Gas prices in Europe are falling, but the geopolitical risks remain
The Dutch and British wholesale gas price fell on Tuesday due to increased wind power and a steady Norwegian supply. However, geopolitical tensions continued to support the prices, which are now near their highest level this year. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub fell by 1.29 euros to 39.61 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) at 0834 GMT. The British front-month price fell 0.99 pence to 99.85 pence, while the British day-ahead was 2.75 pence less at 97.25 p/therm. Elexon data shows that the peak wind generation in Britain will increase from 11.9 gigawatts on Tuesday to 15 GW on Wednesday.
Grid operators claim that Britain will have enough energy this winter to meet the needs of its citizens
The UK's electricity and Gas Grid Operators expect enough supplies this winter with more power imported and domestic production available than last season and high gas storage in Europe, said they on Tuesday. National Gas and Britain's National Energy System Operator, (NESO), publish annual reports on the supply and demand for the upcoming winter to assist businesses and governments in preparing. Craig Dyke is the director of system operations for NESO. NESO's base case for the de-rated margin is 5.2 gigawatts for winter 2024/25. This is 8.8% of the peak average demand for cold spells. It is up from 4.4 GW or 7.4% of last winter.
Zara founder Ortega triples investment in energy assets
Amancio Ortega, founder of Zara and his investment company Pontegadea, almost tripled their investments in renewable energy last year. They are continuing to expand the efforts they have made to diversify Amancio Ortega’s fortune outside his fashion empire. The 2023 financial statements filed at the Mercantile Register, and seen by reveals that the Inditex family office, which is the owner of Zara's mother company, invested 693 million euros (766.87 millions) in wind, solar, and other energy assets across Spain and France. This was up from the 273 million euros in 2022. Inditex has recently set new environmental targets by 2030 to respond to regulatory demands.
Greece's Sole LNG Terminal Ramps Up Imports to Replace Russian Gas
Greece has cut Russian gas imports by more than half this year thanks to increased deliveries from other producers to its sole liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Athens, the country's gas grid operator said on Thursday.Greece has relied on Russia for about 40% of its gas needs for years but it has ramped up LNG purchases from other countries in line with a European Union plan to cut dependence on Russian energy. It has been receiving Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline which also delivers to Hungary via Serbia.Its LNG facility on the Revithoussa islet…
TES Wilhelmshaven Import Terminal Deemed a 'Priority Project'
Tree Energy Solutions’ (TES) import terminal has been included in the list of priority projects supported by the German Government’s LNG Acceleration law. The law was passed by parliament on May 19th, 2022 and was approved by the Federal Council on May 20th, 2022. The aim of this law is to accelerate the implementation of the critical infrastructure needed to secure the energy supply of the country and its short-term gas imports.The new law is designed to reduce permitting and associated approval periods for the construction of onshore import facilities as part of the Wilhelmshaven Green Energy Hub development by TES, specifically on the Voslapper Groden location.
Egypt Lowers Gas Grid Usage Fees
Egypt has lowered the usage fees for its national gas grid by 24% to reach $0.29 per mmbtu, the national gas regulator said on its website on Sunday.Egypt had first set the usage fees at $0.38 per mmbtu in Aug. 2018 for a year.(Reporting by Ehab Farouk and Ahmed Ismail Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
TurkStream Terminal Nears Completion
Gazprom’s Turkish Stream (TurkStream), the natural gas pipeline running from the Russian Federation to Turkey, has been 95% completed."Construction progress of the receiving terminal for the TurkStream Offshore Gas Pipeline has reached 95%. All works are in line with the schedule. First gas is expected to flow by the end of 2019," said a press note from TurkStream said.Direct and indirect employment related to the construction activities is currently over 1,700. Approximately 100 of the workers have been recruited locally.The TurkStream receiving terminal is realized near the town of Kiyikoy in the Turkish Thrace region.
Wärtsilä Forms New Biofuel Arm
Finnish shipping technology group Wartsila has merged its Puregas Solutions and biogas liquefaction teams to form a new Biogas Solutions unit that will offer its customers a ‘one-stop-shop service’ for advanced biofuel production.Wärtsilä Biogas Solutions, a unit with expert capabilities in liquefying upgraded biogas for end-customer use, offers products for biogas upgrading to biomethane, and the liquefaction of biomethane into bioLNG."Currently, our market share in this field is almost 60 percent, and we expect this to continue to grow as we further develop our capabilities…
BP Sells Egypt Assets to Dragon Oil
BP said on Monday it has agreed to sell its interests in Gulf of Suez oil concessions in Egypt to Dubai-based Dragon Oil, as part of the supermajor’s plan to divest more than $10 billion in global assets over the next two years.Under the terms of the deal, Dragon Oil, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), will purchase producing and exploration concessions, including BP’s interest in the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO).The deal, which is subject to the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ approval, is expected to complete during the second half of 2019.
Bangladesh's 2nd LNG Terminal Begins Operations
Bangladesh has employed its second liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal with the beginning of operations of floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) 'Summit LNG' offshore Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal.According to Excelerate Energy, the FSRU completed commissioning of the LNG terminal, owned by Summit LNG Terminal, on April 29, 2019. The terminal has a send-out capacity of 500 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d) of natural gas.In August 2017, Summit entered into a 15-year charter agreement with Excelerate for the FSRU Summit LNG.
