Natural Gas News

Russian natural gas producer Novatek plans to open the third line of its Yamal liquefied natural gas project in December, ahead of schedule, Chief Executive Leonid Mikhelson said on Tuesday.Novatek's Yamal terminal has been ramping up LNG shipments faster than expected after loading its first cargo in December 2017, with two trains now running at capacity.(Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; Writing by Polina Ivanova; Editing by Louise Heavens)

The second 170,000-cubic-meter ice-class liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier provided by Teekay to the Yamal LNG project was delivered to the charterer in Sabetta, Russia, in September.The new ship, Rudolf Samoylovich, was delivered on September 6, nearly three months earlier than anticipated, at the request of the charterer.The vessel joins the Eduard Toll as the second of six Arc-7 LNG carriers that Teekay will provide to the Yamal LNG project by 2020.The vessel transited the…

The launch of a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project in Canada has finally fired the starting gun on a wave of plan approvals around the world, needed to avoid a supply crunch after 2020.Royal Dutch Shell said it would export LNG from Western Canada by 2025 after approving a $14 billion project, hot on the heels of Qatar's commitment last week to expand its facilities.The two announcements, adding 37 million tonnes a year (mtpa) to the 290 million tonnes traded in 2017…

Russia's natural gas producer Novatek and German engineering giant Siemens have signed a strategic partnership agreement that covers cooperation in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.Novatek said in a press release that the agreement was signed by Novatek Chief Executive Leonid Mikhelson and his Siemens counterpart Joe Kaeser in Moscow.According to the agreement, the parties intend to strengthen and develop the strategic partnership and cooperation in integrated gas-to-power projects on a “turn-key” basis inclusive of LNG supply…

Hurricane Michael, the third most powerful storm ever to strike the U.S. mainland, headed northeast on Thursday, weakened but still set to soak Georgia and the Carolinas after devastating the Florida Panhandle.By 6 AM on Thursday, heavy rain and wind had reached as far north as Charlotte, North Carolina and the Western North Carolina mountains. The center of the storm was located over Augusta, Georgia, moving north rapidly at more than 20 MPH in a north / northeast heading. Charlotte…

Energy company Gasum has increased its shareholding in Norwegian liquefied natural gas (LNG) provider Skangas to 100%. The acquisition strengthens a key element of Gasum's strategy and will further enhance the development of the Nordic gas market and LNG distribution network.According to a press release from  the Nordic energy company the increase in shareholding consolidates Gasum's position as the leading Nordic LNG provider and the gas market forerunner.Nordic energy company…

South Korean midsized shipping company H-Line, owned by local private equity firm Hahn & Co, has ordered two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered 180,000 dwt capesizes at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI).A report by Yonhap, quoting the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries sources, said that the LNG-powered 180,000-ton vessels will be used on a route between South Korea and Australia starting from 2021.According to the Ministry, the bulk carriers will be the first LNG ships in South Korea to sail on a foreign shipping route.Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.…

Singapore's port authority has so far invested S$26 million ($19 million) into developing cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel at the city-state, the world's largest marine refueling hub, an executive at the port authority said."We've been working to develop LNG-bunkering in Singapore since about late-2015," said Alan Lim, deputy director at the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore, told Reuters at the sidelines of the Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition on Tuesday.The bulk of the investments, totaling about S$18 million, were directed

The transit of four liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers through the Panama Canal’s Neopanamax Locks in a single day marks a new milestone for the canal and reinforces its capacity to handle growing demand from the U.S., where several new LNG export terminals are scheduled to begin operating.On Monday, the vessels Ribera del Duero Knutsen with a cargo capacity of 173,000 m3 and Maran Gas Pericles with cargo capacity of 174,000 m3 transited northbound, while Torben Spirit with a cargo capacity of 174…

The first of a series of short-sea liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker vessels to operate in the Baltic Sea will be constructed under a contract between Damen Shipyards Group and the parent company of Estonia’s leading energy company Eesti Gaas.The 100-meter LGC 6000 LNG class vessel, scheduled for delivery in September 2020, will be the first to provide mobile ship-to-ship LNG distribution services in the North-east Baltic Sea, and is expected to accelerate the wider adoption of LNG as a cleaner alternative fuel.

