Maryland Cove Point LNG Export Plant of Berkshire Hathaway shut down for maintenance
According to a notice sent to customers, U.S. energy company Berkshire Hathaway Energy closed its Cove Point LNG export plant in Maryland during the annual autumn maintenance period of about three weeks. According to data from the financial firm LSEG, the amount of natural gases flowing into the plant has dropped to almost zero since August 1, when it averaged around 0.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd). Since mid-October 2023, when it was returned to service from its previous autumn maintenance outage…
Andy Home: Nickel market is no longer worried about Russian supply
The market has shrugged off the suggestion by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Moscow could consider capping nickel exports in retaliation to Western sanctions. The London Metal Exchange's (LME) 3-month price managed to make a slight bounce above the $16,000 per metric ton mark, but momentum is fading. It's a long way from the first Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The fear that sanctions could be imposed on metal produced by Russian giant Norilsk Nickel sparked a massive rally in 2022, which culminated in a complete meltdown of LME nickel.
Survival of the fittest: petrochemical manufacturers battle global glut
The survival mode of petrochemical producers is on in Europe and Asia. Years of capacity building in China, the top market for petrochemicals, and high energy prices in Europe have pushed margins down two years in a row. The weakness of the sector is concerning for an oil industry that looks to petrochemicals as a way to maintain profits in future years when transportation fuel demand will fall with the energy shift. Industry executives and analysts report that major producers in Asia…
Floating Solar: DNV Advises on Indonesian Floating Solar Photovoltaic Project
Floating solar photovoltaic (PV), initially considered a niche technology, is now the fastest-growing solar PV category, alongside ground-mounted utility-scale solar and rooftop PV. As of August 2020, more than 60 countries have actively pursued the deployment of floating PV, with more than 35 installing an estimated 350 operational floating PV systems, equal to a total 2.6 GW of installed capacity. DNV acted as the Lender’s Technical Advisor, during the development phase…
Japan's LNG Investments Drive Faces Risk of Souring
Japan's banks and public agencies have funneled nearly $25 billion into liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects since 2017 but the investments may sour as prices plummet from the COVID-19 pandemic and as climate change risks rise, a new study shows.Spurred on by the government to boost energy security since the 2011 Fukushima disaster shut down the country's reactors, Japan's investment in LNG rivals that for coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, while more…
Belgium: Northwester 2 Offshore Wind Farm Complete
The 219 MW Northwester 2 wind farm has been completed and is now supplying the Belgian grid electricity by all of its 23 fully operational wind turbines producing 9,5 MW each. This wind farm, owned by Parkwind (70%) and Sumitomo (30%) is the first to use the MHI Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines in commercial operation. The first turbine was installed in December 2019.This is the seventh wind farm in the Belgian North Sea, which now brings the total offshore energy capacity to 1…
Virus Lockdowns Pummel Global Gas Demand, Force LNG Output Cuts
Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand in the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia's spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Economies worldwide have ground to a halt as virus containment measures have taken their toll, slashing gas demand for power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture. The world's biggest LNG markets - Japan, China, South Korea, and India - are all seeing a drop in demand.
WFW Advises on Race Bank Wind Farm Deal
Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), an international law firm based in London, said that it has advised Race Bank Wind Farm Limited on its USD 608 million sale of transmission system assets relating to the 573 MW Race Bank offshore wind farm to Diamond Transmission Partners.Race Bank is a joint venture owned by Ørsted (50%), Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (25%), a fund established by Sumitomo Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Development Bank of Japan (12.5%)…
Offshore Wind Cable Market to Reach $3B
The global offshore wind cable market is estimated to grow at CAGR above 16% over the forecast time frame 2019 to 2026 and reach the market value around $3 billion by 2026.The demand for offshore wind cables has seen significant development due to the paradigm shift towards fresh renewable techniques with increasing consciousness of carbon emission limits, said a report by Acumen Research and Consulting."Offshore wind turbines are rapidly growing, with a higher capacity production more than onshore wind generation.
