LNG

June 26 (LNGJ) - Gasunie, the Dutch utility and LNG terminals owner in the Netherlands and Germany, has had Diederik Samsom appointed as the Chairman of the Gasunie Supervisory Board by the Dutch Ministry of Finance.

   Samsom is a former leader of the Dutch Labour Party and was the “chef de cabinet” to European Union Commissioner Frans Timmermans from 2019 to 2024. Samsom is an environmental activist and started his career at the radical group Greenpeace where he was campaign manager and joined after studying applied physics at Delft University of Technology.

June 20 (LNGJ) - The Netherlands was receiving two LNG cargoes, one from Norway and one from the United States. The “BW Pavilion Aranthera” with 173,400 cubic metres capacity is scheduled to deliver a US LNG cargo on June 21 to the Dutch Eemshaven import terminal in Groningen, according to shipping data.

   The cargo was loaded on June 7 at the Freeport export facility in Texas. The “Arctic Discoverer” with 139,760 cubic metres capacity has berthed at the Gate terminal in Rotterdam with a shipment from Hammerfest in Norway lifted on June 14.

Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), the association representing the interests of European Union gas infrastructure operators in gas transmission, storage and liquefied natural gas, said the flow of LNG to European terminals hit its lowest since December 2021.

The GIE, which is based in Brussels and represents 70 member companies from 26 countries, provided the information from its gas grid data.

LNG supplies from the main terminals in the EU in nations such as Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany plunged in May 2024.

The decline in regasified LNG flowing into gas grids dropped by a quarter to around 6.75 million tonnes.

Regasified LNG flows were also down by 13 percent compard with April 2024.

Total LNG supplies from terminals to Europe’s gas pipeline system was also lower in the January to May period 2024.

More FSRUs 

The decreased regasified LNG volumes were logged even as the EU had more terminals in operation as floating facilities came on line in Italy and Germany.

The total for the year to date though May fell by 10 percent compared with the first five months of last year to reached around 37.5MT.

Another body in the EU, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), said that by the end of May the share of LNG was still the largest among sources of gas supply to Europe in 2024, standing at 32 percent.

Thus compared the 28 percent of gas provided from the Norwegian Continental Shelf and another 18 percent that came from gas storage facilities.

Other sources of gas received in Europe included 10 percent recived by pipleines from Algeria.

The Algerian volumes were delivered directly to Spain or via Tunisia to Italy by way of Sicily.

The share of gas supplies from Russia and volumes via Ukraine came to 9.5 percent.

Another 2.5 percent of European gas volumes originated from the UK North Sea.

The US remained the largest supplier of LNG to import terminals in EU and the UK followed by Qatar.

Royal Vopak, the Dutch operator of global energy storage assets, reported a strong first quarter and an increase in net profits as it broadened its activities around the world and planned an LNG import terminal in South Africa.

Höegh LNG Holdings Ltd, the owner and operator of 13 LNG vessels including floating storage and regasification (FSRU) units, said the outlook for the FSRU market was expected to remain strong as another terminal plan progressed for the Netherlands in the port of Vlissingen.

The US Department of Energy published its latest liquefied natural gas export data with the Netherlands as the leading destination for the first 11 months of 2023 while the leadership in highest prices remained with the Calcasieu Pass export plant in Louisiana.

Jan 15 (LNGJ) – A steady stream of LNG carriers was heading for the Netherlands this week as the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark prices showed falling front-month futures being overtaken by the spot price on the European Energy Exchange. The front-month TTF for February was last at the equivalent of $10.130 million British thermal units while the TTF on the day-ahead spot market on January 15 was at $10.273 per MMBtu.

   The vessels heading for the Dutch terminals, the Gate facility in Rotterdam and the Eemshaven terminal in Groningen, included the “Maran Gas Ithaca”, according to shipping data. That ship  with 170,500 cubic metres capacity was scheduled to deliver a shipment from the Calcasieu Pass plant in Louisiana on January 17 and lifted on December 30, 2023. The “Kool Baltic” with 170,200 of capacity was due to discharge a cargo at Eemshaven on January 18 that was loaded in Trinidad in the Caribbean on January 3. Another vessel heading for the Rotterdam terminal was the “Global Star”, due to berth on January 20. The ship with 173,400 cubic metres capacity loaded its cargo on January 7 at the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana. Two other ships heading for the Gate terminal with US cargoes are the “Lech Kaczynski” and the “LNG Rosenrot”.

Nov 22 (LNGJ) - LNG cargoes are heading for Belgium and the Netherlands over the next week. The vessel “Maran Gas Troy” with 159,800 of capacity is scheduled to berth with a US cargo on November 23 at the Belgian import terminal at Zeebrugge. The shipment was lifted on November 10 from the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana, according to shipping data. A Russian delivery is then scheduled at Zeebrugge on November 26 onboard the carrier “Boris Davydov” with 172,000 cubic metres capacity. The cargo was loaded on November 20 at the Sabetta terminal on the Yamal Peninsula of northern Siberia.