Russian Pipeline: Bringing Gas and Building Trust
A discussion over energy at the summit last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has excited the government in South Korea, where the government is desperately looking to entice the North Koreans to come in out of the cold.Among the topics that came up was access for the North Koreans to Russian electricity supplies and the question of North Korea allowing the Russians to build a pipeline that would ship natural gas from Vladivostok, where the summit was held, through North Korea and across the demilitarized…
Giza and Fayoum Gas Fields Come Onstream
BP on Monday announced first gas production from the second stage of its West Nile Delta development offshore Egypt, marking the second start-up in a string of new upstream projects expected to be brought on line by the supermajor in 2019.The project, which produces gas from the Giza and Fayoum fields, was developed as a deepwater, long-distance tie-back to an existing onshore plant.The Giza and Fayoum development, which includes eight wells, is currently producing around 400 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) and is expected to ramp up to a maximum rate of approximately 700 mmscfd…
Poland and Denmark to Build Baltic Gas Pipeline
Poland's gas grid operator Gaz-System and its Danish counterpart have given the final go-ahead to invest in building a gas pipeline linking Poland with Norway's deposits via the Baltic Sea and Denmark, Gaz-System said on Friday.The 900-kilometres (560-mile) pipeline, known as the Baltic Pipe, is a Polish project designed to reduce its reliance on Russian gas. The Baltic Pipe is expected to be ready in 2022 when Poland's long-term deal with Russia's Gazprom expires.(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko; Editing by Adrian Croft)
Swedegas Renewable Gas Bunkering at Gothenburg Port
Swedegas, the owner of the gas grid in Sweden, conducted the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operation at its new facility at the Port of Gothenburg.Gothenburg-based shipping company Terntank was the very first operator to take on LNG at a new bunkering facility, said the Swedish owner and operator of the high-pressure gas grid.Not only liquefied natural gas, LNG, but also liquefied biogas, LBG, it added.“Being able to offer this unique opportunity represents a major breakthrough, not only in facilitating the transition to LNG, but also in gradually increasing the proportion of renewable gas…
Trelleborg Solutions to FSRU-Based LNG Terminal
Trelleborg’s marine systems operation has supplied a suite of products to H-Energy’s Floating Storage Re-gasification Unit (FSRU) based LNG terminal at JSW Infrastructure’s Jaigarh Port in Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra. Developed in accordance with industry leading engineering and safety standards and an annual capacity of 4 MMTPA, H-Energy’s LNG Terminal will offer storage, re-gasification, re-loading, fuel bunkering and truck loading facilities to cater to the growing energy demand of Indian industries. When operational in Q4 2018, the re-gasified LNG will be supplied to customers, through a 60 kilometer tie-in pipeline which will be connected to a national gas grid at Dabhol.
Greece Gets Two Binding Bids in Gas Grid Sale
Greece has received two binding bids for a 66 percent stake in its gas grid operator DESFA, whose privatisation is a key term of its international bailout, the Greek privatisation agency (HRADF) said on Friday. Bids were submitted by a consortium of Italy's Snam , Spain's Enagas Internacional and Belgium's Fluxys, and a consortium of Spain's Regasificadora del Noroeste (Reganosa), Romania's Transgaz and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Sources had earlier told Reuters that two consortia submitted bids for the stake. Greece…
Greece Sets Deadline for DESFA Gas Grid Sale
Greece's privatisation agency (HRADF) has pushed back to Feb. 16 the deadline to submit binding offers for a 66 percent stake in natural gas grid operator DESFA, sources close to the process said on Wednesday. Interested investors had sought an extension from a previous Dec. 22 deadline, expecting HRADF to give them a new date in February. One of the sources said HRADF set the date at a board meeting last month. HRADF had earlier identified the two investor groups qualified to proceed to the next phase of the tender and the submission of binding bids as Spain's Regasificadora del Noroeste (Reganosa) and a consortium of Italy's Snam…
Delfin Taps China for US FLNG, but Final Investment Decision 'Challenging'
Delfin Midstream, developing the first floating facility to export U.S. natural gas, has sealed a preliminary 15-year sales deal with city gas distributor China Gas Holdings, Delfin founder and Chief Executive Officer Frederick Jones said. But industry veteran Jones told Reuters in an interview that Delfin is also tapping unnamed Chinese banks to fund its ambitious $8 billion as the current global supply overhang in liquefied natural gas (LNG), with bumper exports also expected from Australia and Qatar, makes Delfin’s target of a final investment decision (FID) in 2018 challenging.
Hellenic Petroleum Expects Final Bids
Hellenic Petroleum expects to get binding bids for Greece's gas grid operator next month, its deputy chief executive officer said on Thursday. "We expect to get financial offers in December," Andreas Shiamishis told an analysts conference call. Hellenic is divesting its 35 percent stake in the grid, DESFA , and the Greek state 31 percent of the 65 percent it holds under the country's latest international bailout. Athens has shortlisted two investors to submit binding offers for the grid. Hellenic has said it was seeking a price "at least equivalent" to a previous offer of 400 million euros. Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou
New DNV GL Tool Safeguards Increasingly Greener Gas Supply
DNV GL is now launching an online pipeline gas quality calculator, the ‘PKI Methane Number Calculator for Pipeline Gas’, to ensure that the end-user can reliably and safely use the gas being distributed. The chemical composition of fuel in the natural gas grid is becoming more diverse due to globalization of energy supply and the drive towards introducing renewable gases. Mismatching fuel quality to a given engine can cause engine knock, which can compromise engine performance and lead to engine shutdown. Dwindling local reserves of natural gas have led to more gas being imported, either by pipeline or by ship as LNG, to meet demand.