Japanese Firms Begin Offshore Wind Surveys
Japanese companies Sumitomo Corporation and Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-POWER) have begun an offshore ground investigation off the coast of Japan to explore the possibility of developing an offshore wind power plant.The Japanese government is currently in the process of determining areas to be designated as offshore wind power development promotion areas under a new law enacted this fiscal year, for which the government will invite applications…
MOL, Mitsui Join in Modec FPSO Project
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Mitsui & Co have participated in a long-term charter business operated by MODEC for the purpose of providing a floating production, storage, and offloading system (FPSO) for use in the Area 1 block offshore Mexico and a loan agreement for the Project was entered into on April 12, 2019.Mitsui and MOL invested in Area1 Mexico MV34 B.V. ("MV34"), a Dutch company established by MODEC, which will engage in FPSO leasing, operations and maintenance services.In December 2018, MV34 concluded the charter agreement with Eni Mexico S. de R.L.
Engie, EDPR, Sumitomo Pact to Build French Offshore Wind Farms
French utility Engie and Spanish partner EDP Renovaveis (EDPR) announced their alliance with the Japanese group Sumitomo Corporation to build the French offshore wind farms of Dieppe-Le Tréport and Yeu-Noirmoutier.As part of the alliance, Sumitomo Corporation acquires a 29.5% equity stake in the French offshore projects (Dieppe Le Tréport and Yeu Noirmoutier) and will bring to the consortium its proven and complementary offshore wind expertise in terms of development…
Arkas Bunkering, Sumitomo Corporation in LNG Bunkering Deal
Arkas Bunkering have signed a protocol with Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation for the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as bunker fuel in Turkish and nearby seas. As environmentally-friendly buildings, vessels and fuels have become more popular than ever, new applications acting as reminders for both states and civil initiatives of their environmental responsibilities continue to emerge. With International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) global sulphur cap set to enter into force in 2020…
Freeport Signs Initial LNG Offtake Deal with Sumitomo for Train 4
* Privately-owned U.S. liquefied natural gas terminal operator Freeport LNG said it had signed a binding agreement with a U.S.
What Glencore-Tohoku Coal talk Impass Means for Market
Electric utilities in Japan and other Asian countries are driving blind when it comes to coal prices after the failure of Japan's Tohoku Electric and Glencore to agree on an annual thermal coal contract that is used to set prices for the region. Tohoku Electric, a major Japanese utility, and Glencore, the world's biggest exporter of seaborne thermal coal, abandoned the talks last month on their annual Australian supply contract. "Both parties seem to have tried hard to come to a consensus but always had large difference in price expectations this year…
Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm Officially Opens
A new offshore wind farm officially opened this week that is capable of powering over half a million U.K. homes.The Race Bank wind farm located off the North Norfolk coast is capable of generating 573 megawatts (MW) of green electricity from its 91 Siemens Gamesa 6 MW wind turbines.
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.
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.
EU Mergers and Acquisitions
The following are mergers under review by the European Commission that could be of interest to the global maritime and energy communities. -- Austrian company Borealis, Canada's Nova Chemicals and French oil and gas major Total to set up a joint venture (notified Feb. -- British turnaround specialist Melrose Industries to acquire British engineering company GKN (notified Feb. -- German steel company ELG Haniel and and Spanish peer Iberinox 88 SA to set up a joint venture (notified Feb.
Vessel Docks at Maryland Cove Point LNG Terminal
Gemmata could be the first vessel to pick up fuel from the facility since the tanker came from Spain - a non-LNG exporting country - with less than a full cargo, according to the shipping data. In addition to Gemmata, another vessel, the Methane Spirit, is also headed for Cove Point, according to the shipping data. Methane Spirit is located near Singapore and is expected to reach Cove Point around March 31. Once it enters service, Cove Point will be the second big LNG export terminal in the lower 48 U.S.
