Gorgon Project News

India, grappling with its worst power crisis in five years, has asked Qatar to expedite delivery of 58 delayed liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes, two sources familiar with the matter said.Asia's third largest economy is suffering its worst power shortage since March 2016 due to a crippling coal shortage amid high global energy prices.Infrastructure maintenance at supplier Qatargas prevented it from delivering 50 LNG cargoes to India this year, the sources said, prompting India's…

The state of Western Australia has ordered an inquiry into a delay in burying carbon dioxide emissions at Chevron Corp's Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which could lead to a change in conditions on the project.The state approved the $54-billion Gorgon project in 2009 on the condition that at least 80 percent of carbon dioxide released in its gas processing operations over a five-year rolling average period would be buried."It has become apparent there needs to be a clearly defined start point for the commencement of the five-year rolling average…

Chevron Corp will proceed with the second stage of its giant Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant off the northwest coast of Western Australia, the company said on Saturday.Chevron and its joint venture partners plan to sink 11 new wells in the Gorgon and Jansz-Io fields and build offshore pipelines and subsea structures to pipe the gas to the nearby 15.6 million tonne a year LNG plant on Barrow Island.The $54 billion Gorgon project came on stream in March 2016 but suffered numerous unplanned shutdowns in its early stages.Chevron declined to put a cost on stage two of the project…

A contract to upgrade the ‘nerve center’ for shipping at the Barrow Island port proves the resources sector is continuing to fuel big opportunities for Australian firms. Australian Maritime Systems Group (AMSG) has been awarded a contract by Chevron Australia to design and install a new Vessel Tracking Service (VTS) system to manage shipping to and from the Chevron-operated Gorgon Project on Barrow Island, 60km off the north-west coast of Western Australia. AMSG Managing Director John Sugarman said the new Vessel Tracking System will utilize state-of-the-art radar and software systems.

Asian spot LNG prices fell this week on poor demand from major gas-consuming regions despite a slew of new purchase tenders. The May spot LNG contract fell by $0.25 cents to $5.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), with new production coming on stream in Australia and the United States. Analysts and traders mainly blamed low demand for driving prices lower. In the Middle East, Abu Dhabi was staying on the sidelines of the market and new solar power capacity in Dubai was eroding gas demand there.

India is trying to renegotiate LNG deal with Australia and looking at lowering the price of liquefied natural gas it plans to buy from the Gorgon project, says a report form PTI. According to sources, when LNG deals are being done at 12 per cent or 12.5 per cent indexation, the Gorgon deal is certainly on the higher side. Hence the Oil Ministry instructed Petronet LNG, a private firm whose chairman is the oil secretary of India, to rework the price. Petronet had in August 2009 signed a 20-year deal to buy 1.44 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a price equivalent of 14.5 per cent of the prevailing oil rates. The indexation agreed was one of the highest in the world…

Chevron has begun to restart its Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Australia following its unplanned shutdown in April, the U.S. energy major said on Wednesday. "We confirm start-up activities are underway on Gorgon train one with a plan to safely resume production in the coming weeks," a Chevron spokesman told Reuters. The $54 billion Gorgon project shut down in April following technical problems, only shortly after starting up first production.   Reporting by Henning Gloystein

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced that its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gorgon Project has departed Barrow Island off the northwest coast of Western Australia. The cargo will be delivered to one of Chevron's foundation buyers, Chubu Electric Power, for delivery into Japan. The Asia Excellence loading the first Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo for delivery into Japan. The first cargo highlights the company's growing leadership as an LNG supplier. "Departure of the first cargo from the Gorgon Project is a key milestone in our commitment to be a reliable LNG provider for customers across the Asia-Pacific region," said Mike Wirth, executive vice president, Chevron Midstream and Development.

The first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Australian Chevron's monster $55 billion Gorgon Project has departed Barrow Island yesterday aboard the 2015-built LNG carrier Asia Excellence, US-based energy giant Chevron Corporation said. Chubu Electric Power, one of Chevron's foundation buyers for Gorgon LNG, will receive the cargo. Chevron, which started producing the fuel on Barrow Island earlier this month, had expected to make the first shipment last week. “Departure of the first cargo from the Gorgon Project is a key milestone in our commitment to be a reliable LNG provider for customers across the Asia-Pacific region,” said Chevron executive VP for midstream and development Mike Wirth.

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 liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices extended losses for a third week, as weak demand gave little support, with more supply beginning to flow from the United States and Australia. LNG prices for April delivery in Asia eased to $4.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down 30 cents from the previous week. Gail India's purchase tender for three cargoes spread across March and April closed with the April cargo fetching a price in the mid-$4 per mmBtu range, traders said. Four cargoes offered by Indonesia's Bontang liquefaction plant will go to trading house Vitol, two international oil companies and possibly a Japanese player pending government approvals, several industry sources said. Argentina's state-run LNG buyer YPF is expected to tender for supply in coming weeks.

Asia Vision LNG tanker docks at Cheniere's export terminal. A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker on Sunday docked at the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, with only days to go before the United States ships its first export cargo of seaborne gas from the lower 48 states. U.S. exports will add to a wave of supply coming from Australian projects at a time when demand falters in major consuming countries and prices have plummeted in line with oil. Expected to become an importer of LNG until just a few years ago, the shale gas revolution in the United States that unlocked cheap, abundant supplies has wreaked havoc on global gas markets as LNG meant for the country was redirected around the world.

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.

Hyundai Heavy Industries  has temporarily shut one of its two factories making offshore oil rigs -  Onsan plant in South Korea - due to downturn in the global oil and gas industry. The closure Onsan underscores the dire state of the country’s big shipbuilders as dearth of orders as the crude price rout forces international oil companies to cut spending. “Our ongoing projects will complete in March. From then we do not have a further order to work on, and the operation will stop until we get a new one,” a company spokesman told local media. But Korean Times quotes a HHI spokesman saying: "The plant will complete its last order in late March, and then it has no more orders to work on ... So, we decided to utilize the facility for other purposes.

Energy giant Chevron has signed a preliminary agreement with China's ENN LNG Trading company to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its $54 billion Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia. Chevron plans to supply a unit of ENN Energy Holdings Ltd. with as much as 500,000 metric tons of LNG a year from Australia's largest gas project, Gorgon. It follows Chevron’s initial agreement in late December to sell as much as 1 million tons of LNG a year to China Huadian Green Energy Co. US-listed Chevron said that once the deal is finalised it expects to supply ENN with up to half a million tonnes of LNG per annum over 10 years. "When the deal is finalized…

Chevron Corporation announced that its Australian subsidiaries have signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement (HoA) with ENN LNG Trading Company Limited (ENN) for the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China from the Chevron-operated Gorgon natural gas project in Australia. When the deal is finalized, ENN is expected to receive up to 0.5 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG over 10 years, with deliveries starting in 2018 or the first half of 2019. “This is one more step in the development of our Australian gas business and our global LNG portfolio…

Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices were steady this week amid limited trading activity. The price of Asian spot cargoes for February delivery was pegged at $6.90 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), in line with the previous week. Traders eyed developments in Nigeria where Eni has declared force majeure on loadings from the country's LNG export plant due to pipeline sabotage. All other suppliers continued to ship, although traders said the pace of loadings had slowed. "There's a slight backlog of vessels, they're not loading as quickly as they normally would," said a trader. Nigeria LNG's export plant at Bonny Island can produce 22 million metric tonnes of liquefied gas a year and has long-term supply contracts with buyers in Italy, Spain, Turkey, Portugal and France.

Chevron Corporation's wholly-owned subsidiary, Chevron U.S.A. Inc., has today signed a non-binding liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply Heads of Agreement (HOA) with China Huadian Green Energy Co., Ltd. When the agreement is finalized, China Huadian Green Energy is expected to receive up to 1 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG over 10 years starting in 2020. "This is an important step in the commercialization of Chevron's natural gas holdings in Australia and the establishment of our global liquefied natural gas portfolio," said Pierre Breber, executive vice president, Chevron Gas and Midstream. "We welcome the opportunity to…

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.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced that the naming ceremony for a newbuilding LNG carrier for Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. was held at the Nagasaki Shipyard of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. The vessel was ordered by MOL and Osaka Gas International Transport, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Osaka Gas, and built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Guests from MOL, Osaka Gas, MHI, and other organizations were on hand as Osaka Gas President Takehiro Honjo named the vessel the LNG Mars, and his wife cut the rope. The vessel is co-owned by MOL and Osaka Gas International Transport, and will serve a wide variety of projects including Osaka Gas' Gorgon Project.

Chevron Corporation today announced its Australian subsidiaries have signed a binding Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with SK LNG Trading Pte Ltd (SK). Under the SPA, SK LNG Trading, which is part of a leading industrial conglomerate in South Korea, will receive 4.15 million tons of LNG over a five-year period starting in 2017. During the time of this agreement, over 75 percent of Chevron’s equity LNG from Gorgon will be committed to customers in Asia. “This agreement is an important step in the commercialization of Chevron’s significant natural gas holdings in Australia,” said Pierre Breber, president, Chevron Gas and Midstream.

Shell has signed an agreement with the U.K. Government to progress the Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project to the next phase of design. The project, led by Shell, with strategic support from SSE, owners of the Peterhead gas power station in Aberdeenshire, aims to capture10 million metric tons of CO2 over 10 years. This will generate enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of 500,000 homes a year. If successful, the project will represent the first industrial-scale application of CCS technology at a gas power station anywhere in the world.

Handling systems specialist, Caley Ocean Systems has been awarded a contract by Subsea 7 to design, manufacture and supply a deepwater lowering system (DLS). The DLS will initially be deployed by Subsea 7 on the Chevron-operated Gorgon project, located off the northwest coast of Western Australia, to lower subsea structures weighing up to 950Te in water depths in excess of 1,300m. The DLS comprises two double drum traction and storage winches and fully redundant controls, all mounted on an integrated grillage structure for rapid mobilization onto the pipelay and heavy lift vessel Sapura 3000.