Gas Hub News

A new report shows that deliveries to exploration, operation and modification of Equinor-operated fields and onshore plants in Norway exceeded 93 billion NOK in 2022, an increase of approximately 13% from the previous year.The report was presented at Equinor’s autumn conference by the company’s executive vice president for Exploration and Production Norway (EPN), Kjetil Hove, together with the five trade unions in Equinor: Industri Energi, SAFE, the Norwegian union of managers and executives (Lederne), NITO and Tekna.“Our activities create substantial national and local ripple effects.

Poland's Orlen has signed a contract with state-owned pipeline operator Gaz-System for the regasification of up to 58 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes per year at a planned floating gas terminal, the energy company said on Friday.Poland has turned to seaborne LNG as well as gas piped from Norway via Denmark and the Baltic Sea to replace supply from Russia.The planned terminal is to be built on the Baltic Sea near Gdansk by the end of 2027 with an initial regasification capacity…

Damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe was caused by powerful explosions, Danish police said on Tuesday, echoing earlier findings into leaks that erupted in the network under the Baltic Sea and that have been blamed on sabotage.In what a Swedish newspaper described as the first publicly released footage of damage to the system, film from a private drone appeared to show a gaping rupture in one pipe. Expressen reported a 50-meter section missing from one area of pipeline.Dwindling flows of gas from Russia…

Russia needs permission for its vessels to conduct investigations into explosions that damaged Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday. He did not specify who should grant the permission, but Nord Stream AG, the operator of the older Nord Stream 1 pipeline, said last week that the owner of a survey vessel it chartered did not have the greenlight from the Norwegian foreign ministry to depart and start assessing ruptures to the pipelines."The whole question is in the access for our vessels…

The Biden administration on Wednesday said it had identified 700,000 acres for possible offshore wind energy development in the Gulf of Mexico, seeking to expand a growing clean energy industry to a major U.S. oil and gas hub.It also said President Joe Biden would direct his Interior Department to move ahead with offshore wind development in areas of the Atlantic coast where former President Donald Trump banned oil and gas development."Today we open up yet another coast and frontier in expanding offshore wind…

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices jumped this week on fears of possible Russian supply disruptions to Japan and on rising demand due to a heatwave and concerns over the return of the Nord Stream pipeline after its planned 10-day maintenance.The average LNG price for August delivery into north-east Asia was estimated at $41 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up $2, or 5.1%, from the previous week, industry sources said.This is the highest level seen in four…

A rapid startup of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany could help calm record-high gas prices in Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, as Moscow awaits for regulatory clearance for gas flows to begin.Russia announced last week that it had completed construction of the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 to Germany, doubling its gas exporting capacity via the Baltic Sea. However, the start of gas flows via the route needs the approval of Germany's regulator…

A private dive team will try to locate the source of a suspected oil spill spotted in the Bay Marchand area of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, after Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc in the region this week, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday.U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite images, first reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday, showed a miles-long brownish-black slick spreading in coastal waters about two miles off Port Fourchon, Louisiana, an oil…

Bulgartransgaz, the operator of the national natural gas transmission network of Bulgaria, has officially taken a 20% share in Greek company Gastrade that is developing an LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) offshore Alexandroupolis. The agreement for Bulgartransgaz to take a 20 percent stake in Gastrade was signed back in August 2020. Following the approval granted by the Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition, the transaction became effective on Thursday, January 28.

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Gibbs & Cox announced it is expanding its services into Houston with the aim to generate revenue in non-naval markets, develop and sell new products and/or services to non-traditional clients and contribute to existing programs."Over the last several months, we have hired a number of staff from the Houston area and expect this trend to continue as we continue to grow with our recent contract wins," Gibbs & Cox said in a statement on Monday.In the near term…

India’s new deepwater gas production could be under pressure from low spot LNG prices, says Wood Mackenzie.Deepwater is expected to drive India’s gas production growth, adding over 1 billion cubic foot per day (bcfd) of new supply by 2023. However, only 15% or 200 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of this supply has been contracted to date. With market demand impacted by Covid-19, and low spot LNG prices expected to persist at least until 2022, the full commercialization of these…

Buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are expected to cancel 40 to 45 cargoes for August loading from the United States due to a slow recovery in Asian gas demand and record-high European gas stocks, market sources said on Monday.The exact number of cancellations is yet to be confirmed as the deadline of some projects is on Monday, but six of the sources said they expected the number of August cancellations to be close to 40 to 45 cargoes, the same number that was canceled for July loading.That followed at least 20 to 30 U.S.

