Gunvor Opening London Trading Office, Closes Bahamas
Global energy trader Gunvor Group is opening its first London office while also closing its trading desk in the Bahamas to increase efficiency in North America, sources familiar with the matter said.Gunvor had recently recruited a natural gas trading team for London, the sources told Reuters, adding that the Switzerland-based firm briefly had one trader in London a few years ago but this latest push was…
Exxon Expands Mozambique LNG Project to Cut Costs
Exxon Mobil will expand its Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique by half to cut production costs as the partners prepare to book the plant's supply and formally tap lenders in September, the company told Reuters.The U.S. oil giant took charge of the East African LNG project's onshore operations following a $2.8 billion deal with Italy's Eni last year, adding to its suite of projects in Qatar…
Taiwan to Purchase LNG from U.S. Producer
Taiwan's CPC Corp on Monday announced a preliminary deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from U.S. producer Cheniere Energy for 25-years, according to a statement. CPC, a major importer of LNG, signed a Heads of Agreement to purchase 2 million tonnes of LNG annually from Cheniere, which is gearing up to start exports from its second U.S. export plant at Corpus Christi, Texas. Cheniere started exporting LNG from its Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana in 2016. Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic
Thick Sea Ice Blocks Exports from Yamal LNG Plant
Thick sea ice is impeding Arctic shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's newly-built export plant in Yamal, Russia's state-run nuclear-powered tanker company Rosatomflot said.Unseasonably severe ice conditions are also clogging routes to Asia through the Northern Sea Route (NSR), leading to the extension of the winter-spring navigation of Atomflot's nuclear ice-breakers, it said.The Novatek…
Panama Imports Its First LNG Cargo
Panama has imported its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to commission the newly built $1 billion Costa Norte facility and power plant at Colon, expected to be a launch-pad for LNG trade across Central America.Many utilities in Central America and the Caribbean remain reliant on burning oil to generate electricity, but LNG offers a cleaner, cheaper and more efficient alternative.Shipping data shows the Engie-chartered Provalys tanker arrived last week…
Feedgas Flows into Sabine Pass LNG Export Plant Drop Again
Feedgas supplies into Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Louisiana fell again after recovering briefly following a month-long maintenance shutdown affecting one of three production units, data showed on Tuesday.Input levels on the three pipelines serving the facility showed feed levels had fallen to 2,180 million cubic feet/day (mcf/day) on Tuesday after a fall and briefly recovering to a high of 2,860 mcf/day on Saturday.Current inflow levels suggest that the e
Centrica, Tokyo Gas Break Mold in Mozambique LNG Deal
Britain's Centrica and Japan's Tokyo Gas aim to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Anadarko Petroleum's $20 billion project in Mozambique, the first joint procurement deal designed to defuse risks facing the buyers in their respective markets.The deal also brings Anadarko one step closer to constructing its East African LNG project just as it corrals $14 billion to $15 billion from banks and export credit agencies for the 17,000-acre liquefaction complex in Mozambique's remote north.Lenders require
New LNG Contract Framework to Spur 'Oil-like' Trading Model
Introduction of GTC contracts could spur trading, cut costs; traders say existing system inefficient and tedious. A new umbrella contract meant to streamline trading of liquefied natural gas (LNG), bogged down in red tape and wrangling over terms, could boost liquidity, draw in new entrants and speed up the market's transition to an oil-like model. Already a mainstay of crude oil and pipeline gas trading…
Cheniere's U.S. LNG Outage Spurs European Reload Activity to Asia
Cheniere Energy, dealing with an ongoing partial outage at its Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Louisiana, is making use of its idle tankers to pick up LNG in Europe for sale in Asia where prices are surging, traders said.Feedgas volumes into Sabine Pass fell by a third to 2 billion cubic feet/day on May 15 and have remained there ever since, according to flow data from three pipelines serving the facility.The plunge reflects an outage at the plant's third liquefaction train…
CNOOC Leases Bigger FSRU to Boost LNG Imports
The trading arm of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) struck a three-year lease for a bigger floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) from Hoegh LNG as it seeks to boost imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).In a statement, shipowner Hoegh LNG said its Esperanza FSRU was contracted to CNOOC Gas & Power Trading and Marketing.The floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal will be based in Tianjin as a replacement for Hoegh's GDF Suez Cape Anne FSRU…
Bangladesh Drops Trafigura in LNG Talks as Gunvor Advances
Bangladesh has terminated talks with Swiss-based commodity trader Trafigura to install a small floating liquefied natural gas (LNG ) import terminal due to delays in agreeing terms, while rival trader Gunvor advances with a separate project. Once considered an energy backwater, Bangladesh's LNG demand is set to hit 17.5 million tonnes annually by 2025 after importing its first cargo last month, and as traders target Southeast Asia's booming gas markets to boost sales.
