Natural Gas Market News

New Fortress Energy said Monday it had executed a definitive agreement to charter the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (“FSRU”) Energos Winter from Brazil's Petrobras starting in December 2023. The FSRU Energos Winter will be immediately deployed to Terminal Gas Sul (“TGS”), NFE’s newest LNG import terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil, which will start commercial operations ahead of schedule in January 2024.“We 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.

Gasum is searching for a new CEO to replace Johanna Lamminen, who has resigned. The company's board of directors has appointed Kai Laitinen, Gasum's current CFO, as interim CEO until a successor is in place.“Together with the entire staff, we have traveled an amazing journey. We have built a Nordic energy company that provides clean energy to industry, shipping and transport, not to forget the biogas market and the circular economy. The company has a clear goal. The work is done…

State-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand said it will buy a second spot-market shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Tuesday.The state-owned PTT's Map Ta Phut LNG receiving terminal in the eastern part of Thailand will receive the 65,000-tonne LNG cargo from Malaysia's state oil and gas company Petronas, the Thai state utility said in a statement late on Friday.The April shipment is the second, after the spot-market LNG cargo in December.

The Natural Gas Public Company of Cyprus (DEFA) announced that a Chinese-led consortium has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the construction of a EUR 250 million liquified natural gas (LNG)  import terminal and related infrastructure.The authorities announced that the consortium of JV China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd, AKTOR S.A. and METRON S.A., with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. Ltd and Wilhelmsen Ship Management Limited has emerged as the preferred bidder in a tender for the construction of infrastructure required for the introduction of natural gas.According to government sources, the successful tenderer will…

During the first quarter 2019, spot LNG freight rates plummeted from the record levels seen in the previous quarter, said Flex LNG, the company controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen.Asia winter demand came in lower than expected due to an unseasonably mild weather in northern Asia, coupled with Japanese nuclear power plants restarting as well as an oversupplied LNG market due to start-up of new LNG production, said the emerging player in the LNG shipping.Asian LNG prices moved lower, trading closer to or at par with key US and European LNG markers, preventing arbitrage opportunities between the markets. Despite significant growth in liquefaction and exported volumes…

During the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018, spot LNG rates reached record levels as market players were positioning themselves ahead of the winter season, said Flex LNG.According to the UK-based provider of LNG Shipping with a focus on LNG Carriers and FSRUs (Floating Storage Regasification Units), due to a combination of higher temperatures meaning fewer heating days, liquidation of approximately 30 vessels utilized for floating storage the freight rates for LNG has slumped during first quarter of 2019 and also resulting in lower general fleet utilization.However during 2019 the LNG market is expected to grow by an incremental 33 million tonnes thereby increasing demand for shipping.

Japanese trading house and liquefied natural gas market participant Mitsui has held talks with Russia’s giant Gazprom on cooperation in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Masami Iijima, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., took place in Moscow.They discussed about the progress made in two Russian plans to expand LNG output, on the existing Sakhalin Island plant in the Far East and at a planned facility west of Saint Petersburg."The parties discussed current issues related to bilateral collaboration, including the Sakhalin II project…

The evolution of the global natural gas market, which has been driven by the growth in liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand, continues to change the relationship between buyers and sellers, and raises new challenges for the global security of energy supplies.Global natural gas markets are being reshaped by the development of major emerging LNG buyers led by China, and the rising production and exports from the United States. The third annual edition of the International Energy Agency’s Global Gas Security Review provides an in-depth analysis of recent security-related issues and lessons learned.China’s supply shortfall over the last winter, which triggered ripple effects around the world, highlighted the pivotal role of LNG in enhancing global gas security and flexibility of supply.

For a 20-year term, Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) will receive liquefied natural gas from the USA for domestic customers or for resale.The new contracts will provide a total of 2 MTPA of LNG, which is approximately 2.7 billion m³ of natural gas after regasification, and this equals – depending on the vessel capacity – over 25 cargoes a year.Under the agreements, PGNiG will purchase LNG on a free on board (FOB) basis starting from the commercial operation date of the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility, currently expected in 2022, and the commercial operation date of the Venture Global Plaquemines LNG export facility…

International floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Höegh LNG said it has decided to amend the Höegh Gallant FSRU time charter with Egypt Natural Gas Holdings Company (EGAS)."We have agreed to amend the Höegh Gallant time charter. Under the amended contract, the Höegh Gallant will be chartered as an LNG carrier to a third party, and Egas will compensate for the rate difference between the original FSRU contract and the new LNG carrier time charter," said a press statement from the Norway-based company.The amended contract is expected to become effective in October 2018 and will run to April 2020, the termination date of the original five-year FSRU contract…

The liquefied natural gas market is growing every year, but the terminals that ship and receive the fuel are shrinking. The booming sector's next-generation infrastructure is being designed for a emerging-market buyers that want smaller volumes on shorter, more flexible contracts. LNG export terminals, where the gas is liquefied and put on vessels for shipping, have traditionally been massive, custom-built facilities that cost tens of billions of dollars. And so to justify the investment, they have typically required equally massive, long-term supply deals, often lasting a decade or more. Numerous terminal projects on the horizon, by contrast…

Statoil ASA and Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) have agreed that Statoil will acquire a 25 percent interest in Roncador, a large oil field in the Campos Basin in Brazil. The transaction nearly triples Statoil’s production in Brazil, with attractive break-evens and potential for additional value creation for both parties through the application of Statoil’s expertise in improved oil recovery (IOR). The total consideration comprises an initial payment of $2.35 billion, plus additional contingent payments of up to $550 million. “This transaction adds material and attractive long-term production to our international portfolio, further strengthening the position of Brazil as a core area for Statoil.

