FSRU Suppliers Shift from Emerging Markets, Cut Back New Orders
Political instability and low credit ratings in emerging economies are putting some shipowners off ordering new floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), as they shift focus to more mature gas markets.Liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand from emerging markets in Asia, Africa and South America was expected to be boosted by FSRU technologies that are less expensive and time-consuming than onshore import terminals.But a boom in speculative FSRU…
Hoegh LNG to Supply FLNG Terminal to Australian Import Project
Norway's Hoegh LNG has won a tender to supply a floating LNG import terminal for a consortium aiming to import liquefied natural gas to Australia's east coast from 2020 in a push to boost local supply.Australian Industrial Energy, a consortium that includes Japan's JERA and Marubeni Corp, said on Monday it signed an agreement giving it the right to lease one of Hoegh LNG's floating storage and regasification units (FSRU), to be docked at Port Kembla.The project needs approvals from the state of New South Wales, which is evaluating the proposal on a fast
New LNG Import Terminal Planned at Port Kembla
A consortium including Japan's JERA Co and Marubeni Corp aiming to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Australia's east coast has chosen a site south of Sydney at Port Kembla for an import terminal, it said on Monday.The project will allow access to a new gas supply for local industries in New South Wales state by 2020, the consortium, Australian Industrial Energy (AIE), said in a statement.AIE also includes iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest's Squadron Energy.
Glencore Acquires Rio Tinto's Hail Creek Coal Mine
Glencore consolidating in coal as Rio exits; Rio Tinto shares rise 0.9 pct, Glencore slips. Glencore is buying Rio Tinto's Hail Creek coal mine and the Valeria coal project in Australia for $1.7 billion, tightening the Swiss trading and mining giant's grip on coal as its rivals exit the industry. The acquisition, announced by both companies on Tuesday, follows Glencore's purchase of half of Rio Tinto's Hunter Valley coal operations, also in Australia, for $1.1 billion last year in a deal with China's Yancoal Australia Ltd.
Peru Resumes LNG Exports after Pipeline Rupture
Peru has exported its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in three weeks after a pipeline rupture in the jungle disrupted production, the state energy agency Perupetro said on Tuesday. The ship Barcelona Knutsen departed Peru for South Korea on Monday with 170,999 cubic meters (6,038,772 cubic feet) of fuel from the Pampa Melchorita plant, which is operated by the consortium Peru LNG, Perupetro said in a report. U.S.-based Hunt Oil has a 40 percent stake in Peru LNG.
Japan Fires Up Biomass Energy as Fuel Shortage Looms
As the sun sets on Japan's solar energy boom, companies and investors are rushing into wood-burning biomass projects to lock in still-high government subsidies. More than 800 projects have already won government approval, offering 12.4 gigawatts (GW) of capacity -- equal to 12 nuclear power stations and nearly double Japan's 2030 target for biomass in its basic energy policy. The sheer number of projects has raised questions about how they will all find sufficient fuel…
Vietnam to Approve Coal Power Plants
Vietnam expects to grant investment licences for three coal-fired power plants worth a combined $7.5 billion, the country's investment minister said. Although Vietnam wants to boost renewable energy output amid resources scarcity and environmental issues, it has been mostly reliant on coal-fired and hydro power plants to meet its annual electricity demand growth of around 11 percent. Two of the projects by Japanese, South Korean and Saudi Arabian…
AC Energy, Ayala Acquire Chevron's $3 bln Geothermal Assets
Philippine property to banking conglomerate Ayala Corp said on Friday two groups of companies in which its energy unit has stakes will acquire Chevron's geothermal assets in Indonesia and the Philippines, earlier valued at $3 billion. Ayala, owned by one of the Philippines' richest clans, is looking to expand its power generation business and is aiming to boost capacity to up to 2,000 megawatts by 2020, double a previous plan. It would be its first investment in Indonesia's power sector.
Novatek Inks Agreements with Japanese Companies on Gas
Novatek, Russia's second biggest gas producer, said on Friday it had signed agreements with Japan's Mitsui & Co, Mitsubishi Corp and Marubeni Corp to cooperate in liquefied natural gas and other energy sectors. Japan, lacking fuel resources, is the world's largest importer of the gas while Russia wants to boost its global LNG market share, currently less than 5 percent. Novatek's Chief Executive Leonid Mikhelson said the agreements focused on potential gas production, gas liquefaction and liquefied natural gas transport.
