants and liquefied for shipment abroad in tankers.
The unannounced deals, which amount to about 2 percent of daily U.S. supply, are not the first of their kind, and they depend on U.S. government approval to construct two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants.
But the number of new buyers, and their global scope, show how the United States is taking steps to becoming a major export hub by stealing ahead of rivals in Australia and East Africa, successfully wooing needy Asian buyers even before projects begin construction. Global competition may squeeze profit margins on some exports of U.S. gas.
Companies like Britain's BP (BP.L) and France's GDF Suez (GSZ.PA), already committed to taking LNG from the United States, are now finding multiple buyers willing to take tranches of supply.
"As we see more contracts getting signed, it's an indication that the U.S. has really cheap natural gas that will help supply the global market," said Jason Bordoff, Director at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
The United States is producing record amounts of natural gas thanks to a drilling boom, and more than a dozen export projects have been proposed. But large domestic users of natural gas such as the petrochemical industry are worried that unfettered exports could push prices higher at home. The Obama administration has been approving exports on a case-by-case basis.
So far, only four projects are allowed to export across the globe and only one is under construction.
Cheniere Energy's (LNG.A) Sabine Pass project in Louisiana, expected to begin shipments late in 2015, has sealed deals with importers in Europe and Asia over the past two years.
This latest batch of gas sales will be exported from Sempra Energy's (SRE.N) Cameron LNG plant in Louisiana and the Freeport LNG plant in Texas, sources said. Both plants are expected to begin operations by the end of the decade, pending approvals.
Sempra is still waiting on permits to construct the Cameron plant, and to export the gas to countries with which the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement. Freeport has full export approval, but is yet to begin construction.
THE DEALS
Securing buyers early can make or break an LNG project. Without buyers, a project will not receive financial backing or be built.
GDF Suez, which acquired export rights at Cameron last year, has agreed to sell all of its 4 million tonnes per year of capacity to buyers in Japan, Taiwan, China and Chile, according to a review of deals confirmed by industry sources.
Japan's Mitsubishi (8058.T) and Mitsui (8031.T), also with export rights at Cameron, have separately targeted major buyers such as Spain's Repsol (REP.MC), France's Total (TOTF.PA) and Japanese utilities. Mitsubishi is to sell a significant chunk of LNG to its own trading arm in Singapore. Sources said Japanese buyers were reluctant to commit to large deals while the fate of its nuclear fleet remained uncertain after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Mitsubishi is also in talks with Indian Oil Corp. (IOC.NS) to sell 1 mtpa of LNG for its planned terminal at Ennore in southern India, a company executive said. Exact volumes may be adjusted.
Sempra hopes to make a final investment decision to build the Cameron plant later this year. Once that decision is made, the deals agreed by GDF Suez, Mitsui and Mitsubishi automatically become formal sales agreements, industry sources said. The San Diego-based company expects to win export approval from the U.S. Department of Energy before April.
Meanwhile, BP is in talks to export LNG from the Freeport plant to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), giving the British company a foothold in the world's largest energy consumer. This and older deals with other exporters will soon make China one of the largest importers of U.S. gas.
BP has a further deal to supply Japanese utility Tepco with 0.5 mtpa, sources said.
BP declined to comment. Mitsui and its prospective Japanese utility customers Kansai Electric and Tohoku Electric also declined comment.
For a full list of deals, see table.
More than 12 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of LNG would be exported from the United States under the deals, or around 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas, though some volumes may alter in final negotiations, sources said. U.S. daily production is about 70 billion cubic feet.
"These deals will send a signal that there is still strong demand for U.S. LNG volumes," said Andres Rojas, analyst at Waterborne Energy in Houston.
GDF was also in talks with Thailand's PTT but these were abandoned after a failure to agree terms last year, a senior PTT source said. Mitsui also broke off talks with South Korean importer GS Caltex, a source at the company said.
HARD SELL
Despite these recent deals, sellers have found it harder than expected to find new buyers, and have had to offer favorable terms when they do.
A projected LNG supply spike between 2016-2020 from North America, Australia, east Africa, Russia and Asia has empowered buyers to push down the price of long-term deals being negotiated now.
This is partly reflected in the low profit margins U.S. exporters stand to make from many of the recently concluded agreements.
"The United States is not the only gas producer, so we are competing in a market with countries like Qatar, Malaysia, Australia and potentially East Africa," Bordoff said. "There is not infinite demand. There is only so much supply that the global market can take."
