Underground Gas Storage News

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers ramped up exports in October, to 7.92 million metric tons, according to data provider LSEG, the second-highest monthly level on record.Exports were just shy of the record 8.01 million metric tons in April this year, and were up from 7.12 million metric tons in September, when plant maintenance reduced U.S. production.The U.S. was the world's largest exporter of LNG in the first half of this year, according to the Energy Information Agency, ahead of Qatar and Australia.

A rapid startup of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany could help calm record-high gas prices in Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, as Moscow awaits for regulatory clearance for gas flows to begin.Russia announced last week that it had completed construction of the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 to Germany, doubling its gas exporting capacity via the Baltic Sea. However, the start of gas flows via the route needs the approval of Germany's regulator…

Spanish engineering and technology group SENER has appointed Alvaro Lorente, former Operations Manager in the energy division as Managing Director.He graduated in Industrial Engineering from the Pontificia Comillas University (ICAI), majoring in Electrical Engineering, and joined SENER in 1991. Among other posts, he has been head of SENER's Mechanics Section, Operations Manager for Renewables, Power, Oil & Gas and International General Manager at SENER.He was also appointed General Manager of Torresol Energy (a company in which SENER holds a 60% stake) and General Manager for the Energy and Environment Business Area of the SENER Group.In Energy…

Russian gas giant Gazprom will start supplying Russian natural gas to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline almost one month early than previously planned.Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom Management Committee, said after the negotiations with representatives of Chinese partner CNPC in Beijing, “Construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline is going ahead of schedule, and Gazprom will start delivering gas to China well in advance, as early as December 1, 2019.”Alexey Miller and Wang Yilin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CNPC reviewed a wide range of issues related to cooperation between the companies, focusing on the ongoing…

Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal that will serve as a back-up gas supply solution for the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. The facility includes floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) in Baltic Sea enclave.Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said: "The floating storage regasification platform is currently moored at the receiving terminal; that platform will convert LNG into gas to pump into the underground facility and to supply to consumers in Kaliningrad Region."Putin said that the Kaliningrad region is no longer dependent on transit gas supplies. According to him…

Lithuania's state-owned gas trader Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas (LDT) said on Monday it had signed a deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly from the United States for the first time and expects to receive a delivery in the second half of August. The deal is with a unit of Cheniere Energy and is part Lithuania's efforts to diversify its gas suppliers and reduce its reliance on Russia's Gazprom. LDT, part of state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija, signed a deal last year with Koch Supply & Trading for LNG supplies throughout 2017. Cheniere Energy was expected to supply LNG from a U.S. field, an LDT spokesman told Reuters. "It will be the first time Lithuania imports gas from the U.S.," he said.

Lithuania's state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija said on Monday national rules had to be changed to allow it to sell some liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes it had contracted from Norway's Statoil in the global market as domestic demand falls. Lithuania opened an LNG import terminal last year seeking to reduce its dependence on former Soviet master Russia and to diversify supplies, including buying LNG from the United States in the future. To prevent Russia's Gazprom from dumping prices and keeping the terminal idle, the government has imposed a minimum level of LNG the country's regulated heat and power producers have to buy. But even this minimum volume -- 540 million cubic metres (mcm) per year or the equivalent of six or seven cargoes -- appears too big as consumption falls.

Latvia's gas utility Latvijas Gaze sold 10.9 percent less natural gas imported from Russia in 2014 than a year before, the company said on Wednesday. Sales fell to 1.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) due to warmer weather and as more gas was switched for woodchips for heating, the company said when reporting its full-year results. Germany's E.ON wants to sell its 47.2 percent stake in the Latvian utility, which is 34 percent owned by Russia's Gazprom. The Russian firm is the sole supplier of gas to the Baltic country. Latvijas Gaze Chief Executive Adrians Davis confirmed on Wednesday that European infrastructure fund Marguerite was negotiating with E.ON. "There is a buyer - Marguerite. The buying and selling process is taking place at the moment ...

The development of gas transmission and distribution infrastructure of Kyrgyzstan was discussed during a meeting held at the Gazprom headquarters hosted today between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Djoomart Otorbaev, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic. It was pointed out that the relevant facilities in the Republic were well rundown. In this regard, Gazprom is working out the General Gas Supply and Gasification Scheme of Kyrgyzstan until 2030. The document envisages large-scale reconstruction and upgrade of gas transmission, underground gas storage and distribution facilities. The meeting participants…

Alexey Miller reported to Vladimir Putin that European consumers were receiving gas supplies entirely in line with contractual obligations. The total accumulated gas supplies for export exceeded the planned amount by 3 billion cubic meters by early September. According to the Hydrometcenter forecasts, the upcoming wither in Russia will be colder than usual. In this regard, Gazprom’s prioritized activity now is gas injection into underground gas storage (UGS) facilities. The Company raised the planned amount of working gas for injection into Russian UGS facilities to 72 billion cubic meters. This is the maximum amount that will be pumped in Russian UGS facilities in the entire history of the gas industry. Now the gas storages contain 63.5 billion cubic meters of working gas.

Alexey Miller Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee stated, "In cooperation with Verbundnetz Gas we will increase the stability of gas supply to our European consumers in the autumn-winter period." He made the statement at St. Petersburg, which today hosted a meeting between Alexey Miller and Karsten Heuchert, Chairman of the Verbundnetz Gas (VNG) Executive Board. The two parties highly appreciated the current state of the partnership relations between the companies and addressed the cooperation development issues. “Our contract signed over 40 years ago provided the basis for developing new enormous fields in Russia, creating the largest gas transmission system in the world as well as a transportation and distribution system in Germany," Miller said.

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.

Noble Denton, a global offshore engineering and marine consulting firm, announced the award of a $21.3m contract from ACS Cobra Castor UTE in Spain. The scope of work includes the provision of project management and procurement support services for Castor’s underground gas-storage development initiative. John Wishart, Noble Denton’s group managing director, said, “This initiative will see the redevelopment of the abandoned Amposta reservoir to provide back-up gas supplies for the Mediterranean coast of Spain in periods of high gas demand. The project, which will ensure a reliable gas supply to industrial and domestic consumers in Spain, will run over a four-year period and involve up to 25 Noble Denton personnel.

Developers of offshore LNG and CNG terminals must decide how much investment to ensure continuous service. The options range from no storage with supply interruptions whenever a ship disconnects from the offloading system, to no storage with two offloading systems designed to accommodate at least one vessel at all times, to offshore liquid storage and possibly underground gas storage with pipeline support to ensure gas is always flowing regardless of weather or operational conditions. To investigate the interruptible versus non-interruptible gas-supply dilemma, Zeus Development has organized a workshop January 29 with presentations from Kathleen Eisbrenner…