Tepco News

Denmark's Maersk Supply Service and renewable energy pioneer Stiesdal Offshore have entered into a strategic partnership to offer combined solutions to this fast-growing sector within floating offshore wind.The companies say they intend to combine their respective strengths to meet the significant expansion predicted for floating wind. Specifically, they will offer comprehensive and integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) solutions for foundations and moorings.They said that "This integrated approach will streamline the value chain…

Offshore vessel operator and installation services firm Bourbon Subsea Services has recently completed the installation of the 3.6 MW TetraSpar floating wind turbine prototype at a test site in Norway.The TetraSpar Demo project is developed by Stiesdal Offshore Technology, TEPCO Renewable Power, Shell, and RWE and has been described as the world’s first full-scale demonstration of an industrialized offshore foundation.The TetraSpar foundation concept is the modular “building block” arrangement: each foundation is assembled from tubular steel modules…

Japan will release more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station into the sea, the government said on Tuesday, a move opposed by neighbors including China, which called it "extremely irresponsible."The first release of water will take place in about two years, giving plant operator Tokyo Electric Power time to begin filtering the water to remove harmful isotopes, build infrastructure and acquire regulatory approval.Japan has argued…

TEPCO Renewable Power, a unit of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, plans to spend about 1-2 trillion yen ($9-18 billion) to develop 6-7 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind and hydroelectric power projects by 2035, its president said."We aim to boost our profit to 100 billion yen in 2030 from 40 billion yen now" through the investments, Seiichi Fubasami, president of TEPCO Renewable Power, told Reuters last week in an interview.Its parent TEPCO, which has been struggling to restart nuclear power stations after the Fukushima disaster of 2011…

Orsted, the world's largest offshore wind farm developer, is concerned the coronavirus may delay auctions for offshore projects as it prepares to enter the market, the head of its Asia-Pacific unit said. "The pandemic will not influence investment decisions and general confidence in offshore wind, but it could delay the projects' timeline," Matthias Bausenwein, president of Orsted Asia-Pacific, told Reuters in a telephone interview. "We hope that we won't see any major delays," he said.

A panel of experts advising Japan's government on a disposal method for radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant on Friday recommended releasing it into the ocean, a move likely to alarm neighboring countries.The panel under the industry ministry came to the conclusion after narrowing the choice to either releasing the contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean or letting it evaporate - and opted for the former. Based on past practice it is likely the government…

Japan's nascent offshore wind industry is expected to increase dramatically over the next ten years, according to energy analysts Wood Mackenzie, who predict that by 2028 the island country will boast upwards of 4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore capacity, a 62-fold increase on 2018 figures.As nuclear power falls out of favour in the aftermath of 2011’s Fukushima Dai’ichi nuclear disaster, Japan has struggled to bring its nuclear reactors back on the grid. Only nine reactors have successfully come online, bringing operational capacity to 9 GW last year.Wood Mackenzie estimates that Japan will face a power generation shortfall of more than 10 GW by 2030…

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Danish energy business Orsted to work together on offshore wind projects.In a press release, TEPCO said that it had been “exploring offshore wind business opportunities” in both Japan and overseas. Orsted is a world leader in wind energy and built the world’s first offshore wind facility in 1991. Ørsted has constructed more than 25 offshore wind farms in Europe and has several large-scale offshore wind development projects in Europe, the US and Taiwan.TEPCO and Ørsted will work jointly on the Choshi offshore wind project near Tokyo, for which TEPCO has been carrying out a seabed survey to examine its feasibility (announced on November 1…

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. held a christening ceremony for a next-generation LNG (liquefied natural gas) carrier under construction for TRANS PACIFIC SHIPPING 5 LTD., a joint venture of JERA Co., Inc. (JERA) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL). The new ship, named Nohshu Maru, is the fourth vessel of the latest model "Sayaringo STaGE" type, featuring significant improvements in both LNG carrying capacity and fuel performance due to the adoption of a more efficient hull structure and an innovative hybrid propulsion system.

Japan's largest power company group Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) announced  that the company’s first commercial offshore wind power facility will launch on January 1, 2019.According to a press release from the utility giant, since 2013, Tepco has been conducting Japan’s first demonstration test of offshore wind power facility (rated output: 2,400 kW; bottom-fixed foundation turbine), which is located south of Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.During the demonstration, Tepco continuously monitored test data with the aim of confirming technologies necessary to introduce and expand offshore wind power facilities. The demonstration provided Tepco with valuable experience in operating and maintaining the facility in harsh weather and marine conditions…

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line) and Tokyo Century Corporation held the naming ceremony for the newly-built liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier for JERA Co at Sakaide Shipyard of Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI).The new vessel was given her name “Enshu Maru” by Chairman of the Board of Directors Akihisa Mizuno of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. “Enshu Maru” comes from the name of an old district in western Shizuoka Prefecture named “Tohtoumi” which is part of the service area of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.Under the operation of LNG Marine Transport Ltd., “Enshu Maru” will mainly serve the transportation route between Freeport LNG project in United States and Japan after delivery…

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding held the christening ceremony for a next-generation LNG (liquefied natural gas) carrier under construction for a joint venture of Mitsubishi Corporation and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line). The ship, named "Diamond Gas Rose", is the second "Sayaringo STaGE" type vessel, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding's newest carrier that achieves significant improvements in both LNG carrying capacity and fuel performance through adoption of a more efficient hull structure and an innovative hybrid propulsion system.

Anadarko Petroleum  is in talks with newly formed Japanese joint-venture vehicle Jera, set to become the world's biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), to sell long-term supply from its Mozambique export scheme. The U.S. oil major's gas finds in Area 1 of Mozambique's Rovuma Basin will feed the initial 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), $23 billion LNG export project, which is due to start by 2021. Jera is a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) and Chubu Electric, Japan's biggest and third-biggest utilities, set up in April with an aim to become the cheapest LNG buyer in East Asia. Anadarko and Jera are in talks over a long-term gas import deal, three industry sources said.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced that the coal carrier Hakutaka, which will serve Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. was delivered at Mizushima Shipyard of Sanoyas Shipbuilding Corporation on March 26, 2015. The vessel jointly developed by Sanoyas Shipyard and MOL, is a state-of-the-art coal carrier with its wide-beam/shallow-draft shape and various safety and energy-saving specifications. It is the 3rd vessel, coming after theAkatsuki, which was delivered in February 2014, and the Soma Maru, which was delivered in July 2014. TheHakutakawill play a central role in coal transportation for TEPCO thermal power plants under a new long-term consecutive voyage service contract.

Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co and Chubu Electric Power Co,, are expected to buy a total of six cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Vitol and GDF Suez in their first joint tender, three traders said on Friday. "They are waiting for the government to confirm," one of the traders said. Vitol and GDF Suez are expected to supply three cargoes each, the traders said. This is the first time the Japanese utilities have jointly tendered for LNG, aiming to reduce procurement costs for two of the world's biggest LNG buyers. "It's unusual in Japan for two big companies to approach jointly a tender, usually what they do is they don't even tender, they just talk to their suppliers," a trader said.

A consortium led by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has received an order from Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (TEPCO) for design work for a large-scale integrated coal gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) system to be adopted for a project to create the world's most advanced coal-fired thermal power plants. The project plans call for the construction of two 500-megawatt (MW) class IGCC plants in Fukushima Prefecture to help promote local industrial recovery. Following receipt of the order, the consortium, which also includes Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mechatronics Systems, Ltd. (MHI-MS), has already begun the newly contracted design work.

South Korea, Japan and China shipyards update their order books with a clean haul of ocean-going newbuilding contracts, detailed as follows in the latest Clarkson Hellas S&P Weekly Bulletin. Clarkson Hellas report a few orders in dry, starting with the American fund Doonbeg Group ordering four firm plus four option 64,000 DWT Ultramax at Zhejiang Yangfan in China for delivery in 2015 and 2016 for the firm vessels. (This order is understood to have been signed last month, although it came to light this week). Another order which came to light this week was from Clients of Neda Maritime contracting four firm 82,000 DWT Kamsarmax with Tsuneishi Zhoushan at the end of last year. Delivery of the vessels will be within the 2nd half of 2016.

Exxon Mobil Corporatio says it has shipped the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the $19 billion PNG (Papua New Guinea) LNG project ahead of schedule. PNG LNG, operated by ExxonMobil affiliate ExxonMobil PNG Limited, is expected to produce more than 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over its estimated 30 years of operations. The first cargo is bound for LNG customer Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. (TEPCO) in Japan. Production from the first train started in April, 2014, and production from the second train has also started as additional wells came online. Construction of PNG LNG began in 2010, and took more than 190 million work hours to complete. At its peak, the project employed more than 21,000 people.

Singapore, 16 March  — The 11 March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the continuing nuclear crisis that they triggered, will have significant repercussions in global energy markets, according to international energy price reporting agency Argus. Japan will rely more on oil for power generation at least until the end of this year, altering regional balances for some grades of crude and providing a large boost in demand for low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO). And it will seek additional LNG supplies. The quake and tsunami knocked nuclear plants with 11GW of generating capacity off line, and another 1.1GW nuclear plant was shut for maintenance at the time, leaving 25pc of Japan's nuclear capacity shut after the disaster.

A nuclear fuel shipment to Japan that has stirred up protests by environmentalists is expected to reach port aboard two British cargo ships on Sept. 22, according to Japanese media sources. The ships, carrying MOX fuel, a mixture of uranium and plutonium recycled from spent nuclear fuel, will arrive at a port near the city of Iwaki, about 130 miles north of Tokyo. The armed British cargo ship Pacific Teal left the French port of Cherbourg on July 21 and subsequently linked up with the Pacific Pintail, its sister ship, for the journey to Japan. The Pacific Pintail had been loaded with MOX from Britain's Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Tokyo Electric Power Co. purchased a record amount of liquefied natural gas in March after two of the utility’s nuclear power plants were crippled by an earthquake and tsunami. The utility, known as Tepco, bought 2.14 million metric tons of LNG in March, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier.   (Source: Bloomberg)

An armed British ship carrying recycled nuclear fuel docked on Japan's northeast coast early last week after a two-month voyage from Europe that sparked protests by environmentalists and raised security fears. Activists from environmental group Greenpeace, riding in inflatable boats, met the Pacific Teal as the cargo ship docked early Monday morning at Okuma, about 160 miles north of Tokyo. It had been delayed for five days by bad weather. The Pacific Pintail, a second armed British ship also carrying nuclear fuel, remained offshore to wait for the Pacific Teal to unload before they both headed north down the Sea of Japan to their destination at Fukui.

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell this week as demand from Brazil's Petrobras slackened and top Japanese buyers switched to cheaper fuels and relied more on supplies under long-term deals. Prices for April delivery dropped to around $18.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) from $19.60 per mmBtu last week. Petrobras, a major Atlantic Basin LNG buyer in recent weeks, withdrew from the global spot market after rainfall boosted Brazil's hydroelectric reserves and cut demand for gas-fired power generation, traders said. Japanese utilities, meanwhile, increased deliveries of lower-cost LNG under long-term, oil-linked deals. "Prices would rebound quickly if Petrobras had to come back into the market," a trade source said in light of finely balanced supply-demand.