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Gas Market News

01 Mar 2024

US Offshore Wind: Down but Not Out

Ā© Eric Dale Creative / Adobe Stock

ā€œThe winds of change are blowing wild and free.ā€ ā€“ Bob DylanIn the U.S. offshore wind industry, developments over recent months have placed an exclamation point on the word ā€œwildā€. Yes, the wind still blows ā€œfreeā€, but mounting challenges have proven that harnessing its power offshore is anything but. In fact, far from it, as rising materials costs, high interest rates, labor shortages and supply chain delays, among other issues, have delivered heavy blows to the commercial viability of several projects.

28 Feb 2024

Qatar's Bigger LNG Expansion to Squeeze US, Other Rivals

(File photo: QatarEnergy)

Qatar's planned expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production could see it control nearly 25% share of the global market by 2030 and squeeze out rival projects including in the United States where President Biden paused new export approvals, market experts say.Qatar, one of the world's top LNG exporters, plans an 85% expansion in LNG output from its North Field's current 77 million metric tons per year (mtpa) to 142 mtpa by 2030, from previously expected 126 mtpa.Some market experts said that the move will have an impact on global projects in the United Statesā€¦

06 Nov 2023

Brazil: New Fortress Energy Charters FSRU Energos Winter

Credit: Petrobras

New Fortress Energy said Monday it had executed a definitive agreement to charter the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (ā€œFSRUā€) Energos Winter from Brazil's Petrobras starting in December 2023. The FSRU Energos Winter will be immediately deployed to Terminal Gas Sul (ā€œTGSā€), NFEā€™s newest LNG import terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil, which will start commercial operations ahead of schedule in January 2024.ā€œWe are extremely pleased to reach this agreement with Petrobras and begin operations at the TGS terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil ahead of schedule in January 2024.

19 Oct 2023

LNG Tanker Diverts from Egypt Terminal as Gas Flows from Israel Ebb

A tanker seeking to fill up liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a terminal in Egypt left empty and diverted to another port, after an Israeli pipeline supplying gas was halted due to Israel-Hamas conflict, analysts said on Thursday.The Seapeak Catalunya tanker has changed course from Egypt's Idku LNG plant and is now heading to Algeria's Arzew LNG facility instead, LSEG analyst Olumide Ajayi said, citing shipping data.Chevron has shut down the Israeli Tamar gas field amid the military conflict in the country and suspended exports through the subsea EMG pipeline, which runs from Ashkelon in southern Israel to Egypt.Egypt relies on Israeli gas imports to meet some of its domestic demand and thereforeā€¦

21 Sep 2023

Radix Wins $11.5M Contract from Petrobras

Petrobras awarded Radix a contract to develop projects for floating production, storage, and offloading vessels (FPSOs). The agreement will last 31 months, with services estimated at $11.5 million. The contract includes developing multidisciplinary engineering projects using digital automation tools for the state-owned company's new assets. "We are very excited about this major new contract with Petrobras, underlining our industrial expertise in this segment. Petrobras is a global reference client in the oil and gas market, where Radix continues to have a strong presence," said Augusto Castro, Radix's General Manager for Capital Projects.

28 Aug 2023

Offshore Wind: US Shipbuilders Answering the Call

From left to right: Lasse Petterson, CEO of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock; Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa.; President Joe Biden; and Steinar Nerbovik, CEO of Philadelphia Shipyard (Photo: Philly Shipyard)

Itā€™s a big deal when a U.S. president visits an American shipyard, and these trips always send a message. When President Obama spoke at HIIā€™s Newport News Shipbuilding in 2013, he warned of the consequences of sequestration. President Trumpā€™s 2020 speech at Fincantieri Marinette Marine touted a $5.5 billion naval contract that gave a welcome boost to the Wisconsin shipyard and its supply chain partners. Most recently, President Biden traveled to Philadelphiaā€™s Philly Shipyardā€¦

31 Aug 2023

Anchor Handler Construction: What to Expect as Floating Wind Picks Up

Maersk Supply Service used the Maersk Mariner to install six mooring lines (hybrid lines of chain and fiber rope) and six drag anchors for the DemoSATH floating wind project. (Photo: Maersk Supply Service)

A fleet of newbuild specialized anchor handlers will be required to help build up the emerging floating offshore wind industry. But since the industry is still in its early days, many unknowns have made it difficult for shipyards and their partners to gear up to build this fleet. This article explores complex market demand and technical drivers that help give a better understanding of anchor handler requirements for floating offshore wind.Floating wind is an emerging technology currently being tested in small scale demonstration and pilot projectsā€¦

04 Aug 2023

Norwegian Firm Agrees to Buy Five Vroon Offshore Vessels for $94M

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Golden Energy Offshore Services (GEOS) has entered into a binding Memorandum of Agreement for the acquisition of four platform supply vessels and one subsea support vessel from subsidiaries of Vroon Holding B.V. for a total consideration of $94 million.Dutch vessel owner Vroon earlier this year completed the implementation of the financial restructuring for the ā€œnewā€ Vroon focusing on specialized fleet of deepsea vessels (livestock carriers, product tankers, and high-heat tankers) and emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRV). As part of the restructuring, the majority ownership of Vroon has transferred to the company lendersā€¦

26 May 2023

Asian Spot LNG Prices Slide for Fifth Straight Week

Ā© Anatoly Kolodey / Adobe Stock

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices have weakened for the fifth consecutive week on muted demand due to healthy stocks, remaining at their lowest level in two years.The average LNG price for July delivery into north-east Asia was down 3% from the previous week at $9.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), the lowest since early May 2021, industry sources estimated."North Asia remains largely void of demand. Prices have continued to walk down week-on-week and support hasn't been helped by Japanese utilities selling into an already weak marketā€¦

10 May 2023

IFCHOR Galbraiths Acquires UNO Offshore

Ā© Arild / Adobe Stock

International shipbroker IFCHOR Galbraiths (IG) will be providing offshore brokerage services in the oil and gas market following its acquisition of Norwegian offshore specialist UNO Offshore.Founded in 2010, with a seven-strong team based in Bergen and Haugesund, UNO Offshore focuses on providing chartering, newbuild, sale and purchase, research and consulting services related to the oil and gas sector. UNO Offshore will be renamed IG Offshore.Commenting on the move, IG co-CEO, Bjorn Andersen, said, ā€œWe are delighted to bring Hans and his experienced team into the IG family.

12 Apr 2023

LNG Imports Test EU Resolve to Quit Russian Fossil Fuel

Ā© KKF / Adobe Stock

Political pressure is building within the European Union to tackle the daunting challenge of closing a loophole in its efforts to stop using Russian fossil fuels: liquefied natural gas (LNG).In the year since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the EU has placed sanctions on seaborne oil and coal imports from Russia.It has drastically cut reliance on Russian pipeline gas, despite not imposing sanctions on the fuel. But at the same time, EU countries have increased their overall purchases of Russian LNGā€¦

14 Mar 2023

Wave of New LNG Export Plants Threatens to Knock Gas Prices

Ā© NPershaj / Adobe Stock

A flood of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects due online worldwide in mid-decade will vie against lower-cost renewable energy and a revived nuclear power sector, which could rock gas prices and hurt some proposed projects, analysts say.Proposed and approved new LNG plants would boost LNG supply by 67% increase to 636 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030 from 2021 levels, potentially saturating the gas market."There's over a trillion dollars of natural gas infrastructure being built in the world today.

01 Nov 2022

'Carbon Free' Platfom Supply Vessel Firm Launched in Norway

Credit: Amon Maritime

Norway-based company Amon Maritime has launched Amon Offshore - a new company focused on the offshore oil and gas market ā€“ with plans to operate carbon-free platform supply vessels. The ship has already received approval in principle from DNV and preliminary flag approval from the Norwegian Maritime Authority, Amon Maritime said. Amon Offshore has been created to build, own and operate a fleet of ammonia-powered supply ships for the Norwegian Continental Shelf. "The ships have been developed to meet oil companiesā€™ current and future offshore logistics needsā€¦

26 Sep 2022

ADNOC to Supply First LNG for RWE's Floating LNG Import Terminal at Brunsbüttel

Credit: Pawinee/AdobeStock

German utility RWE has signed a deal with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to deliver liquefied natural gas to Europe's largest economy by the end of December, RWE announced on Sunday.Though the initial amount to be delivered is relatively small, it's a politically significant deal to shore up supplies of gas from outside of Russia as Chancellor Olaf Scholz seeks to deepen ties with the Gulf and find alternative energy sources.The deal, which includes a memorandum of understanding for multi-year supplies of LNGā€¦

23 Sep 2022

Greece's Sole LNG Terminal Ramps Up Imports to Replace Russian Gas

Ā© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

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. It has been receiving Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline which also delivers to Hungary via Serbia.Its LNG facility on the Revithoussa isletā€¦

22 Sep 2022

Roundtable: North American Naval Architects Weigh In

From left: Mike Fitzpatrick, president, Robert Allan Ltd.; Jeff Bowles, director, DLBA Naval Architects; and Rich Mueller, president and CEO, NETSCo.

