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Freeport Pushes Texas LNG Export Plant Restart to Year End
Freeport LNG on Friday again delayed the restart of the second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility, pushing start-up plans for its Texas plant to the end of the year, pending regulatory approval.In November, the company said it was on track to restart the plant in mid December and get most LNG production back in January with a return to full service in March.Freeport shut the plant on June 8 after an explosion that energy consultants said was the result of human error…
Nord Stream Probe Finds Evidence of Detonations, Swedish Police Say
A crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Europe found evidence of detonations, strengthening suspicions of "gross sabotage", Sweden's Security Service said on Thursday. Swedish and Danish authorities have been investigating four leaks after the pipelines, which link Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis, were damaged at the start of last week.
US Offshore Oil Output Drops as Hurricane Ian Approaches
U.S. offshore oil producers on Tuesday were keeping a wary eye on Hurricane Ian's track as the powerful storm shut-in at least 480,000 barrels of oil production as it heads toward Florida.The hurricane entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and is forecast to become a dangerous, Category 4 storm over the warm waters of the Gulf, according to National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecaster Eric Blake.Ian weakened after crossing Cuba and was packing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour)…
Gas from Russia's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Leaks into Baltic Sea
The Danish authorities on Monday asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius off the island of Bornholm after a gas leak overnight from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea.The German government said it was in contact with the Danish authorities and working with local law enforcement to find out what caused pressure in the pipeline to plummet suddenly.
Greece's Sole LNG Terminal Ramps Up Imports to Replace Russian Gas
Greece has cut Russian gas imports by more than half this year thanks to increased deliveries from other producers to its sole liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Athens, the country's gas grid operator said on Thursday.Greece has relied on Russia for about 40% of its gas needs for years but it has ramped up LNG purchases from other countries in line with a European Union plan to cut dependence on Russian energy.
Fat Leonard is on the Lam
A Malaysian businessman at the center of a major U.S. Navy bribery scandal has escaped house arrest ahead of his impending sentencing by cutting off his monitoring anklet, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Monday.Leonard Glenn Francis, popularly known as "Fat Leonard," cut off his GPS anklet some time Sunday morning, and when police went to his home they found it empty, the newspaper reported, citing Supervisory Deputy U.S.
Ship Carrying First Ukraine Grain Cargo Docks in Syria
The first ship to depart Ukraine under a deal to resume grain exports from the country two weeks ago docked in the Syrian port city of Tartous on Tuesday, according to a shipping source and satellite data.The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from Ukraine's Odesa port on Aug. 1 under a hard-won grain deal but did not unload in Lebanon as planned. Its location had not been clear in recent days as…
First-ever U.S. Sour Crude Cargo Sails to Germany as Russia Sanctions Bite
A tanker of U.S. sour crude was delivered at Germany's port of Rostock last week for the first time ever, according to sources, analysts and vessel tracking data…
Greece Can Cope With Possible Russian Gas Disruptions Thanks to LNG - Minister
Greece can cope well with potential cuts in Russian gas supply due to the availability of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative, its energy minister said on Monday after a meeting with energy suppliers and grid operators on energy security.The country relied on Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline for 40% of its needs last year. About 70% of its gas imports are used in power generation.Russian…
EU Agrees Gradual Russian Oil Embargo, Gives Hungary Exemptions
European Union leaders have agreed an embargo on Russian oil imports that will start kicking in towards the end of the year and which exempts, for now, pipeline imports that Hungary and two other landlocked Central European states rely on.The toughest sanction yet on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, agreed overnight after weeks of wrangling, aims to remove 90% of Russia's crude imports into the 27-nation bloc by year-end…
Brent Crude Soars to $139 a Barrel as U.S., Europe Mull Russian Oil Import Ban
Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on Monday as the United States and European allies weighed a Russian oil import ban and delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets fuelled supply fears.In the first few minutes of trade Brent crude reached $139.13 and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $130.50, both benchmarks striking their highest levels since July 2008.By 1017 GMT…
Russian Troops Enter Strategic Ukrainian Port of Kherson
Russian troops were in the center of the Ukrainian port of Kherson on Thursday after a day of conflicting claims over whether Moscow had captured a major urban center for the first time in its eight-day invasion.Russia's defense ministry said it had captured Kherson on Wednesday but an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded that Ukrainian forces continued to defend the Black Sea port of about 250…
Brent Crude Tops $112. Tanker Owners "Are Having a Ball"
Oil benchmarks are hitting multiple price and spread milestones across several key markets as the fallout from severe sanctions on key exporter Russia sows confusion and panic among global crude oil traders, shipping firms and importers.The oil industry has been gripped by acute risk aversion in the finance and shipping sectors after several nations including the United States sanctioned multiple Russian entities following Russia's invasion of Ukraine…
Feed to US LNG Export Plants Soars
Supplies to U.S. liquefied natural gas export plants reached near record levels over the weekend as vessels docked for loading at all seven export terminals for the first time, according to Refinitiv.Venture Global received permission on Friday from federal energy regulators to load LNG on the first commissioning vessel at its Calcasieu Pass export plant in Louisiana. The Yiannis tanker will likely be the first vessel to pick up a cargo from the facility…
Europe Remains Top Destination for US LNG
Europe last month remained the top destination for shipments of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to Refinitiv data, outpacing exports to Asia for the second month in a row.About two-thirds of U.S. LNG volumes went to Europe last month, compared to around 61% in December when sky-high European prices and demand drove U.S. LNG exports to a record, Refinitiv data showed.In both months, a lack of supply drove demand and led to cargoes being re-routed from other destinations.
Coast Guard, NTSB Investigating Towboat Bridge Strike
The U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) marine casualty investigators are investigating a barge allision with the Bayou Ramos Bridge near Morgan City and Amelia, Louisiana, on Highway 182. On December 23, 2021, at approximately 3:26 a.m., a towing vessel pushing six barges was traveling southeast along the Avoca Island Cutoff waterway when one of the lead barges in the tow struck the Bayou Ramos Bridge.
Party Cruise Spreads Omicron in Australia
COVID-19 infections have been spreading in pubs and clubs in Australia's biggest city, including three new cases of the Omicron variant found among people who went on a harbor party cruise, sending officials rushing to trace contacts.Authorities have been easing restrictions in Sydney since early October when the city emerged from a nearly four-month lockdown to contain the Delta coronavirus variant…
No Cruise Ship Cheer for Cape Town Amid Omicron Alarm
The docking of the Europa passenger liner in Cape Town on Tuesday was meant to be a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the official start of the cruise ship season in South Africa’s top tourist hub, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.But international travel curbs on southern Africa, where the new Omicron coronavirus here variant was first identified, have blown expectations of a bumper tourist…
Baton Rouge, New Orleans Ports Reopen After Ida, Key Oil Hubs Remain Shut
Most ports along the U.S. Gulf Coast had reopened on Thursday following lengthy closures from Hurricane Ida, which lashed southern Louisiana with 150-mile-per-hour winds that caused extensive infrastructure damage and floods.Two of Louisiana’s main ports, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, reopened late on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. They joined the already functional terminals of Panama City…
World Faces Shortage of Sailors to Crew Commercial Ships, Study Says
There could be a shortage of merchant sailors to crew commercial ships in five years if action is not taken to boost numbers, raising risks for global supply chains, a report said on Wednesday.The shipping industry is already struggling with crewing shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic, a situation that will exacerbate expected labour supply problems over the next few years, according to the…