Pipeline Network News

The first vessel carrying LNG for Germany's Baltic Sea terminal of Mukran arrived on Saturday for a test operation as the country steps up its quest to replace Russian pipeline gas.Private company Deutsche ReGas said that Energos Power, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), had moored at the terminal on Ruegen Island, having received approval from local authorities.Germany has intensified its quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores, as European countries seek to reduce their heavy reliance on Russian gas following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.The tests will

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods on Saturday rejected the International Energy Agency's recent claim that using wide-scale carbon capture to fight climate change was an implausible "illusion", saying the same could be said about electric vehicles and solar energy."There is no solution set out there today that is at the scale to solve the problem," Woods told Reuters on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai."So, you could say that about carbon capture today, you could say that about electric vehicles, about wind, about solar.

The path to decarbonization is defined by partnership and fueled by government funding. This month we examine the players, partnerships, and evolution of Hydrogen Hubs in the Gulf of Mexico.The Green Shipping Challenge, organized by the United States and Norway at COP 27 held in late 2022, brought about dozens of announcements on maritime decarbonization. Among these was a joint statement from the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition (BSMC) – a consortium of North American shipowners and…

Norway has deployed a specialist vessel to inspect a subsea gas pipeline to Germany because of safety concerns after suspected sabotage last month on two Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany, according to sources and data.Norway, Europe's largest gas supplier, last week put its energy sector on high alert, deploying its navy and air force to patrol offshore facilities and placing soldiers at onshore gas processing plants after the Sept. 26 Nord Stream blasts.The Havila Subsea, an oil service vessel equipped with remotely operated subsea vehicles, was deployed on Oct. 5 to survey the Europipe II pipeline that runs from the Kaarstoe gas plant in Norway to Dornum in Germany, Refinitiv vessel-tracking data shows.

Avenir LNG Limited announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Oxelösunds Hamn AB for the development and construction of an LNG/BioLNG Terminal in the Port of Oxelösund, Sweden.As part of the agreement, Avenir intends to acquire 100% of the shares in OXGAS AB, the dedicated project company for the terminal which is currently owned by Oxelösunds Hamn AB.OXGAS AB has secured all environmental and construction permits required to build the LNG/BioLNG Terminal in the Port…

Portugal's Sines port is ready to start onward shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which arrives in large tankers and will be transferred to smaller vessels to head to other European states, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.He said a government feasibility study concluded that "with the existing infrastructure and simultaneous operations, Sines could transfer to central and northern Europe up to 10 billion cubic meters (353 billion cu ft) of LNG annually" within six to 12 months.That amount…

German oil and gas firm Wintershall Dea, one of the five co-funders of Nord Stream 2, on Wednesday said it is writing off its 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) financing in the gas pipeline that was suspended last week.The management board of Wintershall Dea said on Wednesday it would no longer be advancing or implementing further projects in Russia and would be stopping payments to Russia immediately.The company, co-owned by BASF and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investor group LetterOne, said it would remain involved in the existing Yuzhno Russkoye and Achimov natural gas production pr

Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Thursday its management had approved investments worth 1.76 trillion roubles ($24 billion) for 2022, up from initial plans of 902 billion roubles for 2021, to fund new production and refining hubs.Gazprom is developing new gas production deposits, including in the Arctic Yamal peninsula, which the government claims holds more than a fifth of global gas reserves.The company said its other priority projects for funding are the Power of Siberia pipeline to China, as well as gas processing plants and the maintenance of its existing pipeline network.Gazprom said ca

Hurricane Ida pummeled U.S. Gulf Coast energy suppliers, knocking out most of the region's offshore wells and nearly half its motor fuel production and drove prices broadly higher.The storm crashed on Sunday into the Louisiana coast, tearing through U.S. offshore oil and gas fields with 150 mile per hour (241 kph) winds and pushing up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) of water ashore. More than 620,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana were without power.Production losses - including at six Gulf Coast refineries - will lift retail gasoline prices by 5 to 10 cents a gallon, said tracking firm GasBuddy.

The Biden administration granted oil refiner Citgo Petroleum a maritime shipping waiver allowing it to move fuel between U.S. ports on a foreign flagged vessel, two sources told Reuters on Friday, making it the second company to secure one this week.The waivers are intended to help ease distribution of fuel after a major pipeline serving the U.S. East Coast was forced shut by a cyberattack last week, triggering widespread shortages of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.The Department of Homeland Security had announced the second waiver on Friday…

U.S. refiner Valero Energy Corp was granted a Jones Act waiver, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, after a cyberattack shut the Colonial Pipeline late last week, creating a fuel crunch in several parts of the U.S. Southeast and Northeast.Jones Act waivers are a key way to ensure fuel supplies reach some of the hardest hit areas as pump prices continue to surge while Colonial begins to ramp up flows on its pipeline network that transports more than 2.5 million barrels of fuel every day.The Jones Act requires goods moved between U.S.

Efforts to get fuel supplies to areas in the United States facing shortages have been slowed because shipowners have mothballed U.S.-flagged oil tankers that can make coastal voyages, shipping sources said on Wednesday.The shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline network to thwart a cyber attack has disrupted nearly half the East Coast's fuel supply and left parts of the southeast facing a severe shortage of gasoline and diesel. Colonial said it began to restart on Wednesday but warned it would take several days for fuel supply chain to return to normal.Pump prices have risen to a seven-year high as motorists rush to fill their tanks.One way…

The U.S. government relaxed a long-standing maritime law protecting domestic shipping commerce to allow an undisclosed company to transport gasoline and diesel to ports in the East Coast after a cyberattack crippled the nation's largest fuel pipeline network.The Jones Act, implemented in 1920, requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S. crews. The waiver will allow foreign vessels to ship petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel to the country from the Gulf Coast to U.S.

