Produced Natural Gas News

Saudi Arabia’s state owned oil company Saudi Aramco will buy 5 million tons of liquid natural gas per year(LNG) from the U.S. company Sempra Energy, based in San Diego under a 20 year agreement.The heads of agreement (HOA) between the companies anticipates the negotiation and finalization of a definitive 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale-and-purchase agreement (SPA) for five million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG offtake from Phase 1 of the Port Arthur LNG export-project under development. It also includes the negotiation and finalization of a 25% equity investment in Phase 1 of Port Arthur LNG.Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco’s CEO & President, said,“The agreement with Sempra LNG is a major step forward in Saudi Aramco’s long term strategy to become a leading global LNG player.

San Diego utility company Sempra Energy Sempra Energy said that its subsidiary Energía Costa Azul (ECA) LNG received two authorizations from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to export US produced natural gas to Mexico and to re-export LNG to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement (non-FTA) with the US.Permission to export to non-free trade agreement nations such as China, Japan and South Korea is desirable status to LNG exporters because due to higher natural gas prices in East Asia. Now Sempra can export from its Phase 1 and Phase 2 liquefaction-export facilities in development in Baja California, Mexico."The timing of these approvals is great news as we meet with customers and partners this week in Shanghai," said Joseph A.

LNG market in Egypt is projected to surpass 4.5 MMT by 2025, due to rising demand from power and industrial sectors in the country, says TechSci Research report. Production of dry natural gas in Egypt declined at a CAGR of 7.17% during 2011-2015. Thus, imports of LNG in the country increased during 2011-2015, and this trend is further anticipated to continue during the forecast period as well. Ministry of Electricity announced capacity addition of 2.25 GW in August 2016, with an investment of USD2.2 billion. Therefore, growing demand for electricity and rising application in various industries is expected to boost demand for LNG in Egypt during 2016-2025. In 2015, Greater Cairo Region dominated LNG market in Egypt owing to growing demand for power and rapid industrialization in the region.

Workboat requirements will soar as heightened safety requirements for LNG transit demand tighter oversight. The Louisiana Gulf is gearing up to export liquefied natural gas from Sabine Pass and Lake Charles in the state’s southwest and Plaquemines Parish in the southeast. Over the next five years, as LNG import terminals begin exporting and new terminals are built, more tugs and channel pilots will be needed, industry experts said last month. A convoy system will be employed to handle outgoing and incoming tankers. Safety rules for the region’s waterways are also almost certain to be revised.

In another important step forward for the Alaska LNG project, an application to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy by EXXONMobil. The export application requests authorization to export up to 20 million metric tons per year of LNG for a period of 30 years to countries that have existing free trade agreements with the U.S., as well as to non-free trade agreement countries. “This is a significant milestone for the Alaska LNG project and demonstrates continued progress toward developing Alaska’s resources,” said Steve Butt, senior project manager. The Alaska LNG project would provide significant economic benefits to Alaskans including state revenues…

Royal Dutch Shell has suspended development of a liquefaction unit at Canada's Jumping Pound facility, which was to be used to develop the emerging gas for transport market. Gas liquefaction is increasingly being produced for use in transportation of large road vehicles, in trains, and as a shipping fuel. "We believe LNG (liquefied natural gas) in transport is a considerable opportunity for Shell, but it is an emerging market and we must have a balanced approach to its development, (so) we have suspended development of the liquefaction unit at the Jumping Pound facility," a Shell spokseman said on Friday. Shell is the major owner of the Jumping Pound complex in southern Alberta…

FMC Commissioner William P. The Panama Canal may remake world trade patterns. To be finished in 2015, the $5-billion expansion of the Panama Canal will create a third lane accommodating mega-ships nearly three times larger than previously passable and this may significantly reduce shipping time to Asia. The expansion impacts state ports, rail lines, trucking and cargo movement from the south and east to the west. The U.S., once an importer of natural gas, could see new shale gas development, LNG projects, and the faster shipping lanes open new Asian markets.

Commissioner William P. Doyle of the Federal Maritime Commission, has given the keynote address at the Eno Center for Transportation Forum on the Panama Canal entitled: Lessons Learned and Implications for World Commerce. His comments on the future of the canal's LNG trade are also extracted below. Commissioner Doyle noted that the Obama Administration, members of Congress and state and local officials support the tremendous economic, business, job-supporting, energy and transportation related opportunities the expanded Canal will bring to the United States.

Major oil company ExxonMobil supports export of US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) which it considers will benefit the whole economy. Technology developed by the oil and gas industry has opened up vast energy resources across the country, which has resulted in a tremendous increase in U.S. oil and natural gas production and reserves. This increase in production has created jobs, strengthened businesses and investment, and revitalized cities and regions across America, a trend which will likely continue to grow in coming years.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service recent central Gulf of Mexico lease sale received 1,428 bids on 723 tracts, attracting $2.9 billion in high bids – the second highest total in U.S. leasing history. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, who officially opened the sale, said the bids made a statement concerning the future of the Gulf of Mexico. “This historic sale emphasizes the Gulf’s strategic value for America’s energy security and the significant economic benefits of environmentally safe oil and gas production for the nation and the Gulf states,” Kempthorne said. The Gulf accounts for about a quarter of domestically produced oil and 15 percent of domestically produced natural gas in the nation.