South Africa's transport workers union Satawu threatened a "total shutdown" at major ports across the country from Thursday after issuing a 48-hour strike notice for mariners over a payment dispute, the union said on Tuesday.The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) called the strike after negotiations with management became deadlocked over salary discrepancies between black and white mariners, with what it says are white mariners drawing higher salaries than their black counterparts, even when less experienced.The union said striking workers included pilots who bring ships into port, tug masters who assist pilots…

U.S. LNG to Europe may squeeze out smaller gas suppliers.Shipments of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) have gathered pace in March and Europe is set to stay a top destination for spot cargoes with Asian prices still too low to ship the chilled fuel that far.But winter demand for gas is fading, while steady supplies of gas and LNG have kept inventories well stocked, depressing European gas hub prices. This has raised the question: how many more cargoes can Europe absorb?Suppliers of U.S.

Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot prices jumped this week in reaction to volatile price spikes on European gas markets and ongoing demand from the region's major consumers. Spot prices for January delivery hit $10.50 per mmBtu, 40 cents above last week, with February prices seeing similar levels. In a tumultuous week, European gas prices gyrated wildly following a flurry of major pipeline and production outages coinciding with high demand and freezing weather. The rally began…

Maersk Oil has announced that the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC) has approved an investment of approximately 21bn DKK in the full redevelopment of the Tyra gas field. The announcement follows the Danish Parliament’s approval to implement legislation to secure the investment. The redevelopment of Tyra ensures continued production from Denmark’s largest gas field, and will protect and rejuvenate important Danish North Sea infrastructure. Today’s announcement represents the largest oil and gas project investment ever made in the Danish North Sea, enabling Tyra to continue operations for at least 25 years. At peak production, the redeveloped Tyra gas field will provide enough gas to supply 1.5 million Danish homes…

Italian gas group Snam is in exclusive talks with EDF's Italian unit Edison to buy a stake in a liquefied natural gas terminal in northern Italy as part of plans to develop its LNG business, two sources said. Snam, controlled by state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, is looking to buy Edison's 7.3 percent stake in Terminale LNG Adriatico and the gas pipeline that connects it to Italy's gas transmission backbone, the sources said. Adriatic LNG, which has a capacity of 8 billion cubic metres per year, is 70.7 percent owned by ExxonMobil and 22 percent by Qatar Petroleum.

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.

French terminal operator Elengy said on Thursday that it had received delivery of a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its Fos terminal on Wednesday, and expected to receive six more deliveries in February.   Elengy said it was the third cargo it had received in the month of January.   The delivery could ease supply pressure in southern France where prices hit record highs last week and the spread with prices in the north widened further due to tight supply following a force majeure in Algeria.   French southern gas hub contract was at 40.200 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) on Thursday, down 0.62 percent, sharply lower from its Friday high of 45 euros/MWh.   The price in the north was up 3.29 percent to 19.625 euros/MWh.   (Reporting by Bate Felix, editing by Gus Trompiz)

The emergence of US liquefied natural gas as a competitive alternative for European and Asian customers, combined with an oversupplied market, should drive more convergence between natural gas prices at major hubs and weaken the link between gas and oil prices, Fitch Ratings says. The first shipment of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass facility to Europe arrived in Portugal at the end of April. It is unclear how many more shipments will arrive in Europe in the near term…

Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), a leading Classification Society, today announced it has opened offices in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the second office location for IRClass in the Middle East, following Dubai, and reflects the society’s strong commitment to the region. It also represents the latest stage of IRClass’ strategic expansion in key global territories. “Oil & Gas is an important growth area for IRClass and Abu Dhabi is therefore a pivotal market location,” said Mr. C. Sriramamurthy, Chief Operating Officer at IRClass. “This new office will enable our close proximity to customers and ability to better service the needs of the offshore as well as onshore sectors.

Gas seen as key to help resolve power crisis; gas could be sourced from Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique. South Africa could build its first 20 billion rand ($1.4 billion) liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility at the west coast port of Saldanha Bay to feed gas-to-power projects aimed at easing chronic supply shortages, an official said on Tuesday. Importing LNG is among the options Africa's most developed economy is considering to diversify its energy sources away from coal and ease power shortfalls that have curbed growth. Several companies, including Shell, Mitsubishi and Sasol, are expected to bid for 3,126 megawatt (MW) gas-to-power projects in the first quarter of 2016, when exact details will become known.

Singapore looks to pull ahead in the race to become Asia’s main gas hub by establishing a domestic gas trading market. Rising liquefied natural gas (LNG)  supply and demand within Asia has prompted Singapore to to become a centre for energy trading. Singapore, already a global oil trading hub, is aiming to take advantage  from increasing numbers of buyers especially in China, but also India and other parts of Asia. Announcing the decicion, Singapore’s trade and industry minister S Iswaran said creating a domestic gas market would “allow domestic gas price discovery that reflects Singapore’s demand and supply conditions”. Forecasts suggest that Asia will buy two-thirds of the world’s LNG this year.