U.S. refiners booked at least four tankers to store refined oil products off the Gulf Coast following a cyber attacks that crippled the biggest U.S. pipeline, shipping data showed on Tuesday.The attack on the Colonial pipeline network, which supplies half of the fuel consumed along the East Coast, has forced Gulf Coast refineries to scale back operations due to lack of storage space.The tankers, booked by Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, Phillips 66 and PBF Energy, can hold around 350,000 tonnes of fuel.

Traders provisionally booked at least six tankers to ship gasoline from Europe to U.S. destinations following a cyber attack that shut the United States' top fuel pipeline network, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday.The attack forced the Colonial Pipeline to shut down its entire system on Friday, stoking expectations of gasoline shortages along the U.S. East Coast.Some smaller lines were restarted Sunday, but Colonial has given no timeline for the restart of its main pipelines.Two…

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…

India's state-run natural gas firm GAIL (India) Ltd has hired a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier on short-term charter from Japan's shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).MOL, the world’s largest operator of LNG carriers, in its press release, did not disclose further details of the charter deal, including the duration of the contract, the name of the ship and the day rate.GAIL is the largest natural gas Company of India with approx. 11,400 Km of cross country existing trunk pipeline network and another 4,000 Km pipelines in advance stage of completion. GAIL is ranked no. 1 gas pipeline company in India and among the top gas utilities in Asia.GAIL currently holds a LNG / RLNG portfolio of about 14 MTPA from various long and short-term contracts.

Bahrain expected to start LNG imports early this year; FSU on 20-year time charter to Bahrain LNG arrives in the GulfBahrain's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating unit arrived in the Gulf this week as the country gets ready for its maiden imports of the super-chilled fuel this year, data from Refinitiv Eikon showed.Bahrain Spirit, a floating storage unit (FSU) with a capacity of about 173,000 cubic meters, is currently anchored in Fujairah after docking in the United Arab Emirates region on Jan. 13, the data showed.The FSU is on a 20-year charter to Bahrain LNG, who is the developer of a wider receiving and regasification terminal within the Khalifa bin Salman Port facility…

Excelerate Energy and Transportadora de Gas del Sur (TGS) have provisionally agreed to jointly assess the viability of an LNG liquefaction and export project at Bahia Blanca in Argentina.Argentina currently imports liquefied natural gas (LNG) through two floating import terminals, particularly during the country's peak winter consumption.The successful development of Argentina's shale gas reserves resulted in a potential excess of natural gas during the summer months. The project aims at studying the technical and commercial viability of liquefying and exporting natural gas during the summer season, allowing a more sustainable development of shale gas resources and reducing Argentina's annual natural gas net import needs.The study is expected to be completed by the end of 2018…

FortisBC Energy Inc will export Canadian LNG produced by its small-scale LNG terminal in British Columbia to China starting in 2021.The Canadian natural gas utility, which has operated its Tilbury LNG plant since 1971, said in a press release that it has signed a two-year contract to ship 53,000 tonnes per year of super-cooled gas by the summer of 2021 to Chinese LNG distributor Top Speed Energy Corp.According to the agreement about 60 ISO containers (standard-sized shipping containers) a week shipped from Tilbury to China.“This is the first agreement of its kind that will see Canadian LNG shipped regularly to China,” said FortisBC vice-president of market development and external relations, Douglas Stout.

The United States has nearly tripled its natural-gas exports to the European Union (EU) since July and signed new licenses seeking to establish American energy as an EU mainstay. US exports of LNG surged following a meeting between Donald Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker in July 2018.In their Joint Statement of 25 July 2018 in Washington D.C., President Juncker and President Trump agreed to strengthen EU-U.S. strategic cooperation with respect to energy. They came in particular to an understanding on the benefits of expanded exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the EU gas market.Since the first cargo in April 2016 U.S. LNG exports…

Adriatic LNG, the company which operates the regasification terminal located off the Veneto coastline, announces the arrival of the 600th carrier, the Al Jassasiya. The carrier left Ras Laffan Port in Qatar, delivering a cargo of about 140,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG), equivalent to nearly 85 million cubic meters of gas. The event was celebrated on the terminal with a brief ceremony that involved the vessel's personnel and Adriatic LNG's staff, including the Operations Manager Fabian Erle, who delivered a recognition to Georgios Pissaris, the Captain of the Al Jassasiya. Adriatic LNG's Commercial Manager, Corrado Papa commented: "Once again our regasification terminal confirmed its strategic role for the national and European energy supply system.

Antwerp Port Authority is to acquire Nationale Maatschappij der Pijpleidingen (NMP) from its current shareholders Ackermans & van Haaren and Electrabel. With the takeover Antwerp Port Authority will gain ownership and control of 720 km of pipelines, 90% of which serve the chemical and petrochemical companies in the port of Antwerp and its hinterland. The Port Authority is paying 44 million euros for the NMP shares. “Pipelines are the ideal mode of transport for the chemical industry and oil refining,” explains Port Authority CEO Jacques Vandermeiren. “By giving them access to a pipeline network that is open to all users we gain on at least two fronts: we help to reinforce the presence in the port of this sector which is so important for the economy of Belgian and Flanders…