Export Gas News

Russia's Energy Ministry is due to prepare a report in the coming days about the possibility of Rosneft exporting natural gas to Europe via the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Interfax cited Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Wednesday.Currently, Kremlin-controlled Gazprom has exclusive rights for Russian pipeline gas exports.Novak said this month that Rosneft had asked the government for permission to export natural gas and the government was reviewing the request.The…

The United States and Germany on Wednesday unveiled an agreement on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under which Berlin pledged to respond to any attempt by Russia to use energy as a weapon against Ukraine and other Central and Eastern European countries.The pact aims to mitigate what critics see as the strategic dangers of the $11 billion pipeline, now 98% complete, being built under the Baltic Sea to carry gas from Russia’s Arctic region to Germany.U.S. officials have opposed the pipeline…

The Nord Stream 2, export gas pipeline running from Russia to Europe across the Baltic Sea, is 75% complete, the project's operator, Nord Stream 2 AG, said in a statement.A total of 1,855 kilometers of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline were built along the bottom of the Baltic Sea in the waters of Russia, Finland, Sweden and Germany. That's about 75 percent of the total length of the pipeline, the release said.Both strings have already been completed in German territorial waters and Finnish waters. Pipelay is currently ongoing in Russian territorial waters. At the landfalls in Germany and Russia, construction works have reached an advanced stage.All pipes needed for the twin pipeline system have been concrete weight coated.

Dutch dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has been awarded the contract for the seabed intervention and shore crossing activities for Woodside’s proposed Scarborough export gas pipeline in northwest Australia.The contract awarded by Woodside Energy Ltd. (Woodside), in its capacity as operator of the Scarborough Joint Venture, potentially carries a value of EUR 145 million if all options are called and is subject to a final investment decision which is expected in 2020.The contract is for preparatory activities related to offshore deepwater excavation, pipeline crossing, nearshore and shore crossing works for the export trunkline…

Shell aims to start exports from Prelude LNG this year; Inpex hopes to commence shipments from Ichthys LNG. Shell and Inpex are on the final stretch of a years-long race to export gas from offshore northern Australia, where both have spent billions of dollars building the world's biggest maritime vessels to grab a slice of Asia's booming LNG market. Anglo-Dutch energy major Royal Dutch Shell and Inpex, Japan's biggest oil and gas producer, are vying for first gas from two overlapping fields after delays and cost overruns that have plagued both projects. The pair have spent billions on offshore facilities, including Shell's 490 metre (1,600 ft) long Prelude floating liquefied natural gas unit and Inpex's Ichthys Explorer semi-submersible platform, both the world's largest of their class.

UK-based TechnipFMC has been awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract by BP for the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for the Tortue/Ahmeyim Field Development, a major LNG (liquefied natural gas) project located offshore on the maritime border of Mauritania and Senegal. The agreement between the two companies provides a mechanism to allow a transition of the contract to an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) contract at a later stage. TechnipFMC will work on defining the technology and equipment scope and brings expertise to deliver major projects, leveraging extensive experience with Chinese fabrication .

McDermott International and Baker Hughes (BHGE), a GE company  announced the selection of front-end engineering design (FEED) studies in advance of a substantial engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for BP’s Tortue/Ahmeyim Field Development, a major gas project located on the maritime border of Mauritania and Senegal. During this initial engineering phase, McDermott will work on defining the subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) scope for the project, while BHGE will focus on the subsea production system (SPS) scope. The FEED is scheduled to begin and complete this year. The agreement contains a mechanism to allow transition of the contract to a lump sum EPCI contract at a later date.

Australia's conservative government unveiled a radical plan on Thursday to restrict exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at times when domestic shortages push up local prices, aiming to ease soaring energy costs for local manufacturers. The plan would allow Australia's resources minister to impose controls on LNG exports on advice from the market operator and regulator, as the government seeks to cap domestic gas prices, which have become a political hot potato. "It's not a threat. This will be export controls.

The U.S. Department of Energy approved ConocoPhillips' application to export about 40 billion cubic feet of natural gas from its Kenai liquefied natural gas export terminal in Alaska over the next two years starting Feb. 19. The Kenai facility was the first LNG export facility in the United States. Most of the gas exports from Kenai have gone to Japan since the plant entered service in 1969. In a few weeks, the fist LNG export terminal in the lower 48 states is expected to enter service at Cheniere Energy Inc's Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana. The federal approval will allow ConocoPhillips to export gas to any country the United States has a free-trade agreement with or any other country with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law.

The U.S. Department of Energy has renewed authorization for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the North Kenai ConocoPhillips facility, reports Reuters. The approval is to export about 40 billion cubic feet of natural gas from its Kenai LNG export terminal in Alaska over the next two years starting Feb. 19. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski applauded the decision. Over the last year she has been urging Department of Energy officials to support ways to commercialize Alaska’s natural gas reserves like the current Conoco facility as well as the Alaska LNG project. The Kenai facility was the first LNG export facility in the United States. Most of the gas exports from Kenai have gone to Japan since the plant entered service in 1969.

As industry embraces gas, emissions regulations loom large and bunker logistics options develop, LNG’s fortunes nevertheless get a boost. For every gleeful consumer at the pump, and stockpiling tanker anchored offshore, there’s a corresponding trail of businesses that are struggling to ride out the worst price drop in crude since the mid-1980s. As oil giants slash CapEx, Halliburton and other industry players layoff thousands and record numbers of oil rigs go offline, less obvious is the impact of the latest oil market blow out on the growth of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The United States will transition from a net importer of natural gas to a net exporter of the fuel by 2017 as the nation's shale gas production continues to grow, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday in its Annual Energy Outlook. In its 2014 outlook, the EIA forecast the U.S. would become a net exporter of gas before 2020. The EIA said increases in domestic gas production are expected to reduce demand for gas imports from Canada and support growth in exports to Mexico, Asia and Europe. Net gas exports would continue to grow after 2017, with annual net exports reaching 3.0 trillion cubic feet to 13.1 tcf in 2040, the agency said.

