Shell and PetroChina expand Surat coal-seam gas project in Australia
Shell and PetroChina announced on Monday that they have decided to expand their Surat coal-seam gas project in Queensland. This comes amid calls from the British oil giant for increased investment to boost the local energy supply. The decision was made at a moment when executives in the industry have been pressing for government action to bring investments back that were halted by state interventions to reduce energy prices and increase domestic supply. The Australian energy market operator…
South Korea's POSCO Launches Takeover Bid for Australia's Senex Energy
Australian coal seam gas producer Senex Energy Ltd said it had received a $605 million takeover proposal from POSCO International Corp and was opening up its books to the South Korean trader with the aim of gaining a sweeter offer.The A$815 million or A$4.40 per share offer from POSCO International, the trading arm of steel giant POSCO, has already been twice-improved, Senex said."The Senex Board believes it is in the best interests of its shareholders to continue to engage with POSCO International and will assess any proposal received on its merits…
Virus Lockdowns Pummel Global Gas Demand, Force LNG Output Cuts
Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand in the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia's spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Economies worldwide have ground to a halt as virus containment measures have taken their toll, slashing gas demand for power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture. The world's biggest LNG markets - Japan, China, South Korea, and India - are all seeing a drop in demand.
Europe to be Natural Gas Kingmaker
It's probably not quite here yet, but the trend is unmistakeable; the world is moving to a globally-linked natural gas market and the rise of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the key driver. Much of the increase in LNG capacity is because of the rapid boost to plants in Australia and the United States, as both countries take advantage of abundant local reserves of natural gas to muscle in on a market that until recently had been dominated by a few established producers and buyers.
Australia Gas Export Restrictions Counterproductive
When governments adopt new policies the benchmark for success should be that the change works, is efficient and fair to all parties and does not create unintended consequences. The decision by the Australian government to restrict exports of natural gas if the domestic market is constrained meets none of these criteria, although it may just persuade an increasingly angry public that the authorities are doing something. Whether the new policy does serve some short-term…
Australia in Talks With Gas Majors to Avert Local Shortage
Australian PM in crisis talks with gas majors; Australia faces gas shortage despite exports soaring. Australia's top gas producers, led by ExxonMobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell, agreed to boost supply to the country's domestic market to help avert an energy shortage following crisis talks with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Australia is on track to become the world's largest exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG), yet its energy market operator has warned of a domestic gas crunch from 2019 that could trigger industry supply cuts and broad power outages.
LNG Demand, Prices Surprise: Russell
China's record imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in December, and the doubling in spot Asian prices in the past six months, appear to contradict the prevailing market view that supply is overwhelming demand for the super-chilled fuel. But while demand for LNG has definitely firmed in recent months, and not just from China, it's still likely the case that the wave of new projects will push the market into surplus - just perhaps not by as much as some observers had feared.
No New Australian LNG Projects Doesn't Mean No New LNG
Conventional wisdom in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector is that no new projects will be built for several years, given the vast cost can't be reconciled with the current low prices. This view has led some in the industry to predict that the market will flip back to a structural shortage sometime in the early to mid-2020s, once again sending prices soaring as new supply takes so long to be built and become operational. The cancellation or deferment of investment decisions on several projects in Australia…
LNG Could Follow Crude Oil's Lead: Russell
In contrast to the carnage in crude oil markets, liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices in Asia have enjoyed relative stability for the past three months, but it's unlikely the calm will persist much longer. Spot Asian LNG prices <LNG-AS> ended last week at $5.60 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), about 28 percent below the recent peak of $7.80 reached on Nov. 22. In contrast, Brent crude oil has dropped 46 percent from its recent peak in early October to trade currently around $28.55 a barrel.
