Gas Network News

Italian gas grid operator Snam will invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in a new LNG offshore terminal near Ravenna, the company's CEO said on Tuesday.The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) will add to another LNG terminal already set up in Tuscany, increasing Italy's gas import capacity and reducing dependence from its traditional suppliers, including Russia."To increase energy security for Italy we decided last year, together with the government, to increase the country's LNG import capacity in order to have more flexibility and diversify energy supplies…

A German government-backed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Mukran on Ruegen island in the Baltic Sea, near existing LNG reception facilities delivering into the mainland port of Lubmin, will be downsized.The quest for alternative imports intensified as the country sought to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.Apart from gas, industry and the government are anticipating increased use of hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

Germany's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Stade said it would in the coming weeks begin testing market appetite for ammonia as a way to transport hydrogen, as the country's efforts to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas gather pace.The quest for alternatives has included focusing on hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany, however, would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

As the maritime industry embarks on 'the path to zero', it is widely acknowledged that there is currently not a 'silver bullet' solution, nor is it likely that a solution will emerge from a vaccum. Collaboration is the path forward, and efforts such as MethanQuest offer promise.The project MethanQuest was launched in September 2018 with 29 partners from research, industry and the energy sector to work on processes for producing hydrogen and methane from renewables and for using them to achieve climate-neutral mobility and power generation.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the construction of Venture Global's proposed $8.5 billion Plaquemines liquefied natural gas export facility in Louisiana. Venture Global LNG to build an LNG Plaquemines export terminal and a gas pipeline between the terminal and the interstate gas network.PGNiG will receive liquefied natural gas from this terminal from 2023.“We congratulate our American partners from Venture Global LNG for obtaining the final FERC approval for the construction of the second natural gas liquefaction facility. We are particularly pleased with such precise implementation of the assumed schedule of both investments by Venture Global LNG.

The global floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) market is estimated to grow at CAGR above 5.2% over the forecast time frame 2019 to 2026 and reach the market value around $17.5 billion by 2026.Increasing demand for clean fuel techniques and increasing concentrate on sustainable energy blend will boost FLNG market growth, said a report by Acumen Research and Consulting.Rapid depletion of fossil fuel, combined with continuing carbon footprint reductions, will promote favorable company development.According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), there was a 4.6% increase in worldwide NG supply in 2018 relative to 2017. The U.S. and China are the biggest suppliers to the increase in oil manufacturing…

New South Wales Government is considering a proposal for a $590 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in the Port of Newcastle, with the project given critical state significance.Under the prosposal, the terminal will be built at Kooragang Island in Newcastle Port and promises to supply NSW with up to 80 per cent of its gas requirements.The Newcastle GasDock project - with an estimated direct onshore investment of up to AUD$250M at the Port - today received Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) status from NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, the Hon Rob Stokes MP.The announcement by Acting Premier John Barilaro and Mr Stokes recognises the need to significantly increase local gas supply…

German LNG Terminal GmbH, the joint venture driving forward Germany’s first LNG terminal in Brunsbuettel, has reached another long-term commercial capacity agreement with an unnamed global LNG player.The gas infrastructure company consisting of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (Gasunie), Oiltanking GmbH and Vopak LNG Holding B.V said in a press release that the parties agreed on the commitment of a substantial part of the terminal capacity.Negotiations with other interested parties are ongoing. As a result of strong market demand, German LNG Terminal will apply for permits with a total terminal capacity of 8 bcma.Rolf Brouwer, Managing Director of German LNG Terminal GmbH…

Polish state-controlled oil and gas company Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA   (PGNiG) has released a statement claiming that the 4000th tank truck loaded with LNG has successfully left the Swionujscie terminal."Last year 1,794 LNG tank trucks filled with LNG left the Świnoujście terminal, compared to 1,523 in 2017. Since the mid-2016, when the LNG terminal became operational, a total of 4,000 tank trucks were loaded with LNG by PGNiG," it said in a statement.PGNiG strengthens its position in the small-scale LNG market, with almost 18% more liquefied gas dispatched by the Company from Świnoujście last year than in 2017.A vast majority of the LNG imported by PGNiG to Poland is regasified in the Świnoujście terminal and injected into the gas network.

Chevron Corp will proceed with the second stage of its giant Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant off the northwest coast of Western Australia, the company said on Saturday.Chevron and its joint venture partners plan to sink 11 new wells in the Gorgon and Jansz-Io fields and build offshore pipelines and subsea structures to pipe the gas to the nearby 15.6 million tonne a year LNG plant on Barrow Island.The $54 billion Gorgon project came on stream in March 2016 but suffered numerous unplanned shutdowns in its early stages.Chevron declined to put a cost on stage two of the project…

Flogas Britain, the UK’s leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) provider, and Stolt-Nielsen LNG Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen Limited (Oslo Børs: SNI), a leading global provider of bulk liquid transportation and storage solutions, announced a joint project to explore bringing LNG to areas of Scotland not served by the existing natural-gas grid. The initiative is a step towards reducing the cost of energy for homes and businesses located off the national gas network. LNG will be shipped by Stolt-Nielsen LNG via small-scale LNG carriers and stored in bulk at the Port of Rosyth, before being distributed by Flogas across Scotland by road tanker, mainly to industrial customers. At present, Scotland’s off-grid natural gas is delivered by road tanker from Kent, South East England.

Following a successful Network Innovation Competition bid in 2015, DNV GL has secured innovation funding from SGN to partner in a project to demonstrate the viability and practical reality of a mixed-source, energy-centric gas network for the future. The project was developed, and will be delivered, in partnership with SGN who are one of the UK's key gas distribution operators, and industry leaders in innovation. The integrated energy network of the future must be flexible, secure, cost effective and above all safe. The changing gas industry, driven by a reduced North Sea supply is increasingly required to accommodate gas from more diverse sources such as biomethane and shale gas.

