LNG

GRTgaz, the French natural gas transmission company with three liquefied natural gas import terminals under its control through subsidiary Elengy, said it had seen a shortfall in Russian supplies and this was being offset with LNG cargoes and additional pipeline flows from Norway.

“We are not currently experiencing any difficulties in supplying or transporting gas over the French network,” said GRTGaz.

“Onshore gas inputs from northeast France, the location at which Russian pipeline gas arrives in the country, are continuing, but at levels below those seen in previous years,” explained the company, headquartered at Bois-Colombes in the northwest suburbs of Paris.

“This decrease is being offset by sustained supplies of LNG, as well as pipeline gas supplies from Norway,” stated GRTGaz.

The company noted that the European Union natural gas market was potentially fast-changing and GRTGaz was making sure that it had solutions for all eventualities.

“As France's main gas transport operator, GRTgaz is part of the system in place to ensure a secure supply,” explained the company.

“As such, it works closely alongside the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, supervising the situation,” it added.

Emergency options

GRTGaz was also working with other French and European gas infrastructure companies, under the supervision of the public authorities, on developing solutions should Russian gas supplies cease.

“We aim to be able to maintain our storage levels over the forthcoming months and provide consumers with gas until next winter,” it stated.

“We are also working with those of our clients who might find themselves affected, ensuring that the measures in place in the event of load-shedding for consumers on the transport and distribution networks being required are properly shared. These measures would only be applicable as a last resort,” declared GRTGaz.

GRTgaz said in its annual review that terminal subsidiary Elengy received 176 LNG cargoes in 2021 at the three terminals in Western and Southern France at Montoir-de-Bretagne, Fos Tonkin and Fos Cavaou. France's fourth import terminal is at the Channel port of Dunkirk.

The terminals also handled six cargo re-loadings, 10 trans-shipments and 14,715 tanker truck LNG loadings during the year.

GRTgaz ensures the pipeline transportation of gas throughout France, though in the southwest the grid is run by regional network company Teréga.

GRTgaz had been receiving fewer transits last year, whether to Spain, which benefited from very sustained supplies from Algeria or to Switzerland (and Italy), which benefited from the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline carrying natural gas from Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea to southern Italy.

Large network

GRTgaz is the EU’s second-largest European natural gas transporter after Italy with 32,500 kilometres of pipelines and 640 terawatt hours of gas transported in 2021.

The Italian natural gas pipeline network is almost 50,000km in length.

The other GRTgaz subsidiaries include GRTgaz Deutschland, operator of the German MEGAL transmission network.

The MEGAL pipeline system is 1,160km in length and runs from the German-French border at Medelsheim via the Czech Republic's border point with Germany at Waidhaus to the bi-directional cross-border point at the German-Austrian border in Oberkappel.

The MEGAL pipeline system consists of two pipelines: the MEGAL Nord (North) pipeline and the MEGAL Süd (South) pipeline.

Engie, the France-based European utility company, reported an annual profit of €3.7 billion ($4.2Bln) compared with a loss of €1.5Bln in 2020 as the natural gas and power network businesses improved and nuclear turned a profit while renewables were disappointing given the amount of investment and promotion.

Elengy, the French LNG terminal operator and its subsidiary Fosmax LNG, are launching an open season for capacity subscriptions at the Fos Cavaou facility, located in the Mediterranean west of the Port of Marseilles.

Three of France’s LNG terminals, Fos Tonkin, Fos Cavaou in the Mediterranean and Montoir-de-Bretagne on the Atlantic Coast, are operated by Elengy within the Engie Group and as subsidiaries of GRTgaz, France’s gas network operator.

Fosmax LNG is calling for capacity subscriptions at the Fos Cavaou terminal during 2021.

The Fos Cavaou facility has been operating since 2010 and has three storage tanks with combined capacity of 330,000 cubic metres.

France has a total of four terminals and the most modern facility opened in 2016 at Dunkirk on the Channel Coast and has capacity of 570,000 cubic metres in three tanks.

Elengy explained that Fos Cavaou’s operations are currently guaranteed through to March 2030 by ongoing subscriptions and contracts totaling 87 terawatt hours per year of capacity.

“Fos Cavaou, at the crossroads of maritime routes and major gas infrastructures, offers a privileged access to all European gas markets and the small-scale potential in a key Mediterranean location,” said Elengy.

“The ‘Open Season Fos Cavaou 2021’ is initiated in response to a high level of market interest expressed over the past few months, and aims to make available additional primary capacity achieved through technical and regulatory de-bottlenecking, as well as capacity extensions beyond 2030,” explained Elengy

The windows of interest offered include 1.0 billion cubic metres per annum from January 2022, 2.5 Bcm per annum from January 2024 and 4.5 Bcm per annum from April 2030 until 2045 or longer.

The open season will have two phases. Firstly, there will be a non-binding call for interest, which is expected to last for three months to precisely assess market needs.

Secondly, there will be a binding Open Season, which is expected during the second half of 2021 to perform a market test based on binding commitments of the parties.

“Registration for ‘Open Season Fos Cavaou 2021’ is now open, and shippers wishing to register are invited to complete and sign the Confidentiality Agreement, provided on the Fosmax LNG website, and send a digital copy by email return,” explained Elengy.

HAM Group, the Spanish LNG fuel provider and filing station developer, has signed a truck-loading agreement with a French truck-loading import terminal near Marseilles because of expected unavailability in Spain through gas network company and LNG terminal operator Enagás.

GRTgaz, the French natural gas network operator and owner of LNG import terminals, has issued a report on gas flows and imports and exports during the Covid-19 crisis and the evolution of consumption and demand as gas-fired power stations begin to restart.

GRTgaz, the French natural gas network operator and whose subsidiary manages three LNG import terminals, said no supply problems were foreseen this winter season and added that send-outs of LNG into the system had doubled over the past year.

Engie, the French power and energy company with LNG and gas network businesses and an international portfolio, posted a 20 percent drop in cash flow from operations, a good measure of profitability, to 4 billion euros ($4.4Bln) in the nine months to September from 5Bln euros ($5.5Bln) in the same period of 2018.

The French Atlantic Coast Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG import terminal said its call for capacity subscriptions currently ongoing will enter its final binding phase in October 2019.

French utility Engie, the parent company of France's network operator and LNG terminals owner, said its US$8.6 billion joint bid with a Canadian fund won the competitive tender conducted by Brazilian energy company Petrobras for the sale of the South American nation’s largest gas transmission network.

April 2 (LNGJ) - Elengy, France’s main LNG terminal operator, has issued new tariffs for the use of its two regulated terminals from the start of April 2019. Elengy revealed that there had been further decreases of 4 percent for the Montoir-de-Bretagne facility on the Atlantic Coast and a 5 percent reduction in tariffs at the Fos Tonkin facility near the Mediterranean port of Marseille.

   “Tariff applicable from 1 April 2019 for a standard cargo, about 150 000 cubic metres or 1 terawatt hour (TWh) is 0.79 euro per megawatt hour at Montoir and 1.22 euro per MWh at Fos Tonkin,” said Elengy, with further details available on its Web site. “In addition, there is a 25 percent discount (approx.) on the spot service (last minute booking, i.e. made after the 20th of month) of 0.59 euro per MWh at Montoir for a full Q-Flex type cargo,” added Elengy.