Botswana to sell struggling Chinese-built power plant
Botswana will sell a 600 megawatt Chinese-built power plant after persistent technical problems since it was commissioned in 2012, the country's state electricity firm said on Saturday. Botswana's Morupule B coal-fired power station, built by the China National Electric Equipment Corporation at a cost of $970 million, has often broken down, leading to a reliance on diesel generators and imports from South Africa. "Morupule B has proven to be costly to maintain and operate due to construction defects rendering the plant unreliable…
Peru Postpones Bidding on Oil Blocks Amid Price Collapse
Peru will hold off on launching an international auction for 25 oil blocks in the first half of 2015 as energy companies grapple with low crude prices, the country's Energy and Mines Ministry said Friday. The South American nation had planned to open bidding on the rights to develop 19 Amazonian oil blocks and another six offshore blocks in the first half of 2015. But a collapse in the price of oil has sapped interest, Ortiz said. "I don't believe the conditions will be right, at least in the first half of this year," Ortiz said.
Marubeni Halves Profit Outlook
Firm will consolidate divisions, boost oversight to manage risk. TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp halved its annual profit forecast on Monday after plunging oil, copper and coal prices weighed on its resource assets and it booked an impairment charge for its grains unit Gavilon. Like international oil majors and mining companies, Japan's trading companies have been caught flat-footed by the rout in commodities, with oil down as much as 60 percent and copper falling about 25 percent since the middle of last year.
Turning Point for Coal? Japanese Buying Coal Assets
Japan is world's second-biggest coal importer; trading houses take advantage of depressed coal markets. Only a few months ago, a potential buyer said Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp was prepared to sell a costly stake in a Canadian coal mine for as little as $1. But a flurry of acquisitions of high-quality coal assets by Japanese firms in recent weeks signals that some trading houses at least are betting a depressed coal market where prices have halved in three years may be bottoming out.
Alstom Nearing $700 mln U.S. Bribery Settlement
Alstom is close to settling a bribery case with the U.S. Justice Department for $700 million, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. A settlement could be announced as early as next week, the newswire service added. An Alstom spokeswoman said the company does not comment on ongoing proceedings. The Justice Department could not immediately be reached for comment. The Justice Department has evidence that a former Alstom executive tried to bribe officials to secure power projects in Indonesia…
Three Bidders All Eye Istanbul Gas Grid
Turkey will start the sale of Istanbul's IGDAS gas grid this month, with Russia's Gazprom , Japan's Marubeni Corp and Turkey's Enerya and Aygaz among the interested bidders, sources close to the process said. The IGDAS network serves more than 5 million customers in Turkey's largest city and sold 5 billion cubic metres of gas last year, generating 4.6 billion lira ($2 billion) of revenue and a 279 million lira net profit. "Appetite is huge for the distribution network of a city with the most consumption in the country.
Ex-Alstom exec pleads guilty to bribery
A former vice president of Alstom SA's U.S. unit pleaded guilty on Thursday over his role in a scheme to bribe Indonesian government officials to win a $118 million power project there, the U.S. Department of Justice said. William Pomponi, a former vice president of sales for the French company's Connecticut-based power subsidiary, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The case centered on a $118 million contract to provide services at a power plant in Sumatra.
Bulk of Uganda Oil Production to Start in 2017
Uganda expects the bulk of its commercial oil production to start by the end of 2017 as it awaits a pipeline to export crude oil and a refinery to be built, the minister of energy and mineral development said. The east African country first discovered crude deposits in the Albertine rift basin along its border with Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006. The discovery could lead to billions of dollars in revenue from expected crude oil exports of 140…
Japan Trading Houses: Keep the Faith in U.S. Shale
Japan trading houses to push on with N.America shale investments; confident in sector's long-term prospects. Japan utilities looking to diversify fuel sources in wake of Fukushima. Japanese trading houses say they will push on with investments in North American shale oil and gas fields, despite writedowns in the sector on low gas prices and reduced reserve estimates. The comments from executives at Mitsubishi Corp, Mitsui & Co, Itochu Corp and other…