According to Reuters, Croatia may decide to construct a floating LNG (FLNG) vessel for the northern Adriatic – as opposed to an onshore liquefaction plant – in order to begin operations sooner. At the moment, it is unclear what would become of the plans for a land-based terminal on the northern Adriatic island, Krk. So far, seven non-binding bids from both industrial and financial investors have been made for the onshore project. Croatian First Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Karamarko met in Zagreb with Amos J. Hochstein, the special envoy and coordinator for international energy issues at the US State Department, reports tportal.hr on March 2, 2016.

Dutch gas network operator Gasunie and tank storage service provider Vopak said on Monday that the expansion of their Gate liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Rotterdam has begun. The new infrastructure is expected to aid the use of LNG as a transport fuel and is expected to be operational towards the end of the first half of 2016. Gate receives, stores, regasifies and delivers LNG into northwest Europe's grid. Gate terminal will have break-bulk infrastructure and services added, which will help split up large LNG shipments into smaller quantities. Shell is the launching customer for the expansion and has committed to buy capacity from Gate terminal.   Reporting by Sarah McFarlane

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…

As the world’s economies search for sustainable, reliable, renewable energy sources, they are also more closely examining a range of fossil fuels to find the cleanest, least harmful of those to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality in the process. In the drive to cut carbon emissions, interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) is growing. LNG is being looked at not only as fuel for generating electricity and heat, but also as a fuel for powering marine vessels, road vehicles and trains. With the recent development of abundant shale gas deposits in the United States, the LNG market is really set to take off. The common method for transporting natural gas worldwide is to liquefy it so it takes up less volume and can be transported in specialized LNG carrier vessels.

Ukraine is in emergency talks with European neighbours on the possibility of importing natural gas from the West, following "political" rises in the price it pays for Russian gas, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Friday. The urgency of securing affordable supplies for Ukraine's struggling economy has grown since Moscow raised its discounted gas tariff for Kiev twice this week, almost doubling it in three days. Relations between Ukraine and Russia have turned hostile since popular protests in Kiev ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich in February, after which Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea region and formally annexed it last month. The dispute has widened into the biggest stand-off between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.

Natural gas pipelines and power utilities across the United States struggled for several weeks to keep lights on and homes warm through the coldest winter in decades, but it may take many months for the cost and the fallout of the so-called "polar vortex" to work through the energy chain. As sub-freezing temperatures spread in January and February, spot natural gas prices spiked at many gas delivery points in the Midwest, Northeast and New York, pushing wholesale power prices above $100 per megawatt-hour for days at a time. Customers will soon receive gas and electric bills, reflecting the higher cost of gas in January. In unregulated power markets, January bills will present a "double whammy," said Nick Akins, chief executive of American Electric Power Co, one of the largest U.S.

GDF Suez SA, operator of Europe’s largest natural-gas network, is reportedly studying a plan to sell shares or a minority stake in its oil and gas production business, according  to a recent Bloomberg report. According to Bloomberg, which cited “three people with knowledge of the situation,” GDF Suez may soon hire an investment bank to manage an IPO or help find a buyer for the stake. The news agency sought comment from the company, but a company spokesperson reportedly declined comment. GDF Suez is operator of the North Sea Gjoea field, estimated to hold 82 million barrels of oil and condensate and 40 billion cubic meters of gas. GDF holds a 30 percent stake, Statoil ASA 20 percent, Petoro AS 30 percent, Royal Dutch Shell Plc 12 percent and RWE AG 8 percent.  (www.bloomberg.com)

GL Noble Denton has won the coveted Award for Innovation at this year's UK Gas Industry Awards, hosted by the British Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM), and the UK gas trade association, SBGI. GL Noble Denton received the accolade jointly with National Grid and gas network maintenance specialist ALH Ltd for a collaborative project to produce a new method for securing drilling valves into gas mains, known as the Beam Drilling System. The award-winning System challenges more than three decades of traditional gas mains drilling practice by removing the need to dig large holes in the ground to secure drilling bases to gas pipelines.

The two energy providers discussed the possibilities of co-operation in supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) particularly from the Baltic LNG project to the European and Latin American markets, during a recent meeting at Gazprom HQ. Russia's Gazprom inform that the meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Marcelino Oreja, Chief Executive Officer of Enagas also noted that Spain had a potential to become one of the major consumers of LNG from the project.

Emerson Process Management has won a contract from Golar LNG to supply PlantWeb digital automation architecture for basic process control and safety systems on the Golar Freeze, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) vessel. Currently an LNG carrier, the Golar Freeze will be converted into a floating terminal, and docked at a purpose-built jetty in the Jebel Ali Port near Dubai, UAE. Golar will operate the vessel. Dubai Supply Authority (Dusup) will operate the jetty and the high pressure export line into Dubai to supply needed gas during high energy demand months in the summer.

Reuters - Bulgaria, heavily dependant on Russia for gas and oil, will estimate its own reserves and seek alternatives to cope with any worsening of the Ukrainian crisis, it said on Tuesday. "Several key threats can be outlined that can pose risks to Bulgarian security. They are mainly economic," Deputy Prime Minister Tsvetin Yovchev said after a meeting of the government's security council over Ukraine. It meets over 85 percent of its gas needs with imports from Russia's Gazprom through only one route that passes Ukraine. Its only oil refinery, run by Russia's LUKOIL, that supplies over 60 percent of the its refined fuel in the country, gets its crude through an Ukrainian Black Sea port.