Gas Terminals News

The European Union wants to hold joint naval exercises as part of plans to step up its efforts to protect critical infrastructure at sea, the EU environment policy chief said.Concerns about security threats to Europe's maritime infrastructure were heightened by attacks in September on the Nord Stream pipelines, which left them spewing natural gas into the Baltic Sea.The EU is set to publish an updated maritime security strategy on Friday, outlining plans to hold an annual EU naval exercise and coordinate countries' national efforts to protect gas pipelines…

Germany, racing to end its reliance on Russian gas, plans to introduce new regulation that will make it possible to expropriate property to link offshore liquid natural gas terminals to the grid, Handeslblatt reported. The new law could make it possible to use parts of Gazprom's defunct Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, to link a terminal to the shore.The newspaper said a draft law due to be agreed by the government on Wednesday would make it possible to expropriate "movable objects" when necessary "to build natural gas pipelines or linked infrastructure".Until earlier this year…

A third gas pipeline between Spain and France would cost at least 3 billion euros ($3 billion) and take years to complete, making it a less attractive option to address Europe's supply worries than new terminals to receive fuel by boat, France's energy transition ministry said.The European Union is bracing for any further fall in gas flows from Russia, which had been the 27-nation bloc's biggest supplier before it invaded its neighbour Ukraine in February and trade was disrupted.German…

Dutch dredging and marine services firm Boskalis on Thursday slightly raised its 2022 profit outlook after a half-year earnings beat, as the West seeks to replace Russian gas with other energy sources.The group, which offers marine services and contracting for the oil and gas sector and offshore wind industry, reported core profit (EBITDA) of 292 million euros ($297 million) in the first six months of the year, against analysts' average estimate of 279 million euros. Russia's…

Allseas' giant heavy lift vessel Pioneering Spirit will remove the DP3 and DP4 platforms in Morecambe Bay off the U.K. for independent oil and gas operator Spirit Energy.The two normally unmanned installations used to produce gas as part of Spirit Energy’s complex of eight installations in Morecambe Bay. As the field has matured, the reserves the platforms previously tapped into have been produced by the larger, manned Central Morecambe platform nearby.The 12 wells that were connected…

Berlin offered to spend 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to build two liquid natural gas terminals in a bid to dissuade the United States from imposing sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, due to bring gas directly from Russia to Germany, Die Zeit reported on Wednesday.The weekly paper said Finance Minister Olaf Scholz made the proposal in an Aug. 7 letter before Washington imposed sanctions on companies involved in building the Baltic Sea pipeline, effectively freezing its…

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (BV) has issued the first approval in principle for a new cold energy ‘Cryo-Powered’ regas system for use in FSRU applications.The approval has been issued to both Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd (DSME). The ‘Cryo-Powered Regas’ system is a cold power generation technology based on the Organic Rankine Cycle - a proven technology used in multiple onshore LNG terminals for decades.This will be the first time the system has been developed for use in a floating terminal.

Lithuania's liquefied natural gas (LNG)  terminal Klaipėdos Nafta (KN) said that its terminal capacities are now fully booked for the rest of the Gas Year, following the favorable situation in the international gas markets that has been determining the highest operative efficiency of the LNG terminal since the launch of its activities.The Gas Year is calculated from 1 October of the current year until 30 September of the following year.According to a press note from the operator of the Klaipėda Oil Terminal based in Klaipėda, Lithuania, in April, about 1.48 TWh of gas were regasified in the LNG terminal (28.3% more than the amount of gas regasified in the same period last year)…

Dutch oil and chemicals storage company Royal Vopak has agreed to sell three terminals - Algeciras, Amsterdam and Hamburg - to First State Investments for 723 million euros ($812 million)."This divestment follows the strategic review of these terminals as announced on 17 August 2018. The transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions and is expected to complete in the second half year of 2019. The combined operational capacity of the three terminals is 2,288,000 cbm," said a press release from the company.The total agreed transaction value of EUR 723 million includes a contingent consideration of EUR 15 million, which is subject to certain revenue conditions.

Bureau Veritas has issued new and updated notations and guidance to support the construction and operation of both Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) and Floating Storage Units (FSUs).Interest in FSRUs and FSUs is growing as floating gas terminals offer operational flexibility, reduced timescales, from concept to operation, and cost effectiveness in comparison with onshore terminals. Additionally, converting existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers offers a fast route to operational availability.

The following table lists liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes set to be loaded on tankers for onward export.Spain is Europe's most diversified gas importer and has the continent's biggest LNG import capacity spread across its six terminals, sourcing LNG from Qatar, Nigeria, Trinidad, Algeria and other producers.Imported cargoes are stored in tanks located at terminals, where the LNG can either be regasified and pumped into the local grid or loaded on to new tankers for export.PortLoading window dateVolume (in cubic meters)TankerBBGJuly 11-1395,000UnknownBarcelonaJuly 13-15159,000UnknownBarcelo

Turkish shipbuilder Uzmar Shipyard has inked a deal with Saam Smit Canada Inc. (SST Canada), a joint venture partnership between Boskalis of the Netherlands and Saam S.A of Chile, for the construction of a new escort tug for operations in British Columbia, Canada. Designer Robert Allan Ltd. said the state-of-the-art RAstar 3200-W tug will be capable of safely performing all ship-handling roles, including berthing, unberthing and escort duties, including in heavier weather conditions.

