LNG

July 19 (LNGJ) - Chinese liquefied natural gas imports declined in June, though the number of cargoes received in the first half of 2024 showed an increase of almost 14 percent. China imported 5.62 million tonnes of LNG in June, or 83 cargoes, a decrease of almost 5.6 percent on the 5.96MT, or 88 cargoes, received in June 2023, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.  

   China’s network of 25 regasification terminals had imported 6.57MT of LNG in May 2024, an increase of 2.5 percent from the 6.41MT received in May 2023. During the period from January to June 2024, China received 38.05MT of cargo deliveries, an increase of around 13.8 percent on the 33.50MT of shipments delivered in the same six months of last year.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French maritime LNG storage technology company, has received an order from its partner Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company of China for the design of new storage tanks for two Chinese liquefied natural gas carriers.

GTT said that the latest orders were on behalf of Ocean Jade Investment.

Ocean Jade is a joint venture between Hong Kong shipowner Wah Kwong, Chinese leasing company CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping and China Gas Holdings.

GTT will design the tanks of these two vessels, which will each offer a capacity of 175,000 cubic metres.

“The tanks will be fitted with the Mark III Flex membrane containment system developed by GTT,” said the Paris-based company.

The delivery of the vessels is scheduled between the first and the second quarters of 2028.

At the start of July 2024 GTT received another order from the China Merchants Heavy Industry shipyard in the eastern province of Jiangsu for the tank design of a new LNG carrier as its orders stack up.

GTT said the order was for the tank design of a new LNG carrier on behalf of Danish ship-owner Celsius with delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2027.

Qatar expansion orders

At the end of June 2024, GTT received a second wave of orders from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for sets of tanks for 10 more vessels as part of QatarEnergy’s “Hundred Ships Programme” to handle the deliveries from multiple expansion projects in the Arabian Gulf.

That GTT order for tanks fitted to 10 large LNG carriers brought to 18 the number of Qatari LNG vessels ordered from China with the new generation of storage tanks.

GTT said it would design the tanks for these 10 very large LNG carriers, which will each have five tanks with a total capacity of 271,000 cubic metres capacity.

The tanks will be fitted with the No. 96 Super-plus membrane containment system developed by GTT.

Delivery from GTT is scheduled between the first quarter of 2030 and the fourth quarter of 2031.

GTT earlier received orders in February 2024 for the designs of tanks for eight Qatari LNG carriers, also with five per ship and with total capacity of 271,000 cubic metres.

The eight-ship order was under a “strategic cooperation agreement” with China State Shipbuilding Corp., the leading Chinese shipbuilding group.

Delivery of this batch is scheduled between the second quarter of 2028 and the fourth quarter of 2029.

The ship designs will have the same overall dimensions as the current largest Q-Max ships but with an increased cargo-carrying capacity.

The Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan with some of the world’s largest oil and gas fields on its territory and part of an infrastructure network with Russia to supply natural gas to China in competition to LNG, is boosting its own domestic gas output as well as its role as a gas transit nation.

Woodside Energy, the operator of the North West Shelf and Pluto LNG plants in Western Australia, has signed a sale and purchase agreement with CPC Corp. of Taiwan for the long-term supply of cargoes.

The BP 2024 Energy Outlook said that liquefied natural gas demand would grow robustly in the near term, driven by increasing needs in emerging economies in Asia as well as in the regional economic powerhouse China.

Gazprom shareholders have just held their annual general meeting and despite Western sanctions wiping out profits in the past year and leading to a net loss, one of the world’s largest gas companies has started rebuilding new markets to replace the European Union.

May 27 (LNGJ) - Japan, South Korea and China held their first summit in more than four years as they seek progress on improving Asian energy and trade supply chains amid stalled talks on a free trade agreement between the three. The Japanese and South Korean sides also used the occasion to criticize North Korea over a planned satellite launch and increasing tensions around Taiwan.

   South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul. None of the three were in office for the last summit in December 2019 in Chengdu in China just before the Covid-19 pandemic. “Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are of the utmost importance to international society,” Japan’s PM Kishida told Chinese Premier Li in bilateral talks after China held large-scale military exercises last week offshore Taiwan.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports dropped by 10.5 percent amid milder winter weather and prices at almost 30 percent lower levels while thermal coal imports were steady and plans were revealed for another nuclear restart.

French liquefied natural gas storage technology firm and smart-shipping services supplier, Gaztranzport and Technigaz (GTT), has signed two technical services agreements for ships owned by Jovo Group of China.

Asian liquefied natural gas demand is projected to increase in 2024 led by China even amid competition facing gas-fired power from electricity generated in the region by coal and with more pipeline gas heading for the Chinese border from Russia.