Angola LNG Ramps Up Exports ahead of Maintenance
Angola's sole liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is stepping up exports of cargoes in the spot market ahead of maintenance, three industry sources said on Tuesday.The plant has issued several tenders in the spot market for LNG cargoes to load in May and June, the sources said.Angola's Soyo plant, which has a capacity of 5.2 million tonnes of LNG per year, will be undergoing a planned shutdown for maintenance in July…
Equatorial Guinea May Strip Ophir of LNG Project Due to Finance Delays
Equatorial Guinea will force Ophir Energy out of the company's flagship liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and may scrap it entirely unless long-delayed financing deals worth $1.2 billion are presented to the government by December.The ultimatum is a blow to UK-listed Ophir, which has set aside $150 million of its own cash to develop west Africa's first deepwater LNG project, Fortuna, by 2022 despite its lack of a track record in LNG and small balance sheet."We have a clear idea of who we would give
Vitol Sees Gas and LNG as Key Growth Driver
Vitol's future growth will increasingly be driven by gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), especially in emerging markets, as peak oil demand approaches, its head of gas and power investments said on Thursday.Steven Brann said that LNG and gas, coupled with related asset acquisitions, will offer the best growth opportunities for Vitol as the world moves towards cleaner-burning fuels and oil demand peaks in the next decade."Our portfolio as a company will increasingly be gassy and asset-heavy and LNG i
Papua New Guinea LNG Mid-term Deals to be Finalized
Papua New Guinea LNG mid-term deals to be finalized in H1 2018** Papua New Guinea's (PNG) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project aims to finalise supply agreements with shortlisted companies for up to 1.3 million tonnes per year of LNG in the first half of 2018, project partner Oil Search said.** Higher-than-expected production at the site - operated by Exxon Mobil - means excess output could be sold via…
Exxon's Rosneft JV LNG Project Proceeds - Despite Sanctions
Exxon Mobil is pushing ahead with efforts to develop its $15 billion Far East Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project with Russia's Rosneft despite being forced to exit some joint ventures due to Western sanctions. Two months ago Exxon invited companies including China National Petroleum Corporation's engineering arm to bid for construction contracts by October, sources with knowledge of the matter said. A final investment decision is due in 2019, they said.
Chevron to Idle Gorgon LNG Unit in May
Chevron will idle the second production unit at its Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in May to carry out modifications already implemented at the other two units, a senior executive said.Pat Yarrington, Chevron's vice president and chief financial officer, said in an earnings call on Friday that Gorgon Train 2 in Australia has a planned "pit stop" in May for crews to replicate performance improvement…
First Cove Point LNG Lifting Departs Maryland
The first contractual liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from Dominion Energy Inc's newly constructed Cove Point LNG export plant in Maryland in the United States left the facility on Monday, Thomson Reuters Eikon ship tracking data showed. The cargo is expected to act as a drag on spot LNG prices <LNG-AS> as it coincides with the resumption of exports of the fuel from the Papua New Guinea LNG plant, which had been shut following a powerful earthquake.
Start of Golar's FLNG in Cameroon May Draw More Africa Clients
Golar LNG said on Monday it had started production at its floating LNG (FLNG) platform in Cameroon, the world's second working example of the nascent technology and a milestone likely to boost its Fortuna project in Equatorial Guinea. As the cost of land-based LNG plants more than tripled in the decade to 2013, Golar pioneered the conversion of ageing LNG tankers into giant refrigerators capable of chilling gas into its liquid form at minus 162 Celsius.
World's Second Floating LNG Project Starts Production in Cameroon
Norwegian shipping firm Golar LNG on Monday said liquefied natural gas (LNG) production had started at its floating LNG production platform in Cameroon, the world's second working example of the nascent technology. The trading arm of Russia's Gazprom has purchased the entire 1.2 million tonne per annum output from Golar's FLNG platform, the Hilli Episeyo, for eight years. The deal was agreed in late 2015 between Golar…
