LNG

US major ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire Marathon Oil Corp., the US company and main shareholder in Equatorial Guinea LNG in West Africa as well as a key operator in the major US shale basins.

Marathon Oil Corp., the US company and main shareholder in Equatorial Guinea LNG in West Africa as well as a key operator in the major US shale basins, reported solid earnings amid the effects of lower prices offset by the further development of the Equatorial Guinea Regional Gas Mega Hub (GMH) project.

Kosmos Energy, a shareholder in the floating liquefied natural gas projects offshore Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa and other regional oil and gas ventures in Ghana and Equatorial Guinea, swung to a fourth-quarter profit from a previous loss and reported good progress on the FLNG development alongside UK major BP and advances in the additional Yakaar-Teranga LNG proposal.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), known as the OPEC of LNG and pipeline gas, is preparing for its 7th Summit meeting with members scheduled to start arriving at the end of February in the Algerian capital of Algiers.

The GECF, whose secretariat is based in Doha in Qatar, will attempt to put some context into the geopolitical and economic challenges facing LNG and pipeline natural gas producers.

Although the GECF counts Qatar among its members the other main LNG producers, Australia and the US, have never been members nor will they be sending observers.

The GECF meeting will have 19 countries in attendance who together represent over 70 percent of the world’s proven gas reserves, 43 percent of its marketed production, 52 percent of pipeline gas and 58 percent of LNG exports.

Algeria, which is a key supplier of LNG to Europe from its Skikda and Arzew liquefaction plants and with gas pipelines connected to Italy and Spain, said it would use the occasion to “build a consensus” between the producing states to preserve the interests of gas exporters.

Algiers Declaration

Meetings will start on February 29 and the actual summit will take place on March 2, after which the LNG nations will issue what will be known as the “Algiers Declaration”.

The meeting is expected to support emerging African LNG nations and existing producers in their fight to alleviate energy poverty, in particular through better access to financial resources for gas development as well as improved energy security.

GECF Secretary General, Mohamed Hamel, who is himself an Algerian outlined what is on the agenda for the 12 nations who are members and the other seven countries who will attend as observers.

“This summit presents an opportunity for leaders to engage in comprehensive discussions encompassing geopolitical, economic and policy developments, providing an avenue to delve into both the immediate and long-term prospects and challenges in the natural gas sector,” explained Secretary General Hamel.

“Moreover, the summit will reiterate the important role of our Forum in strengthening cooperation among member countries, advocating for natural gas as a pivotal element in achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals, ensuring stability in natural gas markets and addressing energy security, affordability, and sustainability,” he added.

Prior to the March 2 summit, a high-level working group will meet and an Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting will be held to “prepare essential documents” for the summit, including the Declaration.

The summit will be complemented by a series of side events such as the inauguration of the Headquarters in Algiers of the newly established GECF Gas Research Institute.

Global Gas Outlook

Additionally, the delegates will approve and issue the latest edition of the “Global Gas Outlook”, one of the GECF's flagship publications.

Finally, there will be a signing ceremony for Memoranda of Understanding with the African Energy Commission (AFREC) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Preparations for the summit have been undertaken by the Algerian National Committee in collaboration with the GECF Secretariat and “all of the necessary resources have been mobilised to ensure ideal conditions for a successful and productive” summit.

“I am confident that this summit will go beyond discussions and collaborations, providing delegates the opportunity to immerse themselves in Algeria's distinctive culture and warm hospitality,” Hamel stated.

The 12 GECF members are Algeria, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

There are also seven observer members: Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique and Peru.

Algeria is preparing for more pipeline natural gas deliveries to the European Union as well as more LNG exports as new gas fields are developed amid more discoveries in the prolific gas basins of the North African nation.

The Algerian state oil and gas company Sonatrach has just appointed a new Chief Executive in Rachid Hachichi and he has just held talks with Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of Italian major Eni, the company with the most widespread interests in Algeria.

The talks between Descalzi and Hachichi in Algiers on October 12 were also attended by the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab.

“Eni and Sonatrach shared the joint programs for the development of Eni’s operated gas production as well as gas and LNG exports to Europe,” said Eni.

