LNG

Italian utility Enel Group reported a drop in first-half revenues of almost 18 percent amid falling prices and lower volumes sold, though net income increased.

Enel revenues declined to €38.73 billion in the six months from €47.09Bln, a drop of 17.8 percent from the first-half of 2023.

Enel is involved in natural gas and thermal energy markets in Italy, Spain and in South American nations such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Peru.

The group’s natural gas sales amounted to 4.1 billion cubic metres in the first half of 2024, a decrease 18 percent, or 0.9 Bcm in the same period of 2023.

The net electricity generated by the Enel Group in the first half amounted to 96.74 terawatt hours (TWh), a decline of 5.3 TWh on the same period of 2023.

 Market context

“The change is mainly attributable to the market context with declining prices alongside lower energy volumes from thermal sources and a decrease in quantities of electricity sold on end-user markets,” Enel explained.

“These effects were partly offset by an increase in revenues from the sale of electricity generated by renewable sources and from the management activities of distribution networks,” stated Enel.

The utility’s ordinary gross earnings increased by 8.8 percent to €11.68Bln from €10.74Bln in the first half of 2023.

“The increase is attributable to the positive contribution of the integrated businesses, driven by the excellent performance of renewable energy, which more than offset the decrease in the margin recorded in end-user markets and thermal generation,” Enel explained.

Net income

The group’s ordinary net income surged by over 20 percent to €3.95Bln from €3.28Bln in the prior-year period.

“In the first half we achieved excellent results, driven by significant organic growth reached through the strict implementation of the pillars of our Strategic Plan,” said Enel Chief Executive Flavio Cattaneo.

“The managerial actions undertaken have already allowed us to restore sound operating cash flow generation and reduce our financial debt to around €55Bln, also taking into account the transactions currently being finalized and already announced to the market, therefore reaching one of the lowest levels of leverage in the entire sector,” Cattaneo stated. 

The South American nation of Colombia is making moves to import more liquefied national gas as the floating LNG terminal at the port of Cartagena has revealed expansion plans.

The terminal is a joint venture between Colombia’s Promigas and Dutch global energy storage giant Royal Dutch Vopak and is called SPEC LNG from its formal name, Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao.

SPEC LNG said it was now inviting expressions of interest from market participants for potential regasification services.

The Colombian floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is one of the original wave of FSRUs deployed in South America.

Cartagena is in the far northeast of the country on the Caribbean Sea and the terminal has been operational since December 2016.

SPEC LNG pointed out that the facility is Colombia’s main connection to international LNG markets and supports 2,000 megawatts of gas-fired power generation, about 60 percent of Colombia's gas-fired electricity capacity.

Gas security move

SPEC LNG said it was taking measures to address a potential shortage of natural gas supply in Colombia.

“Expansion plans consist of increasing its regasification capacity from 400 million cubic feet per day to 450 million cubic feet per day by the end of 2023 and up to a total of 530 mmscf per day as of the second half of 2026,” explained the company.

“This market test aims to assess demand from market participants´ for the potential additional capacity ahead of a final investment decision,” added SPEC.

The aim of the expansion is to ensure both medium-term and long-term supply of natural gas in Colombia as part of its energy transition measures.

“Considering the latest natural gas supply and demand projections in Colombia, the expansion of the capacity of our LNG import terminal is an efficient and competitive option to ensure the supply of natural gas to the market,” said Jose M. Castro, Managing Director of SPEC.

“As a result, this market test will help us advance to the next stages of the project before the FID,” he stated.

Vopak LNG interests

Dutch company Vopak’s most high-profile LNG investment is its 50 percent stake in the Gate LNG terminal in Rotterdam

Its involvement with SPEC LNG is through its 49 percent shareholding in the project with 170,000 cubic metres of capacity.

It also holds 60 percent of the Mexican Altamira import terminal on the Gulf of Mexico.

Vopak’s other LNG interests include its 44 percent stake in the 150,000 cubic metres capacity Engro Elengy terminal in Pakistan.