LNG

Sept 13 (LNG) - UK major BP said Chief Executive Bernard Looney had notified the company that he had resigned with immediate effect for telling lies on personal relationships within the company. BP added that Murray Auchincloss, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, would act as CEO on an interim basis. Shareholders had been disappointed by Looney’s nearly four years at the helm during which the shares had risen by just 6 percent compared with double-digit rises in the stock of other energy majors. There are now rising calls for the board to quit as well.

   Looney had been increasingly criticised by shareholders for his cut backs in oil and gas activities and his obsession with receiving praise from social media and “green” groups rather than getting on with the job. Analysts said some of the board should also resign for their neglectful attitudes while BP was now a possible takeover target after years of instability.

Modec Inc, the Japanese builder of offshore floating production and storage platforms, has been awarded a contract by Woodside Energy to operate an oil and gas platform for the Western Australian LNG project stakeholder’s most import venture outside of Australia.

Dec 9 (LNGJ) - Trinidad and Tobago, the LNG exporter whose principal market was formerly the United States before the shale-gas revolution and which now supplies Europe and South America, expects to see shipments drop by around 20 percent in 2021 because of feed-gas declines at the Atlantic LNG liquefaction plant at Point Fortin.

   Atlantic LNG exported 12.50 million tonnes last year compared with 15.3 MTPA of nameplate capacity and this total is lower in 2020 and will also fall in the coming year because of a supply deficit for Train 1. BP, which supplies the feed-gas for Train 1 at the four-Train facility, said its infill drilling had failed to deliver at forecast levels to ensure supply. Executive said that it was expected that Train 1 would be put in operations-ready mode for all of 2021 into 2022 as upstream results are investigated.

Oct 5 (LNGJ) - Kosmos Energy, whose projects include the floating LNG ventures being developed offshore Mauritania and Senegal in West Africa, said it closed its Gulf of Mexico financing with Beal Bank USA and Trafigura Trading. “Kosmos has changed its previously announced Gulf of Mexico prepayment facility into a five-year $200 million term-loan facility secured against the company’s US Gulf of Mexico assets,” said Dallas, Texas-based Kosmos.   

   In Africa operations, Kosmos has said Phase 1 of the Greater Tortue-Ahmeyim natural gas project offshore Mauritania and Senegal was now more than one-third complete. However, work on a breakwater installation was disrupted as a result of Covid-19 mitigation measures, meaning a delay to the venture of about 12 months. This added to another delay instigated by Kosmos partner BP for a later delivery of the first FLNG production hull.

Three European energy majors and prominent LNG market participants, Total, BP and Eni have confirmed a substantial East Mediterranean natural gas discovery in the North El Hammad block located 11 kilometres offshore Egypt.

Total said that along with its partners, BP of the UK and Eni of Italy, the Bashrush well in the North El Hammad licence area encountered 102 metres net gas pay in high quality sandstones of the Abu Madi formation.

“A production test was conducted with flow rates of up to 32 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, limited by testing facilities,” said Total.

“It is estimated that future deliverability per well will be up to 100 MMscf per day, along with up to 800 barrels of condensate per day,” explained the Paris-based company.

“Future plans foresee development through tie-in to nearby existing infrastructures,” stated Total.

Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice President Exploration at Total, said the discovery was a boost for the company, whose most prominent venture at the moment is the fully funded Mozambique LNG export project in southeast Africa,

“We are very pleased to announce this discovery in Egypt. These results support our strategy to allocate a significant share of our exploration budget to the search of hydrocarbons in the vicinity of existing infrastructures,” added McLachlan.

“These resources have low development costs since they can rapidly be tie-in and put into production,” he stated.

Total holds a working interest of 25 percent in the North El Hammad licence, alongside operator Eni with 37.5 percent and BP with 37.5 percent.

Total confirmed in July 2020 that full project financing was in place for the Mozambique LNG project using Area 1 feed-gas in the Rovuma Basin.

The joint venture companies in Mozambique have signed a $14.9-billion senior debt financing agreement proposed to construct a two-Train liquefaction plant with a total capacity of 13.1 million tonnes per annum.

Total said that the Mozambican venture represented a total post-financial investment decision outlay of $20Bln.

The Area 1 shareholding has Total as operator with a 26.5 percent participating interest alongside ENH with 15 percent.

Japan’s Mitsui & Co. owns 20 percent, India’s ONGC Videsh, Bharat PetroResources and Beas Rovuma Energy each hold 10 percent and Thailand’s PTTEP 8.5 percent.

July 9 (LNGJ) - BP signed a supply agreement for regasified LNG with China’s ENN Group in support of the growing energy needs of the southern province of Guangdong. Under the terms of the agreement, BP will provide ENN with 300,000 tonnes per annum of pipeline gas regasified from LNG for a period of two years from January 2021. The LNG will be received and regasified through the receiving terminal of Guangdong Dapeng LNG where BP holds regasification capacity.

   “This is the first time an international energy company will regasify LNG through a Chinese terminal and also directly supply gas to customers,” said Dev Sanyal, executive vice president of BP Gas. “We look forward to further cooperating with ENN and contributing to China’s ever growing energy demand,” added Sanyal.

April 28 (LNGJ) - UK major and leading LNG sector participant BP reported a 67 percent drop in first-quarter earnings as the effects of coronavirus pandemic began to be felt in the energy sector. BP recorded first-quarter net income of $791 million versus $2.4 billion in the same three months of 2019. In its key quarterly events, BP noted that a ‘force majeure’ notice was issued under the agreement with Golar LNG for the provision of a floating liquified natural gas vessel for the FLNG project offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

   BP does not give separate LNG production details but total quarterly natural gas output came to 7,387 million cubic feet per day, down from 7,872 mmcf per day in the 2019 quarter. Average realised natural gas prices fell to $2.83 per thousand feet from $4.02. “Our industry has been hit by supply and demand shocks on a scale never seen before,” said Bernard Looney, who took over as Chief Executive in February. “We are taking decisive actions to strengthen our finances - reinforcing liquidity and rapidly reducing spending and costs,” added Looney.

UK major BP confirmed its commitment to completing the sale of its Alaska business to Hilcorp Energy of the US for the original price of $5.6 billion despite the industry downturn, including the North Slope feed gas resources for the Alaska LNG export project and Prudhoe Bay oil.

Kosmos Energy, the partner of UK major BP in the Greater Tortue-Ahmeyim floating LNG project in territorial waters of Mauritania and Senegal, has given a project update after BP “force majeure” delay notice on Golar liquefaction vessel.

UK major BP has issued a “force majeure” notice to a subsidiary of Golar LNG relating to the delivery of a floating LNG production hull, the “Gimi”, for a start-up date in 2022 for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project offshore Mauritania and Senegal.