Browne News

Freeport LNG on Friday again delayed the restart of the second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility, pushing start-up plans for its Texas plant to the end of the year, pending regulatory approval.In November, the company said it was on track to restart the plant in mid December and get most LNG production back in January with a return to full service in March.Freeport shut the plant on June 8 after an explosion that energy consultants said was the result of human error…

The owner of the second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant has not yet provided regulators with a final repair plan, according to a person familiar with the matter, likely pushing any restart into the first quarter of next year.The outage since a fiery explosion in June has underscored the global demand for new gas supplies and required major LNG traders and customers of the roughly 16 million tonne per year processing facility to buy replacement cargoes at huge markups.Freeport LNG had pledged in August to restart gas-processing by early to mid-November…

The second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas export plant, idled for five months by a fire, must receive full approvals before a planned November restart can begin, regulator Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) said on Wednesday.Full approval adds to the hurdles for restarting Freeport LNG, one of the earliest and biggest U.S. export facilities. The closely-held company aims to restore more than 85% of pre-fire processing capacity next month and complete…

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New York District seeks a contractor for maintenance dredging of portions of the Newark Bay, New Jersey, Federal Navigation Project.Plans and specifications are expected to be available in April, bid opening in May and a contract award in July. The proposed work is anticipated to take place between August 2022 and March 2023. Estimated cost is between $25 million and $100 million.Check SAM.gov for details. Use Notice ID W912DS22B0010 to search. Response date is March 16.The dredge is to remove approximately 600…

Puget LNG and GAC Bunker Fuels have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine fuel from Puget LNG’s terminal to GAC’s customers in the Pacific Northwest.When the Tacoma LNG Terminal becomes operational in the second quarter of 2021, it will be the first such terminal on North America’s west coast providing direct shoreside loading access for a bunker barge.GAC Bunker Fuels, a division of the Dubai-based GAC Group, will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Jones Act-compliant LNG bunker barge to be constructed…

The Coast Guard needs a ship that can do more than just break ice; it needs a multi-mission ship to provide for the nation’s security, asserting its sovereign rights, and protecting its long-term economic interests. That ship is the Polar Security Cutter.Since Russia cashed the check in 1867 for the purchase of Alaska the U.S. has been an Arctic nation. Today, it is one of eight countries that have territorial land or seas above the Arctic Circle or in the polar region (six of those countries have Arctic Ocean coastline or an exclusive economic zone above the Arctic Circle). The U.S.

Argentine oil company YPF reached a preliminary agreement with Texas-based Excelerate Energy to hire a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker for shipping cargoes to global export markets.As per agreement, YPF will export LNG produced from the TANGO FLNG unit, located in Bahía Blanca.Both parties will be executing the final agreement in the coming days, with the objective of starting operations the first week of September.“We continue progressing in our ambition to add value to Argentine natural gas and to export surpluses during those months of low local consumption, to fully extract the potential as producer and exporter of Argentine natural gas…

Watson Farley & Williams advised HSBC Bank, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited HSBC Corporate Trustee Company  and a syndicate of banks including Mashreqbank, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited and Bank of Communications Ltd in connection with three Sinosure-backed loan facilities totalling approximately US$123m to UAE-based Zakher Marine International Inc (ZMI), to finance the construction and acquisition of three new high-spec jack-up barges.The delivery of the final two barges in September 2018 completed a structured financing and delivery process which saw Mashreqbank joining the project in 2017. Abu Dhabi-based ZMI was established in 1984 and now operates a fleet of 45 support…

South Korean imports of liquefied natural gas are set to ease from record levels racked up in the first-half of the year, with appetite for the fuel from utilities seen fading as a raft of nuclear power stations come back online.The country's imports of the commodity jumped nearly 16 percent year-on-year to a record 22.7 million tonnes in the first six months of 2018, according to customs data in mid-July, boosted by demand from power firms as around half the nation's 24 nuclear…

Japan received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Monday from Dominion Energy Inc's newly completed Cove Point export plant, the beginning of a jump in imports from the United States by the world's biggest buyer of the fuel.The docking of the tanker LNG Sakura at Tokyo Gas Co's Negishi terminal near Tokyo is another marker of shifting global energy flows as the United States ramps up exports of gas and oil from shale formations.The cargo is the first of 2.2 million tonnes of LNG a year Japanese companies are purchasing under long-term contracts from Cove Point in Maryland. A ramp-up of purchases now by Japan may draw…

At least half of Puerto Rico's island without power; storm likely to hit Florida Saturday or Sunday. Hurricane Irma killed eight people on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin and left Barbuda devastated on Thursday as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century took aim at Florida. Television footage of the Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin showed a damaged marina with boats tossed into piles, submerged streets and flooded homes. Power was knocked out on Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy and in parts of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. "It is an enormous disaster, 95 percent of the island is destroyed. I am in shock," Daniel Gibbs, chairman of a local council on Saint Martin, told Radio Caribbean International.

International vessels have been trading in the Port of Charleston, S.C. for centuries. While Charleston is the sixth largest container port in the U.S., it is also home to Detyens Shipyards, Inc (DSI). In the past several years, DSI has seen an increase in the number of dry dock inquiries and bookings from International vessel operators. “In the last two quarters, we’ve dry docked eight internationally owned and operated vessels,” explained Peter Browne, Vice President of Estimating.

A three-day National Maritime Transport Policy (NMTP) workshop has been held in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda (16-18 May). The event provided valuable knowledge and skills to those involved in the development, adoption and review of a NMTP in the country. The exercise is part of a series of workshops and seminars being delivered in various regions of the world to provide training to interested International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member States in the development, adoption and updating of such policies, which are key to a coordinated and integrated approach to maritime transport. The participants represented various government agencies and stakeholders spanning multiple sectors.