Often heralded as new shipping lane, Arctic shipments fall. Western sanctions on Russia are restricting the Arctic shipping route along its north coast to domestic cargoes and energy exports with many foreign firms staying away after test voyages on a fabled short-cut between Europe and Asia. A decline in foreign shipments on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in 2014, interrupting gains in recent years as ice retreats, dims prospects for a shipping lane that is often seen as a rare positive side-effect of global warming. "We're ending the era of foreign demonstration voyages that were promoted by Russia. Now it seems that reality is kicking in…

Despite high hopes for Arctic business from mining to shipping as the ice melts rapidly and temperatures rise twice as fast as the global average, few firms say the sums still make sense. An oil price slump and cheaper commodities, including iron ore, together with tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine, are adding new disincentives. Examples of extra outlay abound. Ice-breaking tankers able to carry gas from Siberia cost $100 million, or 50 percent, more than normal vessels and hundreds of millions of dollars are needed to upgrade railways serving Arctic ports. Added to that, for many companies, winter darkness, ice and vast distances mean that Arctic investments are a non-starter.

U.S. regulators on Thursday approved Sempra Energy's bid to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana, opening the door to a significant expansion of the American role in global gas trade. Sempra's Cameron LNG facility was the second gas export project to get the green light to begin construction from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the first since 2012, when FERC permitted Cheniere's Sabine Pass project. With the FERC approval in hand, Cameron will likely soon receive its final permit from the Energy Department allowing the facility to export gas to all countries, which would make it the only project outside of Sabine Pass fully licensed at the federal level.

A  Canadian company jumped into British Columbia's crowded liquefied natural gas (LNG) export fray with a plan to build a $30 billion terminal on Vancouver Island. Steelhead LNG said it applied to Canadian regulators for permission to export up to 30 million tonnes of LNG a year for 25 years, joining a list of fourteen companies vying to build projects in the Pacific Coast province. The National Energy Board has already approved export licenses for nine projects in British Columbia. With Steelhead, it has five more under review, as global and domestic companies scramble to build the facilities needed to ship cheap Canadian gas to energy-hungry Asian markets. "It is a competitive market.

The floating production business continues to be very strong, particularly in the LNG gas processing sector. Last month saw a speculatively ordered floating liquefaction plant – a $1.2 billion contract – as well as several regasification vessel contracts. Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening in the business. In total, 320 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 65% of the existing systems, 78% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance.

U.S. federal regulators on Wednesday approved construction of Freeport LNG Development LP's liquefied natural gas export project in Texas. Freeport is the third U.S. LNG export project to get the green light to begin construction from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The planned project would have the capacity to export up to 1.8 billion cubic feet a day of LNG once operational. With domestic gas production booming, U.S. companies have lined up to ship the nation's abundant shale gas abroad. FERC approved construction of Sempra Energy's Cameron LNG export terminal in Louisiana last month. Companies need approval from both the Energy Department…

The U.S. Energy Department on Wednesday approved liquefied natural gas exports from two projects, as lawmakers pressed the administration to move quickly to clear a backlog of applications to ship gas abroad. Sempra Energy's Cameron LNG facility in Louisiana and Carib Energy's small-scale export project in Florida are the first projects to receive final permits from the department to export gas to non-free-trade-agreement countries since Cheniere's Sabine Pass project was approved in 2012. Until now Sabine Pass was the only project fully permitted at the federal level. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted the $10 billion Cameron project a construction license in June after it was issued a conditional export permit by the Energy Department earlier in the year.

Ziff Energy and Gas Processing Management Inc. analyze the gas growth areas of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta and British Columbia. Ziff Energy, a division of HSB Solomon Associates LLC (Solomon), and Gas Processing Management Inc. (GPMi) announced the launch of the Gas West for LNG Growth Study, which analyzes the gas growth areas of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta and British Columbia as key suppliers of natural gas to the developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities on the West Coast of British Columbia (Canada) and Oregon (United States). The proponents of 16 natural gas liquefaction (NGL) and export facilities have applied to the Canadian National Energy Board for licenses to export gas volumes or have announced potential projects.

By Timothy Gardner, Reuters Excelerate Energy LP said on Monday it has filed a formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build and operate the first U.S. floating liquefied natural gas export facility. The privately-held company hopes the facility, off the coast of Texas, will be operational in late 2018. Excelerate has federal approvals in place to export gas to countries with which the United States has free trade agreements. It is hoping to get approval from the Department of Energy to export to countries with which the United States does not have free trade agreements, and applied to do so in late 2012. (Editing by Franklin Paul)

GasAtacama, energy provider to metal producers in Chile's Atacama desert, has lined up eight potential U.S. natural gas suppliers for a proposed import terminal on its Pacific Coast, but uncertainty about energy demand has delayed deals, CEO Rudolf Araneda told Reuters on Thursday. GasAtacama plans to build a $350 million offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal that would take shipments of the fuel to help create 500 megawatts of electricity for power-hungry miners in the mineral-rich north.

Imperial Oil Ltd said on Thursday it is not yet close to deciding on whether it will go ahead with a Canadian liquefied natural gas export plant it is exploring with its majority owner Exxon Mobil Corp. Speaking to reporters following the company's annual meeting, Rich Kruger, chief executive officer of Canada's No.2 integrated oil company, said Imperial is laying groundwork for a potential project that would send LNG to Asian markets but, despite having an export license in hand, it is not yet ready to say if or when the project will proceed. "What you're seeing from us ...