Australian LNG producers could need to commit to more gas for the local market due to a possible shortage
Due to a decrease in supply forecasts for next year the Australian competition watchdog stated on Friday that liquefied gas producers (LNG) may have to commit more gas to the domestic rather than export market. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's quarterly report, the LNG supply surplus on Australia's east coast is expected to drop to 12 to 27 petajoules in the first quarter 2025. This is down from 26 to 35 petajoules forecasted in June. The lower forecast is due to an increase in exports contracted in the third quarter of 2009. Australia was the largest LNG exporter in the world until the U.S.
BMW will bring its first Hydrogen car to the market in 2028
BMW plans to launch its first hydrogen powered vehicle in 2028 using the fuel cell technology it developed with Toyota Motor Corp. The company did not provide any further information. It said that the vehicle will be a model already in production with an option for hydrogen fuel cells. The company did not provide any details about the price or volume of production. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse stated in a press release that the vehicle will "highlight the way technological progress shapes the mobility of tomorrow".
Beach Energy's profit drops to a 2-1/2-year low due to a downgrade of reserves
Beach Energy, an Australian oil and natural gas company backed by billionaire Kerry Stokes fell to its lowest level in more than two-and-a half years on Monday, after reporting a drop in profits and downgrading reserves for a major gas field in Victoria. The shares of the company closed at A$1.245 on Friday, a 12.6% decline. This was their lowest closing price since December 29, 2021. It was also its worst session since April 1. The stock fell by as much as 132% in the morning. The stock was the biggest loser on the benchmark ASX 200 benchmark.
Thyssenkrupp steel faces a $1.4 billion funding shortfall in its planned separation from parent
The supervisory board chair of Thyssenkrupp’s steel division said that the company needs an additional 1.3 billion euro ($1.4 billion) to cover costs beyond what its parent was willing to pay as part of a planned separation. Sigmar Gabriel said, after a supervisory meeting of Thyssenkrupp Europe (TKSE), that an external audit will be conducted to determine the unit’s restructuring and financing needs. He added that this could occur before the end of the year. Gabriel said that the board will reconvene to…
Lithuania Seeks Alternative Bids for LNG Import Terminal
Lithuania is seeking alternative bids from providers of floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals to potentially replace its existing import terminal, operator Klaipedos Nafta said on Friday.The Baltic state leases a floating storage and regasification vessel (FSRU) from Norway's Hoegh LNG and has an option to buy it when the lease expires in 2024.The state-controlled Klaipedos Nafta said it had decided to seek alternative bids to make sure that it gets the best terms, and has to make the final decision by the end of 2022.Lithuania has been importing LNG via the current terminal, dubbed Independence, since 2014, thereby en
Norway Earmarks $369M for Green Industry Investments
The Norwegian government proposes spending 3.6 billion Norwegian crowns ($369 million) on investments to make its economy greener as it gradually emerges from coronavirus lockdowns, the government said on Friday."The crisis we are now in hasn't made the need for transformation smaller - it has increased it," Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a news conference.While a half-century of oil and gas production has made Norway one of the world's wealthiest nations, the country aims to transition into a less oil-dependent economy and make more room for other…
Innogy Sells Offshore Wind Installation Vessel
Germany-based energy firm innogy has sold its offshore installation vessel ‘Seabreeze II’ to Hong Kong-based firm SPIC Ronghe International Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. Richard Sandford, Director of Offshore Investment & Asset Management at innogy SE explained that ten years ago innogy had decided to acquire and operate its own installation vessels so to eliminate an important bottleneck in the construction of offshore wind farms."However, since that time, such bottlenecks have eased through the availability…
Frontline Profitable in Q1 Despite Low Freight Rates -CEO
Oil tanker firm Frontline's earnings are in the black so far in the first quarter despite strong headwinds from low freight rates, it's top executive said on Thursday."We are at current rates still running at a profit," Chief Executive Robert Hvide Macleod told a news conference. (Reporting by Victoria Klesty, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Solveig buys oilfield operator Capricorn from Cairn
Norwegian pipeline firm Solveig Gas has agreed to buy oil firm Capricorn Norge from Cairn Energy for $100 million, completing its transformation into a North Sea field operator, Solveig's owner HitecVision said on Wednesday.The private equity fund told Reuters earlier this year it aimed to turn Solveig into an integrated exploration and production company, using the cash flow from its gas pipelines to fund expansion.Cairn separately confirmed the deal, adding it will use the proceeds to fund its ongoing oil business in British waters.Capricorn owns 10% in the Wintershall Dea-operated Nova field in the North Sea…
Mitsui Looks to Sell BassGas Stake
Japan's Mitsui & Co has put its 40% stake in the BassGas project off southeastern Australia up for sale, the company said on Thursday.Mitsui's stake in the BassGas project, which includes the undeveloped Trefoil gas project, could be worth about A$360 million ($244 million), according to Credit Suisse. However, a person with knowledge of the asset estimated it at about A$140 million.Mitsui Australia's spokesman said Rothschild has been engaged to advise on the sale of the stake, which Mitsui acquired with its takeover of oil and gas producer AWE last year.