In its first long-term LNG deal into Asia, GDF Suez is selling 0.8 mtpa to Taiwan's CPC from 2018 at barely breakeven levels. According to the price formula reviewed by sources, CPC will pay around $12 per million British thermal units for the gas in the first year of the contract, a steep discount to the $16 its pays for LNG prices in Asia linked to oil.
Moreover, America's edge over rivals could easily dim should domestic gas prices rise nearer to pre-shale boom levels and crude oil prices simultaneously drop to around $80 a barrel.
At those levels, LNG deals linked to oil begin to look globally competitive, handicapping buyers of American gas.
Bearing these risks in mind, buyers nevertheless want limited exposure to U.S. LNG primarily as a way of negotiating down prices in oil-indexed, long-term contracts with Qatar and Australia.
Post to be found at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/24/us-lng-sales-idUSBREA0N0XS20140124
(Additional reporting by Michel Rose in Paris, Aaron Sheldrick and James Topham in Tokyo, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Jane Chung in Seoul, Pisit Changplayngam in Bangkok; Editing by David Gregorio)
Spain to receive 21 LNG cargoes in March, reload three - Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
Posted - January 27, 2014 - Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide - Platts
Spanish LNG terminals will receive 21 LNG cargoes (2.25 million cubic meters) in March and reload three vessels (360,000 cu m), according to an operational update issued by gas grid operator Enagas.
Huelva will receive the most cargoes, seven, and also perform two of the reloads on March 11 and March 23, while Barcelona will take delivery of five cargoes, Cartagena and Saggas three apiece, Bilbao two, and Mugardos one.
The other reload, on March 8, will take place at Cartagena.
Overall throughput from the six terminals into Spain's natural gas system will be 10.2 TWh in the month, Enagas said, adding total demand was forecast at 28.9 TWh.
Operational storage stocks at the end of the month were forecast at 499 GWh in underground storage sites, while LNG tanks will hold 10.1 TWh.
Source: Platts
Post to be found at:
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/News.aspx?ElementId=116500cd-bc8a-4ccd-9b82-66eca528d355&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily
Spanish LNG terminals will receive 21 LNG cargoes (2.25 million cubic meters) in March and reload three vessels (360,000 cu m), according to an operational update issued by gas grid operator Enagas.
Huelva will receive the most cargoes, seven, and also perform two of the reloads on March 11 and March 23, while Barcelona will take delivery of five cargoes, Cartagena and Saggas three apiece, Bilbao two, and Mugardos one.
The other reload, on March 8, will take place at Cartagena.
Overall throughput from the six terminals into Spain's natural gas system will be 10.2 TWh in the month, Enagas said, adding total demand was forecast at 28.9 TWh.
Operational storage stocks at the end of the month were forecast at 499 GWh in underground storage sites, while LNG tanks will hold 10.1 TWh.
Source: Platts
Post to be found at:
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/News.aspx?ElementId=116500cd-bc8a-4ccd-9b82-66eca528d355&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily
Can India’s LNG boom become a blockbuster for its shipyards and fleet owners? - Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
Posted - January 27, 2014 - Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
Indian shipbuilders need to grab the opportunity to build LNG carriers as the country planned to import LNG in huge quantities and cannot afford to depend on foreign builders.
India is looking to leverage its liquefied natural gas (LNG) buying power to help develop capabilities for building LNG carriers locally. A $2.8 billion tender to be issued shortly by state-owned natural gas firm GAIL (India) Ltd for hiring as many as 14 LNG ships on long-term charter to haul 5.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from the US for 20 years beginning September 2017 will potentially shape India’s entry into the big league of nations that construct sophisticated LNG ships.
In today’s market, it costs around $200 million to construct an LNG carrier from scratch.
GAIL is discussing a proposal, backed by India’s oil ministry, wherein shipowners winning the deal to lease these LNG ships to the firm will have to build some of these carriers at local yards.
Though the country has adequate ship-building capacity, none of India’s shipyards have built an LNG ship. South Korea, Japan and China dominate the LNG shipbuilding sector. This is an opportunity India can ill afford to squander.
But without a policy and fiscal support from the government—similar to those available in South Korea, Japan and China—for shipbuilders to construct such tankers, India will not be able to encash the opportunity.
China has made it mandatory for LNG imported into that country to be carried on ships that are constructed at Chinese yards and majority owned by Chinese firms.
Initially, Chinese shipbuilders had problems in constructing LNG ships, but now they are firmly entrenched in this business.
