LNG

Aug 25 – Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has placed an order with GTT of France to design and build the cryogenic cargo tanks for two new LNG carriers. The two 174,000 cbm LNG carriers will be built at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, using GTT’s Mark III Flex membrane containment system, with delivery of the two ships scheduled in first quarter of 2029.

Imports of Russian LNG into the EU have soared – regardless of sanctions – with most shipments headed to France, Spain and Belgium and a third of cargoes imported as spot trades. Analysts urge EU members states to prioritise on phasing out these flows.

Verso Energy has reserved a site for a new plant to produce hydrogen (H2) and biogenic synthetic fuels at the Port of Oulu, in northern Finland. Similar production sites exist in various parts of France, and Verso's synfuels production process combines green H2 with carbon dixoide (CO2) recovered from nearby paper and pulp mills.

Electricity in Finland is among the cheapest in Europe: In the first half of 2024, the price of electricity for non-household customers in Finland was the lowest in the European Union at just €0.0939  per kilowatt-hour (€/kWh), given that most of it is derived from hydropower plants.

Using this electricity to produce H2 and related biogenic synfuels is becoming a lucrative business, not least because offtaker are situated very close to northern Finland - just a short shipping distance away across the Baltic Sea in Germany, Poland and Denmark, as well as in the Netherlands and the UK.

Cheap electricity, large talent pool

Asked why Verso chose Oulo as a location for its latest hydrogen plant, CEO Antoine Huard said "the region around the Finish port town is attractive because it provides an abundance of affordable renewable energy and biogenic carbon dioxide.”

In addition, experienced chemical researchers at Oulo University alongside large R&D investments in the area, ensure a “sufficient talent pool,” the Verso CEO said, and this offers the French company potential customers and subcontractors.

And last but not least, the Port of Oulu, with its rail and road links, provides good connections to the rest of the world.

H2-derivative projects already set up

Several other hydrogen production and H2 derivative projects have already been initiated in the greater Oulu region: Gasgrid Finland is planning to establish a hydrogen transport infrastructure to connect Oulu’s hydrogen production with the rest of Finland and other countries in northern Europe.

Verso Energy is hence keen to get its project off the ground, though Mr Huard cautioned the latest “land reservation is only a preliminary decision,” – a final investment decision (FID) will be taken at a later stage.

TotalEnergies’ presence across the entire LNG value chain, from production and liquefaction, trading, shipping, to regasification, has resulted in the French energy giant being ranked as the world’s second largest LNG player, according to GlobalData..

April 17 (LNGJ) - Two African shipments are headed for France and two others are bound for China from Qatar. The 145,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “LNG Enugu” will deliver a shipment on April 20 to the French Montoir-de-Bretagne terminal on the Atlantic coast from the Nigerian export plant on Bonny Island. The 160,500 cubic metres capacity vessel “Sonangol Sambizanga” will deliver a shipment on April 25 to the Montoir facility from the Soyo export plant in the southwest African nation of Angola. The 210,100 cubic metres capacity Q-flex vessel “Fraiha” will deliver a Qatargas cargo on April 29 to the Chinese Tangshan terminal, operated in Hebei Province by PetroChina. The 217,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “Al Kharsaah” will deliver a cargo on April 24 to the Chinese Shanwei import terminal port in southeast Guangdong province from Ras Laffan in Qatar.