ExxonMobil Looks to Sell Australian Assets
Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it was looking to sell its 50% stake in the Gippsland Basin oil and gas development in Australia's Bass Strait as part of a broader review of its global portfolio of assets.The sale could fetch up to $3 billion, however decommissioning costs for the ageing fields could dent the price tag, analysts and bankers said.The Gippsland Basin joint venture, off the state of Victoria, has long been the mainstay oil and gas supplier for southeastern Australia, but output is in decline."As…
Equinor to Clean up Onshore Bahamas Spill
Equinor will clean up the onshore oil spill discovered this week at its Bahamas storage terminal in the aftermath of hurricane Dorian, the Norwegian energy company said on Sunday.In preparation for the hurricane, Equinor shut down operations at the South Riding Point terminal on Aug. 31 and none of its staff were at the site during the storm."Based on current visual assessments, there are no indications of continued oil leakage from the tanks or of oil spills from the terminal to sea or beaches," Equinor's…
Kawasaki Begins Hydrogen Project
Japanese public multinational corporation Kawasaki Heavy Industries and its subsidiary company based in Melbourne Hydrogen Engineering Australia announced commencement of construction work to build the Hydrogen Liquefaction and Loading Terminal for the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain pilot project (Project).The facility will convert hydrogen gas into liquefied hydrogen, which will be stored and then loaded onto the world’s first specialized marine carrier for transport to Japan. The Project will involve the…
Sapura Energy Bags Multiple Contracts
Malaysia’s oilfield services player Sapura Energy said it has has clinched contracts worth a total of MYR 1 billion ($242 million) for several new oil patch deals and one – the company’s first – offshore wind contract.The 10 new contracts are for its engineering and construction and drilling segments across Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Australia, said a press release from the company.In addition, the company has been selected for a frame agreement with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) for fixed offshore structure works…
U.S. and Gulf Allies Face Task Protecting Oil Shipping Lanes
The United States and its allies may need to to start escorting commercial vessels to prevent further attacks in Gulf oil shipping lanes, Gulf sources and experts said.Even then, the conventional naval and air capabilities of Western and Gulf powers tasked with policing vital commercial waters may be of limited use against the asymmetric warfare tactics suspected in recent operations, including naval mines.Six tankers have been hit in the past month in two attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost a fifth of the world's oil passes…
Hurricane Achieves First Oil at Lancaster
Hurricane Energy has announced first oil at its Lancaster field off Scotland, the first such success for so-called fractured basement reservoirs in Britain and a major milestone for the company within its guided schedule.Hurricane specializes in recovering oil from fractures in hard and brittle rock known as fractured basement reservoirs, which some see as a risky way to obtain crude."Lancaster is the UK's first producing fractured basement field and the fact that Hurricane has delivered this industry milestone on time and within budget is an incredible achievement…
Sole Offshore Construction Phase Completed
Installation and testing of the 67 km control umbilical connecting the Sole gas field with the Orbost Gas Plant has been completed, marking the conclusion of the offshore construction phase of the Sole Gas Project, operator Cooper Energy said in an update on Monday.The offshore project, which was 93% complete at the end of February, is expected to be fully completed, ready and available to deliver gas from the Gippsland Basin offshore Victoria to APA Group’s Orbost Gas Plant by end-May 2019. The only work remaining on the offshore project is repair of the damaged pipe section which is expected to commence in late April…
Australia's Best Option is LNG Imports
Australia has painted itself into a corner with its natural gas industry and faces the stark reality that there are no easy choices to alleviate the dual problem of a looming supply crunch and the associated higher prices.Australia is far from the first country to find itself with an energy issue, but it is unusual insofar as the country is about to become the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and still it can't get its policy settings right to ensure domestic supplies.It sounds counter-intuitive and somewhat bizarre…
AGL's Crib Point Selects Höegh LNG FSRU
The floating LNG services provider Höegh LNG Holdings announced that it has entered into a time charter party with Australian utility company AGL Shipping Pty for the provision of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to facilitate its proposed Gas Import Jetty project at Crib Point, Victoria, Australia.The project is targeting start up in 2020 – 2021, said a press note.The charter is for a period of 10 years and remains conditional on the board of directors of AGL Shipping's parent company AGL Energy Ltd.
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 orders from shipowners led to an oversupply of units this year as import projects across the world were delayed or cancelled…