Indian yards, plagued by persistent delays in constructing ships on time and the attendant cost escalations, could find the entry into LNG ship construction a big challenge. India’s oil secretary Vivek Rae said on 4 January in Kochi, Kerala, that his ministry was working on leveraging India’s LNG buying power to encourage local yards to qualify for constructing LNG carriers.
Rae said Indian shipbuilders need to grab the opportunity to build LNG carriers as the country planned to import LNG in huge quantities and cannot afford to depend on foreign builders. Rae is right because India is one of the few countries that hires ships on long-term basis to haul its LNG cargo.
So far, the majority of shipments were from Qatar and, given the shorter distance, the number of LNG carriers required for Indian imports was in single digits. That will change as India starts sourcing LNG from the US, Australia, Mozambique, Russia, West and East Africa on long-term contracts. If by 2018, the average round-trip for an import shipment increases to 26 days, the number of ships required for Indian imports will rise to 50. Building a fleet of this size will require an investment of $10 billion. This could just be the blockbuster the beleaguered local yards were looking for. India’s shipbuilders expanded capacity and new firms entered the business, investing a few thousand crore of rupees to cater to a global shipping boom between 2005 and 2007. But the financial crisis and the economic downturn that began in September 2008 dashed their hopes as slower global trade cut demand for goods and created a capacity imbalance in shipping. Indian yards are now virtually surviving on government-funded defence/naval contracts after commercial ship orders dried up.
It has also become equally imperative for India to look at policy measures to help its local fleetowners diversify into this lucrative business.
In 2004, India introduced tonnage tax—based on the cargo carrying capacity of ships—a regime in which about 95% of the global fleet operates. The tonnage tax cut tax incidence of Indian firms to just 1-2% of their income, compared with the corporate tax rate of 33.9%.
Still, Indian shipowners are burdened by a dozen other taxes levied by the government, which foreign shipowners do not pay, thus negating the benefits of tonnage tax and reducing their competitiveness.
State-owned Shipping Corp. of India Ltd (SCI) is India’s only local shipowner with interests in the transportation of LNG. SCI is part of a consortium that has leased three LNG tankers to Petronet LNG Ltd for hauling gas from Qatar to its re-gassification terminal at Dahej in Gujarat. SCI holds 29.08% stake each in two of these LNG ships and a 26% stake in the third LNG carrier. The consortium includes three Japanese firms—Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, NYK Line Ltd and K Line Ltd.
In December 2013, the same consortium won a long-term contract to lease a fourth LNG carrier to Petronet to ship LNG from Australia to its re-gassification facility at Kochi in Kerala.
Petronet, India’s biggest natural gas importer, is also working on a plan to help Indian yards qualify for the construction of LNG ships for its future needs.
India’s state-owned gas importers should remove the stipulation that require fleetowners to have a minimum experience of two years to be eligible to bid for the LNG shipping tenders. The existing LNG shipping policy approved by India’s cabinet in 2005 gives LNG importers the flexibility to transport the cargo either on f.o.b. (free-on-board) or c.i.f. (cost-insurance-freight) basis by deploying foreign or Indian-registered ships.
In f.o.b contracts, the responsibility of making the shipping arrangement rests with the buyer whereas in c.i.f deals, the seller has to arrange the transportation.
The cabinet took the decision after LNG importers lobbied the government not to insist on bringing the cargo only on Indian-registered ships, arguing that this would raise their ship hiring costs and push up the cost of LNG sold to end-use customers. As a result, barring SCI, no local fleetowner managed to enter the LNG shipping business, which is marked by long-term charters stretching as much as 25 years and stable revenue.
In June 2013, GAIL signed a cooperation agreement with SCI that include SCI assisting GAIL with the tender for hiring LNG ships and GAIL assigning a step-in right to SCI to take an equity stake of as much as 26% in each of the ships from the entity winning the contract. GAIL is expected to take at least a 10% stake in each of the LNG ships, thus taking the total Indian ownership in the LNG tankers to 36% (including the 26% by SCI) while the majority stake will be held by global shipowners.
It would be a monumental loss if the Indian maritime industry does not benefit from the huge increase in shipping LNG into India. Because, with 36% Indian ownership, there won’t be any economic spin-offs for the local shipping community such as ship financiers, managers, brokers, maritime training institutes, marine insurance firms, ship classification societies, marine equipment suppliers and repairers and maritime lawyers. For such ancillary activities to develop, carriers hauling LNG cargo into India have to be majority owned by Indian entities and such ships have to be constructed and registered in India. Such support, however, should not have an adverse impact on LNG importers and end-use consumers.