ACCC Approves Shell, BG Merger
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not oppose the proposed acquisition by Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) of BG Group (BG). “The ACCC’s view is that the proposed acquisition would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the wholesale natural gas market, in either Queensland or eastern Australia more broadly,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said. The ACCC considered whether the proposed acquisition would reduce the supply of gas, or reduce competition to supply gas…
AGL Writes Down Coal-Seam Gas Assets
AGL Energy Ltd, Australia's No. 2 energy retailer, said it will sell three coal-seam gas licences back to the government and write down the value of several more underperforming projects, cutting its net profit by $443 million. The announcement is the latest sign that Chief Executive Officer Andy Vesey, who assumed the role in February, is moving quickly to restructure the business to adapt to an industry under pressure to prove its environmental credentials. In April…
BG Acquisition Kick Starts a Fulcrum Year for Mega Gas
2015 may well be remembered as the year when natural gas truly announced itself as the major energy fuel source. With the announcement that Shell are targeting a $70bn deal for BG Group, and in doing so increasing their current LNG capacity to around 33 million tons per annum, the big dollars to secure gas capacity are coming into sharp focus. Should the acquisition complete, Shell will have access to gas resources from Trinidad & Tobago to Tanzania. BG’s Queensland Curtis…
Acquisitions, Mergers Show Changing LNG Dynamics
Nothing shows the changing nature of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market than the creation of super-sized producers and buyers. The $70 billion merger of Royal Dutch Shell and BG and the joint fuel procurement venture between Japan's top utilities, Tokyo Electric Power Co and Chubu Electric Power Co, are flip sides of the same coin. On the one hand Shell is trying to create a natural gas giant, with quality assets around the globe, able to bank on economies of scale and have the ability to meet the needs of a diverse range of clients.
Shell-BG deal May Shake up Rival's Australian LNG Plans
Tightening gas supplies in eastern Australia and a battle for gas to supply three liquefied natural gas plants will figure largely in watchdogs' review of Royal Dutch Shell's $70 billion takeover of BG Group. The deal may help break a deadlock over coal seam gas owned by Shell's Arrow Energy in Australia, which has been stuck in the ground after it scrapped plans to build an LNG plant in Queensland and entered talks to supply other LNG plants there. Shell hopes Australia's…
Australia's LNG Boom's Domestic Impact
It's somewhat ironic that as Australia ramps up to being the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), domestic industries are under threat from not being able to source the fuel. A combination of new LNG plants, exploration moratoriums and a successful anti-gas campaign means that industry and residential users in the three most populous states, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, may struggle for natural gas supplies within the next two years. The first of three coal seam gas to LNG plants in Queensland starting shipping cargoes in December last year…
Australia Pacific LNG Reaches Curtis Island
Australia Pacific LNG today announced it had reached a significant milestone with the arrival of first gas from its coal seam gas fields in the Surat Basin to its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on Curtis Island, near Gladstone, Queensland. The arrival of the first gas into the LNG facility also marks the completion of commissioning of the 530km high pressure gas pipeline, another important milestone for the project. With the completion of the pipeline and the arrival of the gas…
First LNG Loaded from QCLNG Project in Australia
BG Group began loading the first cargo of LNG from its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility to the vessel Methane Rita Andrea December 28. The second cargo of LNG from the facility will be loaded onto the Methane Mickie Harper, which is expected in Gladstone in the first week of January. QCLNG is the world's first LNG project to be supplied by coal seam gas. The start of production from the plant's first LNG train is the result of more than four years of development and construction on Curtis Island.
BG loads First QCLNG Cargo
BG Group today announced that it has been loading the first cargo of LNG from its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility since 28 December. The vessel being loaded is the Methane Rita Andrea. The second cargo of LNG from the facility will be loaded onto the Methane Mickie Harper which is expected in Gladstone in the first week of January. QCLNG is the world's first LNG project to be supplied by coal seam gas. The start of production from the plant's first LNG train is the result of more than four years of development and construction on Curtis Island.
Australia Energy Blueprint Sees Large-scale Deregulation
Australia on Tuesday said it wants to dramatically deregulate its energy industry, boost domestic gas supply and cut renewable energy subsidies as it prepares to ramp up exports of liquefied natural gas. In a draft policy blueprint, the conservative coalition government unveiled a range of policy proposals - most involving scaling back government interference - that it said would keep the country's energy industry competitive amid dwindling demand and investment. "The…
China's Natural Gas Price Reform on Track
Prices for non-residential users up 0.4 yuan/cubic meter; residential and fertilizer users unaffected. Hikes bigger than 2013, part of price reform started a year ago. China will raise natural gas prices for bulk buyers and non-residential use from Sept. 1, putting price reform back on track to spur domestic exploration of the cleaner fuel and curb excessive use by some industry sectors. Beijing introduced a new pricing scheme in July 2013 to bring its domestic natural…
