Chevron Gorgon News

Asian spot LNG prices jumped this week, buoyed by hopes Korea Gas Corp's new tender would match past buying sprees and by emerging demand from China and Japan. Spot prices for June delivery rose to $5.70 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), a 20 cent jump over last week, but traders cited sharply divergent views on pricing, saying the disagreements contributed to market inertia. Still, Korea Gas Corp's Thursday tender for June and July supply - set to close on April 26 - immediately stirred up bullish offers, rescuing an otherwise muted trading week.

Asian spot LNG prices edged lower this week amid thin trade for May cargoes and as focus shifts towards June supplies. Spot prices for May delivery of LNG in Asia fell by 35 cents to $5.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), as interest for May cargoes weaken because most end-users have already secured their necessary feedstock for the month. Prices for June delivery of LNG in Asia was pegged slightly higher at $5.50/mmBtu amid expectations that demand could return as North Asian buyers begin purchasing cargoes to meet summer demand. "Demand may start to come back for summer (LNG purchases)," a Singapore-based trader said, adding that deal activity was tepid this week as most traders were only returning from a major gas conference in Japan.

Australia's plans for a huge increase in its production of liquefied natural gas are being dealt a big blow by a series of production delays, as energy companies struggle with technical problems and cost overruns. The country is still likely to become the world's biggest LNG exporter, dispatching about 85 million tonnes a year by the end of the decade, up from 30.7 million tonnes in 2015 and 45.1 million tonnes last year. But the pace of growth is much slower than expected because…

Argentina tenders for 19 cargoes. Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) eased under pressure from growing supplies though fresh demand from Argentina limited losses, traders said. LNG for May delivery in Asia eased to $4.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down 5 cents from the previous week. Traders said prices were supported by Argentina's tender to buy 19 LNG cargoes for May to August delivery, following a large purchase earlier in the week. Traders said Argentina bought about 20 cargoes on Wednesday from companies including Trafigura, Statoil, BP, Gazprom, Glencore, Gas Natural and Petrobras, having tendered for 32. The cargoes sold for about $4.50 per mmBtu, they said.

Asian spot LNG prices fell this week as top consumer Japan struggled with surplus stock and Chevron's new Gorgon project neared start-up, which will feed into an already oversupplied market. The big worry was about Russia's Sakhalin-2 export plant, hit by a production "glitch" on Jan. 26, a spokesman said, as talk circulated of potential cargo cancellations. Loading disruptions could tighten spot LNG prices for March delivery in Asia, trading lower at $4.90 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), from $5.10 per mmBtu the previous week. Most traders said Sakhalin's technical problems will mean cargo rescheduling but not cancellation. Gail India's purchase of a total of two cargoes from BG Group and Qatar's RasGas in February and March, respectively, signalled further bearishness ahead.

Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot prices for September delivery were firm this week, supported by supply issues in Nigeria after a pipeline leak, though surplus global supplies helped ease concerns. The price of Asian spot cargoes held steady at around $8.00 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), from $7.95/mmBtu last week. Shell confirmed on Thursday that it had declared force majeure on gas supplies to Nigeria's LNG export terminal on Bonny Island in Rivers State due to a pipeline leak. "Before Nigeria happening prices were falling, so it has helped support the market," an analyst said, adding that surplus volumes globally were capping any potential upside. The analyst estimated Nigeria exports at around 7 cargoes a week.

UK headquartered Phusion appointed as Data Management Contractor (DMC) for the INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Mega-Project. The six-year contract is worth £11.5 million (AUD17.6m). The deal extends Phusion’s growing portfolio in Australia where the company is already engaged on the giant Chevron Gorgon project. Phusionwill assist INPEX by efficiently managing enormous amounts of engineering data associated with the Ichthys LNG Project. This will result in substantially reduced costs and ensure the timely hand over of comprehensive sets of information to the Ichthys Operations team. This unique approach to the way data is collected on the project will replace the traditional “handover” stage when, traditionally, huge amounts of data are delivered to the client.

Velocious Australia has added to its portfolio of innovative subsea engineering and remote technology services through the development of a new Mock ROV. Most recently used to test tools for Chevron’s flagship Gorgon project off North West WA, the Mock ROV has the capability to replicate every function an ROV would carry out in a subsea environment to ensure safety and operational integrity. Unlike most industry Mock ROVs, the Velocious Mock ROV has been designed and can be configured to any industry-standard workclass ROV, including the six most widely used ROVs in subsea construction.

Petronet LNG Ltd. is in talks to buy Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Chevron's Gorgon project in Australia. The Indian firm wants to import 2.5 million tonnes a year of LNG from Gorgon from 2010 using a new terminal being built at the southern city of Kochi. Petronet built India's first LNG terminal at Dahej, on the western coast, two years ago to import super-cooled gas from Qatar. If LNG supplies from Gorgon were delayed, Petronet would divert gas from its terminal at Dahej. (Source: The Financial Express)