India to Import LNG from Australia
India may contract long-term supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Australia if price is comparable to Indian coal which remains the fuel of choice for power generation companies in New Delhi. Power Minister Piyush Goyal, who is currently on a visit to Australia for energy dialogue, conveyed India’s willingness to buy Australian LNG during a roundtable in Brisbane. Goyal stated that additionally, opportunities to control the entire value chain right from gas production, liquefaction, shipping, re-gasification and power generation can be evaluated at the current historic low prices of many of these activities. He also stressed that since coal based power is available in India at less than 5 cents per unit…
Gazprom And Verbundnetz Gas To Stabilize European Supply
Alexey Miller Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee stated, "In cooperation with Verbundnetz Gas we will increase the stability of gas supply to our European consumers in the autumn-winter period." He made the statement at St. Petersburg, which today hosted a meeting between Alexey Miller and Karsten Heuchert, Chairman of the Verbundnetz Gas (VNG) Executive Board. The two parties highly appreciated the current state of the partnership relations between the companies and addressed the cooperation development issues. “Our contract signed over 40 years ago provided the basis for developing new enormous fields in Russia, creating the largest gas transmission system in the world as well as a transportation and distribution system in Germany," Miller said.
EU, Norway Eye Arctic Oil, Gas Deposits
EU and Norway’s energy officials met in Brussels on August 30 to examine ways of strengthening a bilateral energy dialogue launched in 2002. Short-term issues include increasing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) deliveries to Europe as well as the planned opening in October 2006 of the "Britpipe" linking Sleipner in Norway to Easington, UK. By 2015-2020, natural gas deliveries from Norway are expected to grow from 85 billion cubic meters to 120 bcm, EU officials said. However, talks on longer-term exploitation of the expected huge oil and gas reserves in the Arctic will probably attract most attention. The region is believed to hold 25 percent of the earth's hydrocarbons, according to the US Geological Survey.
Iran, India SPA No Longer Valid
Last October, Tehran linked its energy dialogue to India’s nuclear diplomacy asking New Delhi to support Iran in the next meeting of the IAEA board of governors in November. That November meeting saw no vote and now Iran is back to flexing its energy muscle ahead of the crucial IAEA meeting this week, the Indian Express reported. After having signed a Sale Purchase Agreement (SPA) last June to export 5 million tons per annum of LNG to India at a price linked to $31-per barrel crude, the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) told India that the price agreed to in that pact is no longer valid. This despite the fact that Tehran never raised the issue of a price hike even when international crude had touched $68 a barrel last August.
Russian Government to Cancel LNG Export Duties
The Russian government may cancel export duties on liquefied natural gas (LNG) following a request from Gazprom, says an RIA Novosti report. The gas giant plans to build two LNG plants near the giant offshore Shtokman gas field and in East Siberia for export to the U.S. market. The move is being discussed by a government committee and is set to be put to Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov for approval. Both Russia and the U.S. view LNG as the centerpiece of their energy dialogue. U.S. imports of LNG are forecast to increase 10-fold by 2025 and Gazprom is clearly positioned to play a major supplier role. The Shtokman shelf holds an estimated…
