Maarten Wetselaar News

Spain's Cepsa has signed a deal with the Dutch port of Rotterdam to ship green hydrogen it plans to produce in Andalusia to northern Europe, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday citing the oil and gas group's chief executive.Countries and companies have seized on green hydrogen- a fuel obtained by passing renewably-produced electricity through water to split the element from oxygen - as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions, especially from heavy industry.Cepsa, which is diversifying into green energy…

Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG), rose by 12.5% to hit 359 million tons last year, according to Royal Dutch Shell’s annual LNG Outlook report.According to the forecast by Shell,  LNG demand was expected to double by 2040 to 700 million tons, with natural gas set to play “a growing role in shaping a lower-carbon energy system.”Asia is expected to remain the dominant region in the decades to come, with South and South-east Asia generating more than half of the increased demand.Natural gas emits between 45 and 55% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less than one-tenth of the air pollutants than coal when used to generate electricity.“The global LNG market continued to evolve in 2019 with demand increasing for LNG and natural gas in power and non-power sectors…

The first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has sailed from Shell’s Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) facility offshore Australia, Shell announced Tuesday alongside its joint venture partners INPEX, KOGAS and OPIC.This shipment from the world’s largest floating producer of LNG, located 475 kilometers northeast of Broome in Western Australia, will be delivered by the LNG carrier Valencia Knutsen to customers in Asia, more than eight years after financial investment decision (FID) and nearly two years after the facility arrived in Australia."How fast Prelude delivers its second and third cargo…

Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply is set to rise by 35 million tons (mt) in 2019, Trend reports with reference to forecasts of Royal Dutch Shell. Acording to Shell’s latest annual LNG Outlook, Europe and Asia are expected to absorb all this additional supply.Strong demand for cleaner-burning fuel in Asia continued to drive rapid growth in liquefied natural gas (LNG) use in 2018, with global demand rising by 27 million tons to 319 million tons, according to Shell’s latest annual LNG Outlook. Shell expects demand to reach about 384 million tons in 2020. A rebound in new long-term LNG contracting in 2018 could revive investment in liquefaction projects.Based on current demand projections…

China LNG demand soars amid push to reduce pollution; LNG demand to reach 384 mln tonnes in 2020 -Shell.Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade is set to rise 11 percent this year as China leads a global drive to reduce pollution and tackle carbon emissions, Royal Dutch Shell said in an annual LNG report on Monday.Shell's forecasts, which see LNG demand rising to 354 million tonnes this year and to 384 million tonnes in 2020, reflect a burgeoning industry with new production facilities opening in Australia…

British-Dutch oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM are considering a joint bid for Dutch producer and supplier of natural gas Eneco, which is heavily invested in sustainable energy projects and worth an estimated USD 3.4 bln.This consortium is impressed with Eneco’s achievements in transforming the Dutch energy system through investments in sustainability and renewable energy. PGGM and Shell combine the knowledge, ambitions and financial commitment to build on Eneco’s sustainable strategy and are determined to competitively grow the renewable energy products and services offer for millions of customers in North West Europe.With their roots in Dutch society…

Tough new rules on marine fuel are forcing shipowners to explore liquefied natural gas as a cleaner alternative and ports such as Gibraltar are preparing to offer upgraded refueling facilities in the shipping industry's biggest shake-up in decades.From 2020, International Maritime Organization rules will ban ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, unless they are equipped to clean up sulphur emissions. This will be enforced…

The global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market has continued to defy expectations of many market observers, with demand growing by 29 million tonnes to 293 million tonnes in 2017, according to Shell’s annual LNG Outlook. Such strong growth in demand is consistent with Shell’s first LNG Outlook, published in 2017. Based on current demand projections, Shell sees potential for a supply shortage developing in mid-2020s, unless new LNG production project commitments are made soon. Japan remained the world’s largest LNG importer in 2017, while China moved into second place as Chinese imports surged past South Korea’s. Total demand for LNG in China reached 38 million tonnes, a result of continued economic growth and policies to reduce local air pollution through coal-to-gas switching.