Descalzi also updated Minister Arkab on the progress of the accord signed by Eni and Sonatrach in January 2022 on upstream decarbonization, includingdetection of fugitive gas emissions in pipelines and plants and the identification of flaring-down opportunities in Sonatrach’s fields.

Eni currently has equity production of about 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and is the key international energy company in terms of Algerian oil and gas operations.

Ten discoveries

Sonatrach also revealed that Algeria had made 10 new hydrocarbon discoveries in the nine months to the end of September 2023, adding to the 16 other discoveries made in 2022.

Arkab met the Eni CEO after also attending the 25th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) held on October 10 in Malabo, the capital of  Equatorial Guinea, an LNG producer and exporter from its Punta Europa plant on Bioko Island.

The GECF ministers issued a statement declaring that it was “ill advised” to call for any halt in natural gas investments.

“Halting gas investment would curb supplies, lead to an excessive rise in prices and a potential return to coal, as happened in 2022, undermining emissions reduction targets,” said the GECF final communiqué.

Arkab noted that participants at the Malabo meeting highlighted the need for “unrestricted investment” while “strengthening transcontinental financial cooperation in this matter”.

The GECF also advocated more “equitable access” to all technologies related to the exploration, extraction and exploitation of natural gas.

Marathon Oil Corp., the US company and shareholder in Equatorial Guinea LNG in West Africa, has signed an accord with a unit of US major Chevron to progress with the development of the Equatorial Guinea Regional Gas Mega Hub (GMH) project.

Marathon Oil Corp., the shareholder in Equatorial Guinea LNG in West Africa, has completed the acquisition of private equity-backed firm Ensign Natural Resources for $3 billion in cash to almost double its position in the Eagle Ford shale basin of South Texas.

Marathon Oil Corp., the shareholder in Equatorial Guinea LNG in West Africa, has agreed to acquire natural gas assets in the US from private equity-backed firm Ensign Natural Resources for $3 billion in cash to almost double its position in the Eagle Ford shale basin of South Texas.

Osaka Gas, the Japanese utility and LNG importer, has reached an agreement with trading house and LNG sector participant Marubeni Corp. and Peru LNG for a feasibility study on the production of synthetic methane (syngas) in the South American nation.

Adriatic LNG, the operator of the largest of three Italian regasification terminals, said it was ready to offer more capacity to Italy and Europe with an increase from 8 billion cubic metres per annum to 9 Bcm per annum.

The terminal is located 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) off the Veneto coastline and is a gravity-based structure.

The Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition, with Decree 4 of March 15, 2022, verified the facility’s compliance with the environmental pre-operating conditions of a new decree.

The terminal has been on line since autumn 2009 and is a private operator. It is co-controlled by ExxonMobil Italiana Gas and Qatar Terminal Ltd, a subsidiary of QatarEnergy, while Italian gas network operator SNAM has a 7.3 percent shareholding.

It has so far handled more than 800 cargoes at its offshore base. The terminal includes two LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 125,000 cubic metres.

“The Adriatic LNG terminal is a unique case in the panorama of Italian and European regasification terminals, as it has for years boasted the highest average utilization rate. It was 92 percent in 2021 against a monthly average at European level of between 29 percent and 40 percent,” said the company.

Private resources

“In addition, the infrastructure was built and is managed with private resources without, therefore, any financial burden on the gas system and without constituting a cost in the bill for citizens,” it added.

By increasing its regasification capacity, Adriatic LNG will be able to make a greater contribution to meeting the country's natural gas needs as it will be able to cover around 12 percent of annual Italian consumption.

“We have reached an important milestone at a critical time for our country's energy security,” said Alfredo Balena, Director of Public of Government Affairs at Adriatic LNG.

“Increasing the capacity of our terminal represents for Italy and also for Europe a tangible way to increase and diversify LNG imports,” added Balena.

Adriatic LNG is capable of receiving almost all classes of LNG carriers, with a capacity ranging from 65,000 cubic metres up to 217,000 cubic metres capacity.

The increase in regasification capacity at the Adriatic terminal will be achieved through the optimisation of the operating conditions of the infrastructure, without any structural changes to the current configuration.

The eight supplying countries so far to the Adriatic facility have been Qatar, Angola, Egypt, Trinidad and Tobago, Equatorial Guinea, Norway, Nigeria and the US.