Marine News spoke to leaders at three North American naval architecture and marine engineering firms about some of the latest trends impacting their business today. Mike Fitzpatrick, president, Robert Allan Ltd.; Jeff Bowles, director, DLBA Naval Architects; and Rich Mueller, president and CEO, NETSCo., weigh in on topics such as digitalization, decarbonization and the naval architect talent pool.How do you view the maritime industryā€™s ongoing shifts in areas such as digitalization and decarbonizationā€¦

30 Aug 2022

Floating Production Market Is Booming

Ā© Lukasz Z / Adobe Stock

The market for floating production systems is booming, according to World Energy Reports' (WER) latest assessment of activity and developments in the offshore oil and gas market.ā€œBusiness conditions and market sentiment in the deepwater sector have seldom been so positive,ā€ said Jim McCaul, founder and principal analyst of WER.ā€œMajor upstream operators continue to rake in record cash and spending on new upstream projects has been ramping up,ā€ McCaul said. ā€œActivity has returned to levels last seen before the 2008 global financial meltdown.

18 Aug 2022

Boskalis Lifts Profit Outlook as Demand for Offshore Wind Grows

Boskalis vessel towing a floating wind turbine - Credit; Boskalis (file photo)

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'sā€¦

02 Jun 2022

Norway's Hammerfest Plant Resumes LNG Production almost Two Years After Fire

The Hammerfest LNG facility
(Photo: Einar Aslaksen / Equinor ASA)

Norway's Hammerfest liquefied natural gas plant has restarted LNG production following a fire almost two years ago, boosting the country's gas exports, operator Equinor said on Thursday.The company last week told Reuters the plant had completed repairs and was preparing to restart output. The plant had been offline since late September of 2020, and a restart was postponed several times while repairs were carried out."This is of great significance in a period when predictable and reliable supplies are highly important to many countries and customersā€¦

27 May 2022

Norway's Hammerfest LNG Plant Resumes Operation After 20-month Outage

(Photo: Ole JĆørgen Bratland / Equinor)

Norwayā€™s Hammerfest liquefied natural gas plant has resumed operation as planned and is preparing to restart LNG production, a spokesperson for operator Equinor told Reuters on Friday.The plant has been offline for 20 months following a fire in September of 2020.LNG is made by cooling gas to temperatures that liquefy it, thus allowing large quantities to be transported by ship.ā€œWe have resumed operations and started cool down of the plant. We will issue a press release when we have LNG to tankā€¦

05 May 2022

Germany to Charter Four FSRUs in Push to Cut Reliance on Russian Gas

For illustration only - A Hƶegh LNG FSRU

The German government on Thursday signed agreements for the charters of four floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), as it works to become less reliant on Russian gas, as FSRUs will enable it to import LNG from other sources.The agreements were signed for the charters of two FSRUs owned by Oslo-listed firm Hoegh LNG, and two owned by Dynagas. Hoegh LNG FSRUs will be operated by RWE, while Uniper has facilitated the charter of two FSRUs managed by Dynagas Ltd.Höegh LNG said that the detailed FSRU contracts with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Actionā€¦

25 Apr 2022

What Goes Around Comes Around - Sale of Ex-Sanko Energy Firming AHTS Values

Those who are old enough (or young enough) to remember Justin Timberlakeā€™s poignant lyrics, ā€˜What goes around, goes around, goes around, comes all the way back aroundā€™, will appreciate their significance and relatability to the offshore oil and gas market. On that theme, it appears a vessel very close to my heart, the AHTS previously known as Sanko Energy (now Ena Shogun), has come 'all the way back around.'News is filtering through the market that Eastern Navigation (Singapore) has sold the vessel five years after purchasing it from Sanko Steamship in early 2017.So why does this vessel resonate with me? Well, from a professional perspective, it was my first analyst experience of a sale that went against everything established market experts thought about values and sale prices.

18 Feb 2022

Interview: Inside Cadeler X-Class WTIVs with CEO Mikkel Gleerup

Photo courtesy Cadeler

Cadeler CEO Mikkel Gleerup shares insights on the path ahead for his company in the fast-growing offshore wind sector, with details on Cadelerā€™s new X-Class Wind Turbine Installation Vessels.The last two years were big year for your company, with a name change from Swire Blue Ocean and IPO at the end of 2020 and a rebranding through 2021. What was the rationale for these moves?We rebranded from Swire Blue Ocean to Cadeler end of 2020 to demonstrate that this was a separation from Swire.

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