Former BP PLC Chief Executive John Browne said fellow FTSE 100 giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC is risking its long term reputation and finances by deciding to drill n the Arctic, the BBC reported. Both Browne and Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden gave interviews to BBC for a Radio 4 documentary concerning climate change, where Browne said Shell should not be prioritising the Arctic as an area for exploration for a variety of reasons, especially in the current downturn. "I'm not chairman of Shell. But I think [Arctic drilling] is very expensive and I would always go for hydrocarbons which have less cost and effort involved. Some companies will genuinely believe - they may be right - that they can produce oil safely and environmentally securely in extraordinary conditions" said Browne.

FRANKFURT, March 3 (Reuters) - DEA, the oil and gas company that German utility RWE sold to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, has appointed former BP boss John Browne as its new supervisory board chairman. Fridman's investment vehicle LetterOne bought the firm from RWE in a 5.1 billion euro ($5.7 billion) deal finalised on Monday, brushing aside British opposition against the sale of some licences held by DEA in the North Sea. The transaction was first announced a year ago, coinciding with Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, sparking concern in some EU countries about whether a European oil and gas business should fall into Russian hands.

GAC Bunker Fuels says it has further consolidated its position in the North Sea by appointing Per Steffen Bolstad to the bunker trading team in Bergen, Norway, where he joins bunker trader Christer Benjaminsen. Nicholas Browne, Global Director of GAC Bunker Fuels says “Per Steffen has eight years’ shipping experience, and was mostly recently Branch Manager in Bergen. He is yet another quality addition to our global bunker trading team, strengthening our commitment to operational excellence in strategic locations for our customers.” The company adds that GAC Bunker Fuels has expanded rapidly in the last two years, and now has a team of 25 bunker traders worldwide.

GAC Bunker Fuels Limited has announced the opening of its newest office - in Bergen, Norway - in a move to further strengthen its marine fuel and lubricant trading operation across the Nordic region. The Bergen office will be responsible for the trading of all grades of marine fuel and gas oil, as well as the full range of lubricant products, for domestic and international customers operating across Nordic waters and beyond. It will also co-ordinate customers' ship agency requirements. Nicholas Browne, Global Director, GAC Bunker Fuels, says: The opening of our Bergen office is testament to our commitment to expanding our geographical reach, which now extends to nine locations worldwide, and our scope of services to meet the needs of our customers.

GAC Bunker Fuels Ltd. awarded ISO 9001:2008 Management System Standard certification by DNV. The ISO 9001:2008 certificate awarded by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) recognises GAC Bunker Fuels’ best management practices in the trading and brokerage of marine fuels and lubricants across its global operational sites. It demonstrates the company’s full compliance with the requirements of this international best practice standard, which considers a range of measures, including management responsibility, resource management, product quality and the improvement of quality management systems across the organisation. Nicholas Browne, Global Director of GAC Bunker Fuels Limited, says: “Quality assurance has been the guiding principle behind GAC Bunker Fuels’ growth.

GAC Bunker Fuels says it has appointed former GAC Denmark Shipping Assistant Ida Ryberg as a Bunker Trader with its UK team. Ryberg joins Andy Boichat and Resham Rai at the London office and will also work closely with Kenny Petrie in Aberdeen, Murray Bishop in Southampton and Dimitra Maniati focusing on the superyacht sector from the sailing hub. Nicholas Browne, Global Director of GAC Bunker Fuels, says: “The global bunkering market is facing significant change and challenges in the coming years. Regulatory compliance, emission controls, economic pressures and volatile prices are factors that will continue to impact supply and demand.

The importance of balancing the numbers for a successful bunker fuel trading operation will be stressed by GAC's Nicholas Browne when he shares his experience at the Lloyds Maritime Academy Bunker Management School this week. In his speech, the Global Director of GAC Bunker Fuels will outline what bunker traders need to keep in mind making the judgment calls they face every day. What are the criteria for granting credit to a new customer? How can they minimize their risk exposure? What checks should be made before accepting a new client? In a separate session, Browne will discuss the various purchasing methods used in today's bunker trade including reverse auctions, panels and price pressing. His central theme will focus on the bottom line.

Improving and updating Arctic design standards for material, equipment, and offshore structures for the petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. Seventy representatives from seven countries met for two days in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador in early October to further the creation of standards for resource development in the Arctic. The countries represented included Canada, UK, France, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, and Russian Federation. It was the third annual…

GAC Bunker Fuels has appointed two new UAE-based bunker traders as part of its regional expansion plan. Georgia Paravalou will trade and broker marine fuels in her new role. Aneconomics and management graduate, she joins GAC Bunker Fuels from AP&A. Ltd, where she worked as a shipbroker, coordinated the marketing department and developed business in the UK and South China. Anthony Inglis is charged with expanding GAC's bunker business in the Middle East and developing bunkering operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. joined GAC Bunker Fuels from Weatherford International, where he served as a Procurement and Logistics Co-ordinator for the same market. "We are delighted to welcome Georgia and Anthony to GAC Bunker Fuels," says Nicholas Browne, Global Director of GAC Bunker Fuels.

GAC Bunker Fuels Limited has appointed two new UAE-based bunker traders as part of its regional expansion plan. Georgia Paravalou will trade and broker marine fuels in her new role. An economics and management graduate, she joins GAC Bunker Fuels from AP&A. Ltd, where she worked as a shipbroker, coordinated the marketing department and developed business in the UK and South China. Anthony Inglis is charged with expanding GAC's bunker business in the Middle East and developing bunkering operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. He joined GAC Bunker Fuels from Weatherford International, where he served as a Procurement and Logistics Co-ordinator for the same market. says Nicholas Browne, Global Director of GAC Bunker Fuels.