Source: LiveMint
Post to be found at:
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/News.aspx?ElementId=f3159b3d-6d29-4d77-be56-1174cf8e531e&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily
Indian shipbuilders need to grab the opportunity to build LNG carriers as the country planned to import LNG in huge quantities and cannot afford to depend on foreign builders.
India is looking to leverage its liquefied natural gas (LNG) buying power to help develop capabilities for building LNG carriers locally. A $2.8 billion tender to be issued shortly by state-owned natural gas firm GAIL (India) Ltd for hiring as many as 14 LNG ships on long-term charter to haul 5.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from the US for 20 years beginning September 2017 will potentially shape India’s entry into the big league of nations that construct sophisticated LNG ships.
In today’s market, it costs around $200 million to construct an LNG carrier from scratch.
GAIL is discussing a proposal, backed by India’s oil ministry, wherein shipowners winning the deal to lease these LNG ships to the firm will have to build some of these carriers at local yards.
Though the country has adequate ship-building capacity, none of India’s shipyards have built an LNG ship. South Korea, Japan and China dominate the LNG shipbuilding sector. This is an opportunity India can ill afford to squander.
But without a policy and fiscal support from the government—similar to those available in South Korea, Japan and China—for shipbuilders to construct such tankers, India will not be able to encash the opportunity.
China has made it mandatory for LNG imported into that country to be carried on ships that are constructed at Chinese yards and majority owned by Chinese firms.
Initially, Chinese shipbuilders had problems in constructing LNG ships, but now they are firmly entrenched in this business.
Indian yards, plagued by persistent delays in constructing ships on time and the attendant cost escalations, could find the entry into LNG ship construction a big challenge. India’s oil secretary Vivek Rae said on 4 January in Kochi, Kerala, that his ministry was working on leveraging India’s LNG buying power to encourage local yards to qualify for constructing LNG carriers.
Rae said Indian shipbuilders need to grab the opportunity to build LNG carriers as the country planned to import LNG in huge quantities and cannot afford to depend on foreign builders. Rae is right because India is one of the few countries that hires ships on long-term basis to haul its LNG cargo.
So far, the majority of shipments were from Qatar and, given the shorter distance, the number of LNG carriers required for Indian imports was in single digits. That will change as India starts sourcing LNG from the US, Australia, Mozambique, Russia, West and East Africa on long-term contracts. If by 2018, the average round-trip for an import shipment increases to 26 days, the number of ships required for Indian imports will rise to 50. Building a fleet of this size will require an investment of $10 billion. This could just be the blockbuster the beleaguered local yards were looking for. India’s shipbuilders expanded capacity and new firms entered the business, investing a few thousand crore of rupees to cater to a global shipping boom between 2005 and 2007. But the financial crisis and the economic downturn that began in September 2008 dashed their hopes as slower global trade cut demand for goods and created a capacity imbalance in shipping. Indian yards are now virtually surviving on government-funded defence/naval contracts after commercial ship orders dried up.
It has also become equally imperative for India to look at policy measures to help its local fleetowners diversify into this lucrative business.
In 2004, India introduced tonnage tax—based on the cargo carrying capacity of ships—a regime in which about 95% of the global fleet operates. The tonnage tax cut tax incidence of Indian firms to just 1-2% of their income, compared with the corporate tax rate of 33.9%.
Still, Indian shipowners are burdened by a dozen other taxes levied by the government, which foreign shipowners do not pay, thus negating the benefits of tonnage tax and reducing their competitiveness.
State-owned Shipping Corp. of India Ltd (SCI) is India’s only local shipowner with interests in the transportation of LNG. SCI is part of a consortium that has leased three LNG tankers to Petronet LNG Ltd for hauling gas from Qatar to its re-gassification terminal at Dahej in Gujarat. SCI holds 29.08% stake each in two of these LNG ships and a 26% stake in the third LNG carrier. The consortium includes three Japanese firms—Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, NYK Line Ltd and K Line Ltd.
In December 2013, the same consortium won a long-term contract to lease a fourth LNG carrier to Petronet to ship LNG from Australia to its re-gassification facility at Kochi in Kerala.
Petronet, India’s biggest natural gas importer, is also working on a plan to help Indian yards qualify for the construction of LNG ships for its future needs.