Italy's ENI and U.S. oil and gas firm Anadarko signed agreements with the Mozambique government on Thursday to build two liquefied natural gas terminals in the southern African country. The terminals will be built in Cabo Delgado province, where Mozambique has made massive gas discoveries that could transform it from a poor African country into a major energy supplier to Asia. The agreements were signed by Mozambique's energy minister Letícia Klemens and the regional heads of ENI and Anadarko, a Texas-based oil producer. The two companies will separately build their own terminals, Klemens told a press conference. She declined to give the size of the investments.

In early June, after a traditional blessing ceremony held in Valparaiso, Chile where SAAM S.A. is based, the company officially puts two more new Robert Allan Ltd. designed RAstar 3200 class tugs Yunco and Huairavo tugs into operation. Representatives of local authorities, the Chilean Navy, key customers, suppliers, executives and staff of SAAM attended the ceremony. SAAM identified these tugs as the ‘most powerful’ harbour tugs in the entire West Coast of South America. The two tugs arrived in Chile after a 60 day crossing of the Pacific from China where they were constructed by Bonny Fair Development Limited. Equipped with winches for escort service, the two tugs will provide a full range of ship-handling service to the LNG terminal in the Bay of Quintero.

Oil, gas and iron ore imports resume after disruptions; Strategic oil reserves in the region not affected. Many operations have resumed at China's Tianjin port, trade sources said, after explosions last week that killed more than 100 people and disrupted business at what is an important oil, gas and bulk import harbour for Asia's biggest economy. The explosions on Aug. 12 led to the disruption of all chemical and oil tanker discharges at the port, and imports of iron ore were also affected. But shipping data from Reuters on Monday showed that tankers were discharging again, with traders and shippers confirming that operations had restarted over the weekend. Port officials were not immediately available for comment.

Trelleborg’s marine systems operation has received a patent for its innovative ‘slide in, slide out’ or ‘SISO’ marine fender system, which is now in operation in Dampier, Western Australia, in addition to a number of other sites across the region. The system has been designed to make fender maintenance more straightforward and less time consuming, by utilizing removable sliding panels, reducing the time taken to complete a fender wear pad change-out. Richard Hepworth, President of Trelleborg’s marine operation…

The United States is willing to help Hungary and other European countries build energy infrastructure to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Budapest André Goodfriend has told Nepszava newspaper. "Relying on Russian sources threatens energy independence," Goodfriend told Nepszava in an interview published on Saturday. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has drawn criticism from Western governments for trying to secure supplies of energy and trade for Hungary by doing deals with Moscow. Critics say he should not be cosying up to Russia when it has sent troops into Ukraine. On Friday, Orban accused the European Union of sabotaging the Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline project…

This being the “Yearbook” edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, it would be remiss to not have coverage of LNG, one of the hottest fueling trends in maritime circles, particularly in North America. For a unique insight on a rapidly evolving market, MR caught up with Edward Scott, COO, Excelerate Energy, which is making big strides in the LNG Regasification sector, and recently received on the of the world’s largest and most capable units, the FSRU Experience which he touts as the world’s largest and most capable FSRU.

Over the past couple of decades, natural gas (NG) has become a fuel of choice for power generation. One way of increasing the availability of NG is through the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Global LNG trade is expected to grow by 30% in the coming few years. In connection to LNG production growth, receiving and re-gasification capacity must grow as well. A substantial part of this growth will come from the development of small-mid scale LNG receiving and re-gas terminals.

Strainstall UK Limited has been selected to work alongside SBM offshore on the prestigious Shell Stones project, which is an ultra-deep Oil and Gas development in the Gulf of Mexico and is currently the deepest production facility in the world at approximately 2,900 meters. The project involves the use of an FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Off loading) which has a forward mounted turret with a disconnectable buoy (Buoyant Turret Mooring or BTM) allowing it to weathervane in normal conditions and disconnect from the FPSO upon the approach of a hurricane so that the FPSO can sail to a safer area. The unique BTM design required six specially designed load pins to measure the forces between the Buoy and the FPSO as they are an integral component of the detachable buoy system…

Arup, the multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm, has been joined by Larry Wise as an associate and maritime engineer in the firm’s Houston office. In this role, explains Arup, he will be responsible for leading and executing energy and maritime assignments, supporting and servicing regional energy, oil and gas terminals, ports and marine terminals, urban waterfront restorations, and environmental restoration projects. A seasoned coastal and marine engineer with more than 18 years of experience in the marine and environmental industries, Larry has worked on several notable projects recently including the Mozambique LNG Export Facility project, the Texas City Channel Deepening project, and the Alaska LNG Export Terminal.

Kotug’s RT Champion performed her first assistance in the Thames on the tanker vessel Sten Idun to the Oikos Jetty, London. As of October 2013, a full 24/7 towage service, supported by Kotug’s local management, is available to assist the clients at the Oil and Gas Terminals on the river Thames and the London Gateway Container Terminal. In cooperation with ship managers, terminal operators, local agencies and its own representatives, Kotug said it offers services combining the skills of its highly trained and dedicated U.K.

Over the past 25 years KOTUG has been transformed from a European to a global player in the maritime industry. As a fast growing towage company KOTUG is expanding its innovative services to ports and terminals in Europe, West-Africa and Australia. With a young and powerful fleet of 40 tugs, KOTUG operates in a variety of markets, including towage services in ports and at sea as well to the salvage, offshore and dredging industry. KOTUG’s strategic objectives include expanding its global presence through strategic partnerships, acquisitions and organic growth.