   A third cargo is then due at Zeebrugge on November 29 from Angola on the vessel “Sonangol Benguela” with 160,500 metres of capacity. The volumes were lifted on November 13 from the Soyo export plant in the southwest African nation. Two cargoes are heading for the Netherlands from Texas. The “Adamastos” with 174,100 cubic metres of capacity is scheduled to arrive at November 25 at the Eemshaven facility in Groningen with a cargo from the Corpus Christi plant in Texas lifted on November 10. The carrier “WilPride” with 156,000 cubic metres capacity will discharge a Texas cargo on November 29 at the Gate terminal in Rotterdam. The volumes were loaded at Corpus Christi on November 13.

Belgian shipping company Exmar, which chartered a regasification barge to the Netherlands and sold a floating LNG production vessel to Italy’s Eni for deployment offshore  the Republic of Congo, is completing its take-over by Saverex NV, the holding company of the family of Exmar Executive Chairman Nicolas Saverys and additionally reported solid third-quarter earnings.

“The Congo LNG project is entering a new phase with ENI’s ‘Tango FLNG’ and Exmar’s ‘Excalibur’ heading for Congo for installation and start-up by December 2023,” Exmar stated.

The Antwerp, Belgium-based shipping and infrastructure company reported third-quarter revenues of $345.4 million, up from $95.6M in the same three months of 2022.

Exmar said adjusted gross earnings amounted to $140.5M compared with $52.6M in the prior-year quarter.

Eemshaven LNG

“The increase in revenue in the first nine months of 2023 versus 2022 reflects the full impact of the employment of the FSRU ‘Eemshaven LNG’ and the LNG carrier ‘Excalibur’ as well as the engineering, procurement and conversion works for the Congo LNG project with Eni,” Exmar explained.

The company pointed out that September 2022 gross earnings (EBITDA) were positively impacted by a $315.6M gain on the sale of “Tango FLNG” to Eni.

Exmar noted that on October 21 Eni, Dry Docks World Dubai and Exmar celebrated the “sail away” of the “Tango FLNG” and Excalibur floating storage unit (FSU) vessels from Dubai to Congo for use in Eni’s LNG project.

“Exmar with its expertise in LNG infrastructure and serving as the engineering, procurement and conversion contractor for this project, has designed the mooring system (Exmar Offshore Company) and performed the refurbishments on both vessels at Dry Docks World yard in Dubai,” the company explained.

The LNG carrier “Excalibur” is on hire to Eni Congo for use as the FSU in the Congo LNG project.

The FSRU “Eemshaven LNG” is on charter to a unit of Dutch utility Gasunie called the EemsEnergyTerminal BV.

“The FSRU has been running steadily at lower capacity during summer time and is now scaling up for the winter season,” Exmar stated.

Shipping earnings

Exmar added that shipping division revenues rose to $110.6M versus $108.7M in the same quarter last year.

In its shipping division, Exmar retains an extensive fleet including three Very Large Gas Carriers, 17 mid-sized liquefied petroleum gas carriers, two newbuilds and 10 pressurised carriers.

Exmar said that Time Charter Equivalent Rates for Midsized vessels rose to $25,656 per day from $23,916 per day.

The VLGC TCE rates increased to $42,229 per from $39,091 a day and rates for pressurised tankers of 5,000 cubic metres capacity rose to $9,097 per day from $8,530 per day.

The company also made an investment in the drilling sector with Vantage Drilling International, buying a stake of 11.5 percent.

“Vantage is a player in offshore oil and natural gas well drilling services, with a fleet comprising of two ultra-deep-water drill ships and two premium jack-up rigs, listed on the US OTC market under VTDRF,” Exmar said.

“This strategic investment is driven by promising value due to continued under-investment in the offshore drilling market. After over two decades, Exmar re-enters the drilling sector, further expanding its role in the energy value chain,” the company added.

On the takeover bid, Exmar said that the reopening of the acceptance period of the voluntary public takeover bid launched by Saverex for all shares and share option in Exmar ended on Friday, September 15. 

Due to this process, Saverex holds a total of more than 47.81 million shares in Exmar, representing 80.36 percent of the outstanding shares.

The shares in Exmar held by Nicolas Saverys (7,924 shares) and by Exmar (2.02M shares) as well as by Saverex and persons affiliated amount to over 49.83M shares, representing 83.76 percent of Exmar.

The Netherlands has made a final investment decision on the Porthos carbon-dioxide transport and storage system, the first on the continental European Union and involving LNG terminal operator and utility Gasunie, Dutch state-owned gas company Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority.