Mitsubishi Corp News

Japan's industry and land ministries on Wednesday picked three consortia, including one featuring Germany's RWE and its partners, to operate offshore wind farms in the second round of a public auction. They said they would award a fourth wind farm that was part of the tender at a later date.The results of the second major round under a new law to promote wind power were closely watched by energy companies at home and abroad, after the first round was dominated by Mitsubishi Corp.Japan's…

NYK agreed to obtain all the shares of Mitsubishi Ore Transport Co., Ltd. (MOT) from Mitsubishi Corp. (MC), Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (Tokio Marine & Nichido), and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), making MOT its wholly-owned subsidiary.MOT is a joint company of NYK, which owns a 40.28% stake, MC, Tokio Marine & Nichido, and MHI, mainly operating vessel management and ship-owning businesses with 17 ships consisting of bulkers, pure car and truck carriers, and wood-chip carriers.

Shell PLC's LNG Canada export project in British Columbia plans to start building its proposed second phase with natural gas-powered turbines and switch to electricity as more renewable power becomes available, a top executive said, a decision that means the expansion project will initially generate high greenhouse gas emissions.LNG Canada, in which Japan's Mitsubishi Corp owns a 15% stake, is set to be Canada's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. The first phase…

Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) said on Wednesday it had signed a long-term charter contract with the new Russian operator of the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project for LNG carrier Grand Mereya to continue its shipping service.Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in June taking charge of the LNG project, creating a new legal entity to deal with buyers and shareholders. MOL's move comes after Japanese utilities, such as JERA and Tokyo Gas, signed deals with the new Russian operator to maintain long-term deliveries of LNG and Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp were approved by Russia to take a stake in the new operator.

Japanese trading company Mitsubishi Corp said on Wednesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Port of Corpus Christi Authority of the United States to collaborate on large-scale production facility of fuel ammonia in Texas.The move comes as part of Mitsubishi's efforts to create global supply chains of the clean fuel to help Japan's and other Asian countries' attempts to combat climate change, the company's senior vice president, Hiroki Haba, told the International Conference on Fuel Ammonia.Ammonia is used for fertilizer and industrial materials…

Two of the world's biggest fertilizer producers, CF Industries Holdings Inc and Yara International Asa, are seeking to cash in on the green energy transition by reconfiguring ammonia plants in the United States and Norway to produce clean energy to power ships.The consumption of oil for transportation is one of the top contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and fertilizer producers join a growing list of companies adjusting their business models…

It is “pre-COVID ” April of 2018, and 174 member states of IMO adopt a new strategy to reduce greenhouse gases from shipping. The meetings are considered “urgent” and the target is to reduce carbon emissions in half by 2050. Prior to those “targets” shipping dealt with regulations to address SOx and NOx reductions. Most of which have resulted in limited success due to infrastructure problems and a consideration as a temporary fix.The technical world has responded with low sulfur fuels, LNG, and methanol to work towards the target.

Lockdowns to slow the coronavirus pandemic are pummelling gas demand in the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), pushing Asia's spot prices to record lows and forcing some suppliers to start cutting output. Economies worldwide have ground to a halt as virus containment measures have taken their toll, slashing gas demand for power generation, heating, cooking, vehicles and chemical manufacture. The world's biggest LNG markets - Japan, China, South Korea, and India - are all seeing a drop in demand. Asia's spot LNG prices dropped to $1.85 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) last week, the lowest ever, as cargoes have flooded the market. "At prices in the $2/mmBtu range ... some producers are getting close to not recovering cash costs of their operations.

Japanese gas buyers on Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary since the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) arrived in Japan, now the world's biggest importer of the fuel.The arrival of the cargo on Nov. 4, 1969 helped transform Japan's energy system, which had relied on oil, coal and gas from coal in an era of high growth, before nuclear power was developed.But Japan's energy situation is undergoing huge changes in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, which…

Japanese shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and three other compatriot firms have joined hands to establish a new company that will develop and promote zero-emission fully electric vessels.Asahi Tanker Co, a shipping company to transport petroleum, Japan's largest trading company  Mitsubishi Corp, and the shipping & marine supplier  Exeno Yamamizu Corp have joined MOL to set up e5 Lab Inc that will consolidate the technologies, know-how and network of the four major shareholders.e5 Lab will work to develop and promote the greater use of these relatively clean modes of marine transport, MOL said in a press release.There are a number of challenges facing Japan's shipping industry (see below)…

Sempra Energy said on Friday the $10 billion Cameron liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana had shipped its first cargo, making the plant the fourth big LNG export terminal to enter service in the United States.Mitsui & Co Ltd, one of the partners in the Cameron project, chartered the tanker, Marvel Crane, to pick up the commissioning cargo.It was not immediately clear where the vessel was headed.Sempra said commissioning cargos were a critical step in the start-up process. The plant is expected to get federal authorization to enter commercial operations in mid-2019.Natural gas use is growing fast around the world as countries seek to wean their industrial and power sectors off dirtier coal.There are three liquefaction trains at Cameron.

Bangladesh's second liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating facility is set to receive its first ship-to-ship transfer of gas from an Algerian cargo, a spokeswoman from operator Summit LNG Terminal said on Thursday.'Summit LNG', the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), will receive 159,000 cubic meters of LNG from Oman Trading International, with the transfer expected to be completed by Thursday night.The LNG tanker, Creole Spirit, loaded gas from Bethioua, Algeria, she said, adding that a second LNG tanker is expected to arrive on June 3.The FSRU is 75% owned by Summit Corp, a unit of Summit Power International, while its remaining stake is held by Japan's Mitsubishi Corp.The FSRU started to feed gas to Bangladesh's national grid in late April after picking up its commissioning c

Bangladesh will resume liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports this week after resolving issues with its sole floating storage and regasification (FSRU) unit, a senior official said on Monday.Two cargoes, meant to be delivered on Nov. 7 and Nov. 15, had been cancelled as the FSRU was closed due to problems with a hydraulic line that operates an emergency shutdown valve."The problem with the hydraulic line has been resolved now," said Mohammad Quamruzzaman, managing director of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Co…

Bangladesh has put aside two smaller liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects with trading houses Gunvor and Vitol to focus on two larger LNG import terminals, one of which is already in use while the second will start up in March.Bangladesh has turned to LNG to offset falling domestic gas output to feed industrial demand and electricity generation in a nation of 160 million people where a third have no power supply.It aims to import 17 million tonnes a year of LNG by 2025, which in today's terms would make it a top five importer.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp has agreed to take a 25% interest in Summit's Bangladesh LNG import terminal project - which will be the country's second such terminal.The other 75% of the Summit LNG terminal will remain with Summit Corp.Mitsubishi is planning to help in the development of an offshore receiving facility in the country. It will also develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal that uses a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Bangladesh.Under the project, Summit LNG will install an FSRU 6 kilometre off the coast of the island of Moheshkali in the Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh, where it will receive and regasify LNG procured by Petrobangla…

A private firm is looking to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to South Australia starting in 2020, around the same time as two other proposed import projects, looking to fill a supply gap as domestic gas gets sucked into LNG exports.Venice Energy, set up by former BHP Billiton executives, plans to submit a development application to the South Australian government within the next month to park a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Port Adelaide, Managing Director Kym Winter-Dewhirst said.If regulatory approvals come through by March, construction could begin by June 2019, he told Reuters in an interview. The project would be funded partly by Venice's owners…

The advent of industry wide tightening of allowable sulfur emissions is getting nearer. Suddenly, with the deadline now little more than one year away, the countdown clock will very soon be ticking much louder. Simply stated, the cap on allowable sulfur content in marine fuels, presently at 3.5 percent in many geographical regions, will be reduced to 0.5 percent in January 2020. The 0.1 percent sulfur cap, already in effect since 2015 in coastal Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) in Europe and North America…

Oil major BP is targeting shipping 119 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Tangguh project in Indonesia's West Papua province this year, including 22 for the domestic market, a company official said on Wednesday. BP expects to keep the same balance of shipments for export and the domestic market unchanged up to 2020, BP Indonesia country head Dharmawan Samsu told a parliament hearing. After 2020 BP will dedicate roughly one-third of the LNG output from Tangguh to the domestic market, or around 60 cargoes, Samsu said. tonnes of the super-cooled fuel from two LNG trains. An LNG train liquefies natural gas by cooling it to about minus 160 degrees Celsius, which condenses the gas to about 1/600th of its volume for transportation by ship.

Once considered the future of gas production, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) projects have been firmly relegated to the backburner as global gas producers seek cheaper ways to compete with a surge in U.S. shale supplies and slumping prices. FLNG projects - mega tankers fitted with gas extraction and liquefaction facilities - allow producers to tap offshore gas wells and ship LNG without having to build costly pipelines to onshore plants. Owners can move the vessels to new fields when production at an old one ends, slashing asset end-of-life costs.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC has officially shelved its plans to build the Prince Rupert LNG project, which had been planned for Ridley Island in British Columbia. However, it  is still considering the potential of its other West Coast LNG option. Shell acquired the Prince Rupert LNG as part of a portfolio of projects in its takeover of natural gas giant BG Group last year. Shell said it decided to discontinue the project after reviewing how it stacked up against its existing options, but  it continues to actively move forward on the proposed Kitimat, B.C.-based LNG Canada project with its partners. “Acquired as part of the Shell and BG Group combination in 2016…

Harvey closed nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity; helping to push WTI-Brent spread to widest in two years. Some oil traders in Asia are looking to snap up crude cargoes from the United States after Hurricane Harvey closed U.S. refineries, denting local demand and pushing out the price spread between U.S and Atlantic Basin crude benchmarks. Hurricane Harvey barrelled into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast around 10 days ago, closing nearly a quarter of the nation's refining capacity, although some of that is now coming back online. The closures pushed the prompt-month spread between West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent crude to the widest in two years at nearly $6 a barrel last week, prompting Asian traders to hunt for competitively priced U.S crude.

Gazprom said on Friday it had held talks with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. on Friday about cooperation at the Russian gas giant's Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.   The talks, in the Russian city of St Petersburg, were between Gazprom head Alexei Miller and Takehiko Kakiuchi, the president and CEO of Mitsubishi Corp, Gazprom said in a statement.   It said the talks focussed on the planned construction of a third production train at the Sakhalin-2 LNG plant. (Reporting by Christian Lowe; editing by Alexander Smith)

Global LNG imports rose by 20 percent in 2017; new demand emerges across South, Southeast Asia. Soaring gas demand from China, India and Southeast Asia is sucking up an LNG supply glut previously expected to last for years, opening opportunity for new production from East Africa to North America that had been deemed part of the overhang. Trade flows in Eikon show global liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports have risen 40 percent since 2015, to almost 40 billion cubic metres (bcm) a month. Growth accelerated in 2017, with imports up by a fifth, largely due to China, but also South Korea and Japan. Asia's LNG market has been glutted since 2015, following massive development that began in the early 2000s.