ENTREC Corporation, a heavy haul transportation and crane solutions provider, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Capstan Hauling .Based in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Capstan is a leading provider of heavy haul transportation services to the oil and natural gas industry in north-west Alberta and north-east B.C. Capstan has approximately 45 employees and lease operators and operates an extensive equipment fleet valued in excess of $9.0 million.Capstan’s fleet consists of mobile cranes…

International players in the shipping sector - International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), Titan LNG, Bureau Veritas, large oil and gas companies such as Shell and ship owners such as NYK and Carnival Corporation - developed a tool for making LNG bunkering safe and sustainable."The tool ensures that the responsibilities of bunker facilities operators (BFOs) relating to safe and sustainable business operations are clearly demarcated and that there is a careful examination of how the LNG bunker operations are set up…

NYK Line has signed a contract with Total Gas & Power Chartering Limited (TGPCL), a subsidiary of Total, a leading oil and energy company headquartered in France.The contract calls for TGPCL to charter from NYK a newly built liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier for seven years, with an optional extension period of one year. The new vessel will be built by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in Korea and is due to be delivered in 2021.The LNG carrier will be equipped with a WinGD-made dual-fuel slow-speed diesel engine (i.e.…

Hurricane Michael, now a Category 4 storm, will be the second hurricane in two months to significantly affect ports on the U.S. eastern seaboard. Eastern North Carolina in particular is only now recovering from Florence.The U.S. Coast Guard has set conditions X-Ray for ports in Georgia and South Carolina in preparation for Hurricane Michael. The storm is now expected to make landfall by Wednesday afternoon. While gale force winds are expected within the next 48 hours, these ports can remain open to commercial traffic.

The first major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to be approved globally in five years will be built in Canada, but its underlying philosophy appears to be more closely allied to the Australian concept of "she'll be right, mate."The LNG Canada project was given the green light on Tuesday by Royal Dutch Shell, which is leading the $31 billion venture along with partners Petronas, Mitsubishi, PetroChina and Korea Gas.What makes the first export plant on Canada's west coast different…

Singapore authorities are taking measures to ensure the availability of low-sulphur marine fuels ahead of upcoming emissions regulations in 2020, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min said on Wednesday."(The) MPA is working closely with the industry to ensure that Singapore is ready to supply low-sulphur compliant fuels ahead of 1 January, 2020," said Lam at the Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will make available a list of licensed bunker suppliers of low-sulphur fuels by mid-2019

A naming ceremony for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier was held Wednesday  at the Tsu shipyard of Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) in Tsu city, Japan.NYK and Tokyo LNG Tanker Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., have a long-term charter contract for this vessel.At the ceremony, Takashi Uchida, president at Tokyo Gas, named the ship Energy Glory, and his wife cut the ceremonial rope holding the vessel in place. NYK president Tadaaki Naito was…

UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2018 identifies seven key trends that are currently redefining the maritime transport landscape and shaping the sector’s outlook.These trends, presented in no particular order, entail challenges and opportunities which require continued monitoring and assessment for effective and sound policymaking.1) ProtectionismOn the demand side, the uncertainty arising from wide-ranging geopolitical, economic, and trade policy risks as well as some structural shifts, constitutes a drag on maritime trade.

Shell delivered its first ship-to-ship bunkering of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from specialized LNG bunker vessel Cardissa in the Port of Rotterdam on Tuesday, marking a number of key milestones as the maritime sector increasingly turns toward cleaner burning LNG fuel.The bunkering of the Sovcomflot's Aframax tanker Gagarin Prospect with LNG is the first operation under a fuel supply agreement between Shell and Sovcomflot signed in 2017, which helped pioneer the expansion of LNG fuel into the tanker industry and…

The Panama Canal closed its 2018 fiscal year with a record tonnage of 442.1 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS), which represents a 9.5 percent increase from the previous year, the Panama Canal Authority reports.With this tonnage, the Panama Canal surpasses the cargo projections of 429.4 million PC/UMS tons for FY 2018, as well as the 403.8 million PC/UMS tons registered in FY 2017."The Panama Canal continues to exceed our expectations, reinforcing every day the importance of the waterway's expansion and its impact on global maritime trade," said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano.

French energy group Total and Algerian state-owned firm Sonatrach have signed new agreements, including a contract to develop the Erg Issouane gas field and plans to create a joint venture.The new concession contract to jointly develop the Erg Issouane gas field located on the TFT Sud permit, signed by Sonatrach, Total and Alnaft (the National Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbon Resources).The TFT Sud permit is located south of the Tin Fouyé Tabankort (TFT) field, of which Total is a long-standing partner.

German container shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday it is preparing customers for a mechanism to charge more for cleaner fuel starting next year to comply with tighter environmental rules.The Hamburg-based firm said on Monday that it has developed what it will call a marine fuel recovery mechanism (MFR), which it will gradually introduce from Jan.

Norway expects its gas export price to fall by more than a quarter by 2021 as increasing global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies outstrip growth in European demand.Norway's 2019 fiscal budget on Monday showed it expects the average price for Norwegian gas to fall to 2.05 crowns/standard cubic meter (sm3) and reach a low of 1.70 crowns/sm3 by 2021, then rebounding in 2022.The projections are higher than what Norway, Europe's second largest gas supplier after Russia, was expecting in its revised budget in May, when 2018's price was seen at 1.8 crowns/sm3 and 2019 just below 1.5 crowns.The av