LNG

Feb 7 (LNGJ) - Royal Vopak, the energy and LNG storage and terminals company, has acquired the shares of Gunvor Petroleum Antwerp from commodities trading group   Gunvor, giving it access to the Gunvor concession in the Belgian port of Antwerp to develop an energy hub. “Vopak is committed to sustainably redeveloping the site. together with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges,” said Vopak.

   The site is some 105 hectares in size and offers deep-sea, river, road and rail access, as well as pipeline connections to Northwest Europe. “Vopak will reconfigure the concession with the primary aim of making a positive contribution to the decarbonisation of the industrial cluster on the Antwerp port platform,” added the Dutch company. “The Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Vopak will continue their discussions to structure their common strategic ambition, which is to jointly develop a new green energy hub,” said Vopak.

Gunvor, the growing liquefied natural gas market participants and one of the world’s biggest independent energy traders, has reportedly cut derivative trading positions after the natural gas prices surge triggered margin calls from brokerages and exchanges.

The Commonwealth LNG project in the US, a liquefaction and exports plant proposed for the west side of the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Johnson Bayou in Louisiana, has signed a preliminary supply deal with Singapore-based commodities trading firm Gunvor.

Commonwealth said it signed a heads of agreement with Gunvor Singapore outlining the principal details of a future firm accord for the supply of 1.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG for a term of 15 years.

The project has a schedule to make a final investment decision in 2020 and to start commercial operations by 2024.

Its plant will have a total liquefaction capacity of 8.4 MTPA and LNG storage capacity volumes of 240,000 cubic metres and has chosen a modular construction format, according to filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

A total of eight liquefaction Trains are planned with each having production capacity of just over 1 MTPA.

There would additionally be six LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 40,000 cubic metres.

An adjacent electric plant would be powered by an 80-megawatt gas turbine and there would be boil-off gas handling systems, utilities, and communications system.

A 3.7-mile natural gas receiving pipeline for feed-gas is also proposed, extending from existing pipelines operated by Kinetica Partners and Bridgeline Holdings.

The marine berth would have the size to accommodate LNG carriers with capacity up to 215,000 cubic metres.

“The agreement with Commonwealth LNG is a significant step in executing Gunvor’s overall strategy of uncovering and securing low-cost resources and seamlessly delivering them to high value markets,” said Kalpesh Patel, Gunvor Co-Head of LNG Trading.

“We look forward to working with the Commonwealth team as they continue to progress their project,” added Patel.

Paul Varello, Commonwealth’s President and Chief Executive, said he was delighted at securing the first step towards a firm supply deal.

“We are proud to be entering into an agreement for a portion of our LNG offtake with the Gunvor Group, one of the world’s premier commodities trading houses,” explained Varello.

“Our mantra is to develop LNG solutions for the next generation and in Gunvor we have found a commercial partner who not only shares that vision, but through its creativity and innovation exemplifies it,” stated the CEO.