Qatar will maintain its dominance over the global liquefied natural gas market despite increased supply from Australia and the United States, the weekly report by Qatar National Bank (QNB) said. A report in The Penisula quoting QNB said that Qatar currently accounts for 30.1 percent of the global market. The country captured nearly 70 percent of the new African demand, more than compensating for the lower cargoes to Japan. Amidst these market shifts, Qatar maintained its position as the world's largest and most cost-efficient producer, accounting for 30.1 per cent of global supply and capturing part of the new demand growth, reports The Gulf Times. The commitment to boosting long-term production will solidify its position as the global LNG leader, QNB said.

Newly appointed Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Mark Jackson has set out the Exchange’s vision of the near-future in a wide-ranging speech in Singapore during the concurrent MPA Singapore Maritime and Singapore Iron Ore Weeks. “The recent acquisition of the Baltic Exchange by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has reinvigorated this key international maritime institution, allowing us to grow our leadership profile and play a bigger role than ever before in setting standards, building consensus and leading change in the shipping markets. These are bold plans and will ensure that the Baltic Exchange remains at the heart of the bulk shipping industry for the long-term.

Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA hopes to have 10 to 15 percent of Brazil's natural gas market in coming years, Pal Eitrheim, the company's most senior executive in the country, told journalists on Wednesday.   Eitrheim added that major gas production in Brazil is likely to start after 2020. (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by Ana Mano and Alistair Bell)

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine Ltd swung to a loss in the third quarter and the rig builder's revenue was hurt by customers deferring rig deliveries amid a protracted downturn in the oil and natural gas market. The company posted a net loss of S$21.8 million ($15.7 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a net profit of S$32.1 million a year ago. It said the bottomline was hurt by higher financing costs, share of losses from associates and foreign exchange impact. The company, majority-owned by industrial conglomerate Sembcorp Industries Ltd, said revenue dropped 21 percent.

Primeline Energy Holdings Inc. announces that it has sent a letter to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and CNOOC China Limited (CCL) (together CNOOC Group) giving formal notice of its intention to commence arbitration proceedings against CNOOC Group under the provisions of the Petroleum Contract for Block 25/34. The CNOOC Arbitration relates to Primeline’s continuing disputes with CNOOC Group with regard to the development, production and sales of gas from the LS36-1 Gas Field (LS36-1). Primeline has appointed an arbitrator and will file the formal Notice of Arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules 1976 and the arbitration agreement under the Petroleum Contract for Block 25/34.

The emergence of US liquefied natural gas as a competitive alternative for European and Asian customers, combined with an oversupplied market, should drive more convergence between natural gas prices at major hubs and weaken the link between gas and oil prices, Fitch Ratings says. The first shipment of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass facility to Europe arrived in Portugal at the end of April. It is unclear how many more shipments will arrive in Europe in the near term…

The European natural gas market is well supplied by pipeline gas from Norway and Russia, Norway's Statoil said on Wednesday, adding that it expected only limited impact from U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply this year. "Looking at the gas market moving forward the starting point is that the European Union gas market is well-supplied short-term both with gas from Russia and from Norway and potential some new LNG volumes coming in," Statoil Chief Financial Officer Hans Jacob Hegge said. "So far this year we see limited U.S. LNG volumes reaching the EU," he said. Hegge said demand for Norwegian gas could increase due to production caps at the Groningen field in the Netherlands, while additional LNG supply from Australia is likely to go to Asia.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark has announced an agreement in principle with Pacific NorthWest LNG, owned in majority by Malaysia's Petronas, for a liquefied natural gas development on the province's northwest coast. Hailed as “the largest capital investment in B.C. history,” Clark said the LNG framework will result in stable, long-term revenue for B.C. and $36 billion in investment, including a proposal for an LNG facility near Prince Rupert. Both are intended to provide certainty to the Petronas-led Pacific Northwest LNG project and encourage them to make a final investment decision to build a project in British Columbia. Although there are 19 proposed LNG projects in B.C.…

Russia's Novatek may get funds from the National Wealth Fund for its Yamal LNG project before the year-end, a minister said, as part of government plans to support sanction-hit companies. Russia's No.2 gas producer, co-owned by an ally of President Vladimir Putin, Gennady Timchenko, was put on the Western sanctions list over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, limiting its ability to raise funds in Western markets. The government has pledged to support sanctions-hit companies irrespective of their shareholder structure, using National Wealth Fund as one of the options. Under the plan, NWF may buy bonds issued by some of such firms.

TerraMar Networks and Energy Perspectives join forces to offer ground-breaking LNG analytics services. Global GPS asset tracking provider, TerraMar Networks Limited has announced  that it has entered into an agreement with Energy Perspectives, expert consultancy in natural gas based in Norway, to collaborate on an innovative global analytics services for the LNG (liquefied natural gas) market. iGIS/LNG is the first, combined real time tracking and business application for natural gas producers…

Provider of managed communication solutions for remote and harsh environments, Harris CapRock Communications has signed a multi-year contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd (DSME) to provide an integrated telecommunications solution supporting the Mafumeira Sul project off the coast of  Angola. Harris CapRock says it will provide equipment and design, integrate and test all telecommunication systems before deployment; install cable at multiple construction sites around the globe; and provide commissioning support off the coast of Angola.