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…
India Set to Import Record LNG Volumes
India is set to import record volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this month, data shows, taking advantage of the super-chilled fuel's price hitting all-time lows due to the coronavirus outbreak dampening demand in China. The South Asian nation is estimated to import about 2.36 million tonnes in February, shiptracking data from Refinitiv Eikon showed. That would exceed India's LNG imports in October of about 2.3 million tonnes, the previous highest monthly total. The country's annual LNG imports is expected to rise by 10%-15% this year, said Poorna Rajendran of consultancy firm FGE.
China to Launch State Pipeline Group
China plans to launch its long-awaited national oil and gas pipeline company on Monday, part of a sector-wide reform aimed at providing fair market access to infrastructure and boost investment in oil and gas production.Most of the country's pipeline infrastructure is controlled by energy giant PetroChina, CNPC's listed arm, and small, non state-owned oil and gas producers and distributors often don't have access to the pipelines at competitive rates, analysts have said.This also hinders companies from investing in oil and gas exploration as they are concerned about access to the pipelines.Beijing started considering reforming the sector nearly a decade ago to improve access b
Rebooting What’s Possible in India’s Gas Market
‘To lose patience is to lose the battle’ -Mahatma GandhiIndia is something of a conundrum for global LNG players. I recently returned from a week in Delhi, just as the capital was making headlines for one of the worst episodes of air pollution, while the country’s energy mix remains dominated by cheap domestic coal. At the same time, gas price sensitivity continues to stymie investment and contracting negotiations. Progress has been made with LNG import terminals but delays to pipeline infrastructure and convoluted gas allocation policies frustrate demand growth.
Williams Acquires Deepwater Gas Pipeline
Williams, the provider of large-scale infrastructure connecting U.S. natural gas and natural gas products to growing demand for cleaner fuel and feedstocks, acquired a deepwater natural gas pipeline system that connects offshore output to its Mobile Bay processing plant.The 16-inch-diameter Norphlet gas gathering system in the Gulf of Mexico had been placed into service. It was built by affiliates of Royal Dutch Shell and China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC.The Norphlet deepwater gathering pipeline system extends to 54 miles from the Shell-operated Appomattox Floating Production System in 7…
Canada's FortisBC to Export LNG to China
FortisBC Energy Inc will export Canadian LNG produced by its small-scale LNG terminal in British Columbia to China starting in 2021.The Canadian natural gas utility, which has operated its Tilbury LNG plant since 1971, said in a press release that it has signed a two-year contract to ship 53,000 tonnes per year of super-cooled gas by the summer of 2021 to Chinese LNG distributor Top Speed Energy Corp.According to the agreement about 60 ISO containers (standard-sized shipping containers) a week shipped from Tilbury to China.“This is the first agreement of its kind that will see Canadian LNG shipped regularly to China…
US LNG Opens Floodgates to Europe
The United States has nearly tripled its natural-gas exports to the European Union (EU) since July and signed new licenses seeking to establish American energy as an EU mainstay. US exports of LNG surged following a meeting between Donald Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker in July 2018.In their Joint Statement of 25 July 2018 in Washington D.C., President Juncker and President Trump agreed to strengthen EU-U.S. strategic cooperation with respect to energy. They came in particular to an understanding on the benefits of expanded exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the EU gas market.Since the first cargo in April 2016 U.S.
Bahrain's First LNG Terminal Ready for Business
Bahrain expected to start LNG imports early this year; FSU on 20-year time charter to Bahrain LNG arrives in the GulfBahrain's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating unit arrived in the Gulf this week as the country gets ready for its maiden imports of the super-chilled fuel this year, data from Refinitiv Eikon showed.Bahrain Spirit, a floating storage unit (FSU) with a capacity of about 173,000 cubic meters, is currently anchored in Fujairah after docking in the United Arab Emirates region on Jan. 13, the data showed.The FSU is on a 20-year charter to Bahrain LNG…
Petrobras Earnings Miss Forecasts
Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA on Tuesday reported a surge in third-quarter net profit that still lagged forecasts as oil prices rose but spending at the state-owned company jumped.Petrobras made a net profit of 6.644 billion reais ($1.78 billion), well above the 266 million reais it posted a year earlier, but shy of a $1.98 billion average Refinitiv IBES estimate.Analysts were particularly concerned by a 50 percent cut in free cash flow to 8.115 billion reais from the prior quarter, as Petrobras boosted capital spending and made a second payment as part of the settlement of a class action lawsuit over graft in January."We have a negative view…
Integrated Gas Compression: A Natural Fit for North America
Natural gas abounds in North America. At the end of 2016, Canada and the U.S. shared 414 trillion cubic feet of proved reserves, with the U.S. the world’s largest producer and Canada the fourth largest. Unsurprisingly, there’s a keen appetite for developing LNG facilities across the continent.In recent years, we’ve seen several large-scale LNG projects taking shape, including five new export terminals coming online in 2018 and 2019. Once in operation, they will make the U.S. one of the top three LNG exporters in the world.Over the years, an extensive pipeline network has spread over a vast area — and this presents some exciting opportunities in terms of gas compression.