A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Maarten Wetselaar, Member of the Executive Committee of Royal Dutch Shell, took place in St. Petersburg. The meeting addressed relevant aspects of strategic cooperation. Particular attention was paid to joint efforts in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. The parties discussed the construction project for the third train of the LNG plant on Sakhalin Island and the progress of the Joint Study Framework Agreement for the Baltic LNG project. The meeting also focused on the Nord Stream 2 project. Gazprom and Shell are jointly engaged in the Sakhalin II project, which includes Russia's only active LNG plant. The Sakhalin II operator is Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd.

Shell Trading (US) Company announced it has finalized a long-term charter agreement with Q-LNG Transport, LLC for an LNG bunker barge with the capacity to carry 4,000 cubic meters of LNG fuel. As the first of its kind to be based in the United States, the ocean-going LNG bunker barge will supply LNG to marine customers along the southern East Coast of the U.S. and support growing cruise line demand for LNG marine fuel. "This investment in LNG as a marine fuel for the US will provide the shipping industry with a fuel that helps meet tougher emissions regulations from 2020," said Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas and New Energies Director at Shell. The LNG bunker barge will be owned and built by Q-LNG Transport, LLC, and operated by Harvey Gulf International Marine, LLC.

A spat brewing between Qatar, the world's No.1 producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and its biggest customers in Japan underscores rising tensions between buyers and sellers of the super-chilled fuel as a supply glut unbalances the market. Importers of LNG having been pushing for greater benefits amid the surplus, signing new, cheaper contracts that give them more flexible terms, while exporters try to preserve long-term supply deals written in their favour during tighter markets. Worried some buyers are becoming too bold in their push for an advantage, Qatar Petroleum warned customers in Japan - by far the biggest LNG importer - not to press too hard in long-term supply talks, because it could result in Japanese companies being squeezed out of Qatari gas projects.

Shell launches LNG Outlook Global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached 265 million tonnes (MT) in 2016 – enough to supply power to around 500 million homes a year. This included an increase in net LNG imports of 17 MT. Many expected a strong increase in new LNG supplies would outpace demand growth during 2016. Instead, demand growth kept pace with supply as greater than expected demand in Asia and the Middle East absorbed the increase in supply from Australia, according to Shell’s first LNG Outlook. “Global LNG trade demonstrated its flexibility time and again in 2016, responding to shortfalls in national and regional gas supply and to new emerging demand,” said Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas and New Energies Director at Shell.

The world's top producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are investing in ship-fuelling operations, floating import terminals and power plants to open new markets and keep from drowning in a fuel surplus expected to last into the next decade. Companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd are scrambling to create demand as cheap coal and cleaner wind and solar power threaten to curb growth in the 250 million-tonnes-a-year LNG market. LNG suppliers have been put in a tough spot as demand from the world's top importers of the past few decades, Japan and South Korea, has declined due to slowing economies, more efficient use of power, and switches to coal and renewables.

Shell last week confirmed its plans to build a specialized LNG bunker vessel to deliver to LNG-fuelled vessels in northwest Europe. The new vessel will be based at the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and will load from the new LNG break bulk terminal and jetty to be constructed by the Gas Access to Europe (Gate) terminal. It will also be seagoing and, therefore, able to bunker customers at other locations. Demand for LNG as a fuel in the shipping industry is increasing, due to emissions reduction requirements scheduled to come into force in January 2015…

Royal Dutch Shell today announced that, effective immediately, Upstream International Director, Andy Brown, is on extended leave to recuperate from a recent medical procedure.   During Andy's recuperation and until his return to work, Maarten Wetselaar,  Executive Vice President Integrated Gas and former head of finance for Upstream International, will serve as acting Upstream International Director, in addition to carrying out his regular duties.