Putin is clear: there will be no Ukraine Gas Transit Deal
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, said that it is now clear that no new gas transit agreement will be signed with Kyiv for Russian gas to be sent through Ukraine to Europe. However, Russia will survive. As the EU attempts to reduce its dependency on Moscow, Russia has lost nearly all its European clients. Before the Ukraine War, Russia was Europe's largest single natural gas supplier. The Nord Stream gas pipeline, which was destroyed in 2022, cut off a major artery of Russian gas exports. Now one of the last…
Lithuanian officials see a 'high probability' of Baltic Sea cables being intentionally cut
Gitanas Nuseda, the Lithuanian President said that it was highly likely that the two fibre-optic cables undersea that were damaged in the Baltic Sea last month were intentionally cut. After being damaged on November 17-18, both cables, one connecting Finland with Germany and the second connecting Sweden and Lithuania were repaired and back online. Nauseda, a reporter at the time, said that there was a high probability of this being a malicious activity. He added that there was no proof to show the damage was intentional. Investigators have focused on the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 which left the Russian Port of Ust-Luga in Nov.
Sources say that BP is looking for buyers to buy its US Natural Gas Pipeline System stake.
Four people familiar with the matter have confirmed that BP is looking for buyers to take a stake in their U.S. Natural Gas Pipeline Network. Two people have said that the British energy company may be able to raise $3 billion through the sale. One of them added that BP could sell as much as a 49 percent stake in its business. Two other people confirmed that the sale is part of BP's CEO Murray Auchincloss’s efforts to reduce the debt levels at the company, which have risen in the last year. BP refused to comment. The four individuals spoke under the condition of anonymity, as they had not been authorized to speak in public.
Blackstone buys pipeline stakes in EQT from EQT at $3.5 billion
Blackstone, an alternative asset manager, said Monday it would purchase minority stakes in certain of EQT's pipelines through a joint-venture for $3.5 billion. The sale will help EQT reduce its debt after it purchased Equitrans Midstream for $14 billion in July. In premarket trading, shares of EQT rose by 3.9%. Blackstone and EQT will form a joint venture worth about $8.8 Billion. This joint venture would include EQT’s ownership interests in the Mountain Valley pipeline and the Hammerhead pipe. The company would be able to leave 2024 with a net debt of about $9 billion.
The price of gas in Europe is falling amid profit-taking
The Dutch and British wholesale gas prices fell on Wednesday morning as profit-taking and Slovakia's SPP announced that it would take measures to guarantee supply because of the risk of Ukraine ending its transit at the end the year. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub fell by 0.10 euros to 43.45 Euro per megawatt hour at 1025 GMT. The Dutch day-ahead contracts fell 0.55 euros to 43.15 Euros/MWh. The British contract for the month of December dropped by 2.20 pence, to 110.50 cents per therm.
EUROPE GAS-Prices drop on profits and mild weather
Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas fell on Tuesday due to profit-taking after recent gains, a comfortable stock position and forecasts for mild weather. LSEG data show that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF Hub was down by 1.05 euros to 38.10 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $13 mmBtu at 0844 GMT. The contract for December was down by 0.67 euros, at 38.6 Euro/MWh. The day-ahead contract in the British market was down 1.35 cents at 91.00 pence per therm. The escalating conflict between Israel and the Middle East is causing continued market anxiety.
US LNG Export Dominance Tested as Europe's Demand Wilts
The United States has remained the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) so far in 2024, but a steep drop in selling prices and a sharp swing in export volumes to key markets is likely testing exporter appetite to stay on top.The United States shipped a record 56.9 million metric tons of LNG during the first eight months of 2024, according to Kpler.That surpassed the 54.3 million tons from Australia and 53.7 million tons from Qatar during that period, and marks only the second straight year that U.S.
Putin visits Mongolia to establish key link in gas pipeline planned for China
The Kremlin announced on Monday that Russian president Vladimir Putin was in Mongolia for a visit of state. Mongolia is on the planned route of a new gas pipeline between Russia and China. Since years, Russia has been discussing the construction of a pipeline that will transport 50 billion cubic meters (bcm), or natural gas per year, from its Yamal Region to China via Mongolia. Power of Siberia 2 is a part of Russia’s strategy to compensate the European market for its loss of gas sales since the beginning of the Ukraine War.
Wave of New LNG Export Plants Threatens to Knock Gas Prices
A flood of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects due online worldwide in mid-decade will vie against lower-cost renewable energy and a revived nuclear power sector, which could rock gas prices and hurt some proposed projects, analysts say.Proposed and approved new LNG plants would boost LNG supply by 67% increase to 636 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030 from 2021 levels, potentially saturating the gas market."There's over a trillion dollars of natural gas infrastructure being built in the world today.
Wasted Gas: As Global Supplies Tighten, Here’s 210 bcm of Natural Gas for the Taking – IEA Report
A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that if there was a concerted, global effort to eliminate unnecessary flaring and control leaks across the supply chain, nearly 210 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas could be made available to gas markets.Russia’s war with Ukraine has sent energy prices soaring as a broad swath of sanctions has effectively re-routed Russian oil and gas exports. The recent report from IEA – “The energy security case for tackling gas flaring and methane…
Carbon Capture & Storage: A New Lease of Life for Submarine Pipelines?
Since 2019, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) have risen up the political agenda, globally, offering a route to decarbonization, as well as (more recently), increased energy security. Many are eying use of existing pipeline to make both happen. Elaine Maslin takes a look.Hydrogen production and CCS offers a more or less “green” decarbonization options for oil and gas companies, alongside carbon capture and storage (CCS), especially if existing offshore infrastructure could be reused to make it happen.
Williams Inks Deal for Whale Deepwater Transport Services
Williams (NYSE: WMB) reached an agreement with Shell Offshore Inc. and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. to provide offshore natural gas gathering and crude oil transportation services as well as onshore natural gas processing services for the Whale development located approximately 10 miles from the Shell-operated Perdido host facility.Williams plans to expand its existing Gulf of Mexico offshore infrastructure via a 25-mile gas lateral pipeline build from the Whale platform to the existing Perdido gas pipeline and a new 125-mile oil pipeline to the existing Williams-owned GA-A244 junction platform.
China Starts Construction of Southern Part of China-Russia East Gas Pipeline
Construction has started on the southern portion of the China-Russia East natural gas pipeline, which carries supplies from the Power of Siberia system in Russia, China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corp (PipeChina) in a statement on Tuesday.This portion starts at Yongqing in China's northern province of Hebei and ends at Shanghai in eastern China. The full China-Russia East system is a 5,111-km (3,176-mile) pipeline pumping natural gas from the Siberia region in Russia to China.Once launched in 2025, the southern…
PipeChina to Buy $56B Worth of Pipelines
China took a major step in the reform of its national oil and gas pipeline network, with newly formed PipeChina agreeing to buy pipelines and storage facilities valued at 391.4 billion yuan ($55.9 billion).Under the deal, PipeChina, known formally as China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network, will take over oil and gas pipelines and storage facilities from state-owned energy giants PetroChina and Sinopec, in return for cash and equity in the pipeline company.The creation of PipeChina is aimed at providing neutral access to the country's pipeline infrastructure…
US LNG Exports at 20-month Low
Natural gas flows to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants plunged this month after falling to a 20-month low in June as coronavirus lockdowns cut global demand for the fuel.Before the pandemic slashed energy demand, U.S. producers counted on LNG exports to keep growing fast as an outlet for their record gas output. But after soaring 68% in 2019 and 53% in 2018, U.S. LNG exports were only expected to rise about 7% in 2020.Gas pipeline flows to U.S. LNG export plants dropped to an average of 3.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in July from a 20-month low of 4.1 bcfd in June and a record high of 8.7 bcfd in February…
U.S. Oil Firms Hit Brakes on Return-to-work as Virus Cases Soar
U.S. energy companies slammed the brakes on returning staff to their Houston offices as COVID-19 cases soared and top hospitals warned they could soon run out of beds for the most severely ill patients.A record number of new illnesses in Texas this week spurred local officials to impose restrictions as new cases topped 5,000 on two days in a row. Intensive care unit (ICU) beds were 97% full at Houston's Texas Medical Center, which said it may soon move to surge ICU capacity assignments, officials said.Texas Governor Greg Abbott has led a phased reopening of shops…
China to Boost Energy Reserve Capacity, Support Unconventional Gas Exploration
China said on Friday it will bolster the capacity of the country's energy reserves and offer lower gas and electricity charges to key industries, as it looks to ensure energy supply and offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.In energy announcements on the first day of the parliament, known as the National People's Congress (NPC), authorities also pledged to boost the country's oil and gas network and continue to support exploration for unconventional gas reserves.The National Development and Reform Commission…
Russian Pipe-laying Vessel Moors at Nord Stream 2 Hub in Germany
A Russian pipe-laying vessel Academic Cherskiy which Moscow can use to finish laying pipes for the Nord Stream 2 gas project, has moored near the German logistics hub in Mukran, Refinitiv Eikon tracking data showed on Monday.Led by the state gas company Gazprom, Nord Stream 2 had to suspend pipelaying works late last year, hit by fresh U.S. sanctions. The project is aimed at doubling existing undersea flows to Germany to 110 billion cubic meters per year.Cherskiy, bought by Gazprom in 2016, has sailed from the Russian Pacific port of Nakhodka where it was docked in December when the U.S.
Snam Sees Limited Impact from Coronavirus on Targets
Italian gas company Snam can't reliably calculate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on its business outlook but doesn't see any major impact, it said on Thursday."The company expects a limited impact on its economic targets and to the investment programme, proportional to the speed of recovery of operations," it said in a statement on first quarter results.Europe's biggest gas pipeline company has put in place emergency measures to ensure it can keep gas flowing during the virus outbreak.In its quarterly results statement…
Oil Giants Set Health Checks, Work-from-home Rules
Major energy companies in the United States imposed work-from-home rules for office staff and began health checks for remote or critical workers as coronavirus spread and threatened an industry reeling from falling demand and profits.BP, Exxon Mobil, Kinder Morgan, Motiva Enterprises and Royal Dutch Shell told most office staff to work from home starting Monday. Federal regulators on Friday were pressed by companies to ease work rules for pipeline operators and to limit visits to some sites. Shell and Chevron began health checks of workers and visitors at some key U.S.