India’s state-owned gas importers should remove the stipulation that require fleetowners to have a minimum experience of two years to be eligible to bid for the LNG shipping tenders. The existing LNG shipping policy approved by India’s cabinet in 2005 gives LNG importers the flexibility to transport the cargo either on f.o.b. (free-on-board) or c.i.f. (cost-insurance-freight) basis by deploying foreign or Indian-registered ships.
In f.o.b contracts, the responsibility of making the shipping arrangement rests with the buyer whereas in c.i.f deals, the seller has to arrange the transportation.
The cabinet took the decision after LNG importers lobbied the government not to insist on bringing the cargo only on Indian-registered ships, arguing that this would raise their ship hiring costs and push up the cost of LNG sold to end-use customers. As a result, barring SCI, no local fleetowner managed to enter the LNG shipping business, which is marked by long-term charters stretching as much as 25 years and stable revenue.
In June 2013, GAIL signed a cooperation agreement with SCI that include SCI assisting GAIL with the tender for hiring LNG ships and GAIL assigning a step-in right to SCI to take an equity stake of as much as 26% in each of the ships from the entity winning the contract. GAIL is expected to take at least a 10% stake in each of the LNG ships, thus taking the total Indian ownership in the LNG tankers to 36% (including the 26% by SCI) while the majority stake will be held by global shipowners.
It would be a monumental loss if the Indian maritime industry does not benefit from the huge increase in shipping LNG into India. Because, with 36% Indian ownership, there won’t be any economic spin-offs for the local shipping community such as ship financiers, managers, brokers, maritime training institutes, marine insurance firms, ship classification societies, marine equipment suppliers and repairers and maritime lawyers. For such ancillary activities to develop, carriers hauling LNG cargo into India have to be majority owned by Indian entities and such ships have to be constructed and registered in India. Such support, however, should not have an adverse impact on LNG importers and end-use consumers.
Source: LiveMint
Post to be found at:
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/News.aspx?ElementId=f3159b3d-6d29-4d77-be56-1174cf8e531e&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily
Friday, January 24, 2014
This day's Posts and Items of Interest
Healthy finances: PSO to enter into LNG import business
The Express Tribune - The imported LNG will then be delivered to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) – the state-owned gas distribution company – at the LNG terminal ..
GCSG launches first LNG fueled Harvey Gulf OSV
The Express Tribune - The imported LNG will then be delivered to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) – the state-owned gas distribution company – at the LNG terminal ..
GCSG launches first LNG fueled Harvey Gulf OSV
Marine Log - Incorporating breakthrough clean-burning LNG technology, the vessels position Harvey Gulf as a leader in the application of liquefied natural gas as a ...
Tests of LNG-powered locomotives chugging ahead in US, Canada
Canadian Manufacturing - Rail
operators like Union Pacific are working with locomotive manufacturers
to explore the use of natural gas as a fuel source. PHOTO Rennett Stowe
B.C. Liberal's LNG quiz called 'propaganda' by critics
MetroNews Canada - A government-made quiz about liquified natural gas (LNG) in British Columbia is being derided as “propaganda” by critics. The “LNG in B.C. ..
Small can be beautiful in exports of LNG from B.C.
The Province - Speaking at a CIBC investor conference, David Cornhill said Thursday that the companies pitching LNG export facilities on the West Coast can be ...
PSO to enter into LNG import business
PakTribune.com - ISLAMABAD:
While regaining market share in petroleum products, Pakistan State Oil
(PSO) is going to start importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) ...
Commissioners remain opposed to LNG project - Hospital Board ...
The Fort Stockton Pioneer - In
an unexpected vote, a motion made by a hospital board member to file
opposition to an application made by Clean Energy to locate an LNG ...
Gazprom charters its fifth LNG carrier
Oil & Gas Journal - OAO Gazprom has chartered its fifth and now largest LNG carrier from Russian shipping company Sovcomflot at the STX O&S shipyard in the city of ...
Brazil Receives Spot LNG Cargo From Nigeria at Guanabara Bay
Bloomberg - The tanker sailed from Nigeria LNG Ltd.'s Bonny Island facility, where it reloaded the supercooled fuel and departed Jan. 9. Rio de Janeiro-based ...
Air Products' Technology a Perfect Fit for Massive Russian Arctic ...
MarketWatch - The LNG plant under construction on the Yamal Peninsula will mark the first time Air Products deploys its proprietary LNG technology and equipment ...
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