Russia's Yamal LNG Ships First LNG Cargo to Spain's Fenosa
Russia's Yamal LNG plant said on Thursday it had shipped a first gas cargo to Spain's Gas Natural Fenosa.According to the 24-year offtake contract, Yamal, controlled by Russia's Novatek, is set to ship 2.5 million tons of LNG annually, which equals more than 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas.Russian pipeline gas is not supplied to Spain.Reporting by Denis Pinchuk
Trelleborg Solutions for FLNG Ship-to-Shore System
Trelleborg has hailed the recent test of the Universal Transfer System (UTS) conducted with Connect LNG and Gas Natural Fenosa, as tangible evidence of the new applications that its suite of products for jettyless LNG transfer can unlock in this challenging field. The UTS transferred LNG from the Skangas-chartered LNG carrier Coral Energy to the onshore terminal at the Norwegian port of Herøya on October 7 and is now in full commercial operation. A ‘plug and play’ solution, the UTS requires no modifications to the LNG carrier – instead…
US Shifts LNG Exports to Asia as Arb Opens Ip
The biggest divergence between U.S. and Asian gas prices in a year has created an opportunity for tankers delivering liquefied natural gas, with most departures from a key Louisiana terminal in the last month-and-a-half heading toward East Asia, shipping data released on Wednesday show. The facility, Sabine Pass, owned by Cheniere Energy Inc, opened last year as the first LNG export terminal in the U.S. Lower 48 states. The United States has been exporting gas out of Alaska since 1969. U.S. gas prices at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana this week dropped about 20 percent since hitting a two-year high on Dec.
Gunvor to Supply Three LNG Cargoes to Pakistan
Commodity trader Gunvor is to supply Pakistan with three liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes from August through October after a recent tender in which all other participants were disqualified, trade sources said. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) launched a tender to buy four cargoes in May. After receiving the bids, it disqualified EDF, Excelerate, Glencore, Gas Natural Fenosa, Marubeni, Trafigura and Vitol for non-compliance reasons, a document on the PSO website said. Only Gunvor's bid complied with the terms of the tender. (Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic in Milan and Sarah McFarlane in London)
Global LNG Prices Rise as Outages and Tenders Tighten Supply Balance
Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices for June delivery rose as an unplanned outage at Australia's North West Shelf export plant hit supply and various tenders supported demand. The price of Asian spot cargoes rose $0.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) from the previous week at $7.50 per mmBtu on May 15, while cargoes for July were pegged slightly higher at $7.70 per mmBtu. Top buyers Japan and South Korea, the world's biggest by volume, kept a low profile despite an ongoing production plant…
Cheniere, Gas Natural LNG Deal Worth $13b
A 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale-and-purchase agreement between Cheniere Energy and Gas Natural Fenosa announced on Monday is worth $13 billion, a source with knowledge of the deal said. The two companies did not disclose the value of the agreement when they made it public earlier on Monday. The deal foresees Gas Natural buying 1.5 million metric tons per year of LNG from Cheniere's proposed plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, starting in 2019. Booming natural gas output from U.S. shale deposits has unlocked plentiful, cheap gas that producers want to liquefy for export to higher paying markets overseas.
BHP Billiton Signs LNG Supply Deal for Escondida Mine in Chile
Global miner BHP Billiton has signed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract for its Escondida project in Chile, helping to secure the future energy supply of the world's largest copper mine. Gas Natural Fenosa will supply LNG to the Mejillones terminal in northern Chile from 2016, when BHP's nearby Kelar power plant, currently under construction, is due to be ready. "The electricity generated by the station will supply the growing demand from Escondida and BHP Billiton's other operations in the Atacama desert," said the company in a statement on Thursday.
Court Takes over Gas Natural's Italian Units in Mafia Probe
A court has taken temporary control of the Italian units of Spain's Gas Natural Fenosa as part of an investigation into possible organised crime activity, the Spanish company said on Friday. The move was a preventive measure that will not affect business operations or earnings, Gas Natural said in a statement to the Spanish securities regulator. "This is part of an investigation headed by the Palermo public prosecutor, which aims to keep organised crime from possibly infiltrating the activity of the group's Italian companies through contractors," the statement said.
Repsol Still Looking for Acquisitions
Spanish oil company Repsol is still looking for one or several acquisitions of companies or assets to help boost its upstream business, its chief financial officer said on a conference call on Thursday. Repsol is looking for opportunities in OECD countries that offer extra growth capacity but is not in any hurry for purchases, CFO Miguel Martinez said. Martinez reiterated Repsol's stance on the potential sale of its 30 percent stake in Gas Natural Fenosa, saying that the company would only sell the stake if it identifies a very attractive upstream investment opportunity. Reporting by Tracy Rucinski
Ship Glut Burdens LNG Tanker Market, Slashes Profits
Deliveries of new gas tankers have created a glut that is threatening to tip some operators into losses, just as other shipping markets emerge from their worst downturn in decades. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker market was until recently the only bright spot in an otherwise depressed freight industry. A global surge in the demand for gas, led by Japan in 2011, boosted trade, tied vessels to longer routes and drove rental rates to record highs. But the 119 new carriers ordered from 2011 will have expanded the fleet by over 30 percent by end-2017.