Excelerate, TGS Join for Argentina LNG Export Study
Excelerate Energy and Transportadora de Gas del Sur (TGS) have provisionally agreed to jointly assess the viability of an LNG liquefaction and export project at Bahia Blanca in Argentina.Argentina currently imports liquefied natural gas (LNG) through two floating import terminals, particularly during the country's peak winter consumption.The successful development of Argentina's shale gas reserves resulted in a potential excess of natural gas during the summer months. The project aims at studying the technical and commercial viability of liquefying and exporting natural gas during the summer season…
US Oil Boom Delivers Costly Surprise for Traders
The world's biggest oil traders are counting hefty losses after a surprise doubling in the price discount of U.S. light crude to benchmark Brent in just a month, as surging U.S production upends the market.Trading desks of oil major BP and merchants Vitol , Gunvor and Trafigura have recorded losses in the tens of millions of dollars each as a result of the "whipsaw" move when the spread reached more than $11.50 a barrel in June, insiders familiar with their performance told Reuters.The sources did not give precise figures for the losses, but they said they were enough for Gunvor and BP to fire at least one trader each.The companies declined to comment…
Petrobras, Engie Extend Period to Negotiate Contract of Pipeline Network
Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA has extended the deadline for discussion with France's Engie SA about the sale contract for a major pipeline network, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.Engie had the highest bid among three consortia interested in acquiring Transportadora Associada de Gás SA, known as TAG. The French company and Petrobras, as the Brazilian company is known, were supposed to wrap up talks over the sale contract by Thursday, which was a holiday in Brazil.To comply with rules set forth by Brazil's audit court…
Oasis Looks Beyond North Dakota to Permian Basin
Oasis Petroleum Inc, the last major oil producer operating exclusively in North Dakota's Bakken shale formation, is heading south to the nation's largest oilfield, pursuing a pricey expansion as investors worry about maturing shale fields. Oasis shares have tumbled 21 percent following last week's disclosure, pointing to growing tension between oil producers looking to invest in their future and investors demanding better returns. Oasis said the $946 million cash-and-stock investment secures a premier foothold in the Delaware basin area of the Permian, the nation's fastest-growing oil field, while spreading its costs over a wider drilling footprint.
Statoil Works to Restart Troll A Gas Platform
Norway's Statoil is working on start-up procedures to restore gas production from its Troll A platform in the North Sea, which was shut on Tuesday following a power outage and a related gas leak, the firm said on Wednesday. Tuesday's Troll A closure landed another blow to Britain's gas supplies that, combined with a shutdown at the country's North Sea Forties pipeline and a deadly accident at Austria's Baumgarten gas hub, caused prices to spike to four-year highs. "We are preparing and checking our systems. We are on the activity of starting up the platform. It will be a gradual restart," Statoil spokesman Morten Eek said.
Brazil's Patria Investimentos Targets Natural Gas, Renewables
Brazilian investment firm Pátria Investimentos Ltda is targeting infrastructure investments in natural gas and renewable energy, partner Otávio Castello Branco told journalists on Wednesday. A fund managed by the investment firm was awarded in March via an auction the right to operate several highways in São Paulo, Brazil's richest state. In April, Pátria also won rights to build and operate power transmission lines. Patria, which has a partnership with U.S. Blackstone Group LP since 2010, will now look for investments in energy, specifically related to natural gas and renewable energy, Castello Branco said. Reuters reported on Oct.
Transneft H1 Net Profit Down 15%
First-half net profit of Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft declined by 15 percent to 113.86 billion roubles ($1.9 billion) from the year-earlier period, the company said on Friday. The company's revenue rose by 5 percent year on year to 438.3 billion roubles. Transneft receives revenues mainly from shipping oil and oil products via its vast pipeline network. ($1 = 59.0875 roubles) (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh)
US LNG Exports to Increase: EIA
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook projects that the United States will export more natural gas than it imports in 2017. The U.S. has been a net exporter for three of the past four months and is expected to continue to export more natural gas than it imports for the rest of 2017 and throughout 2018. The nation’ status as a net exporter is expected to continue past 2018 because of growing U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico, declining pipeline imports from Canada, and increasing exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The U.S. is currently the world's largest natural gas producer, having surpassed Russia in 2009.
Keystone XL Pipeline Fate in Balance as Nebraska Opens Hearings
Nebraska regulators will hear final arguments for and against TransCanada Corp’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline this week before deciding whether to approve its route later this year, the last big hurdle for the long-delayed project after President Donald Trump gave it federal approval. The proposed 1,179-mile (1,897-km) pipeline linking Canada’s Alberta oil sands to U.S. refineries has been a lightning rod of controversy for nearly a decade, pitting environmentalists worried about spills and global warming against business advocates who say the project will lower fuel prices, shore up national security, and bring jobs.
Pembina Adds Natgas Infrastructure in Veresen Deal
Pembina to pay as much as C$1.52 bln in cash, 99.5 mln in shares; offer at 22.5 pct premium to Veresen's last close. Pembina Pipeline Corp said it would buy smaller rival Veresen Inc in a stock-and-cash deal valued at C$9.7 billion ($7.10 billion), including debt, giving the Canadian pipeline operator access to natural gas pipelines and processing infrastructure. The combined company will have a strong position in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, home to the world's third largest crude reserves. A rebound in oil prices from a two-year slump and prospects of friendlier regulatory and tax policies in the United States are stoking consolidation in the pipeline industry.
