Japan LNG competition
March 28 (LNGJ) - Japan’s future LNG needs may be further affected by moves to bring the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear facility in central Japan, one of the largest in the world by output, back on line. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Holdings, the publicly listed company and plant operator majority-owned by the Government of Japan, said it had submitted a proposal to deliver nuclear fuel to the No. 7 reactor at its idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant as early as April 15.
JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest LNG importer, is 50-percent owned by TEPCO and another 50 percent stake in JERA is held by Chubu Electric Power. TEPCO said it was seeking approval for the fuel plan from the Nuclear Regulation Authority. However, it was still uncertain whether the 1.35-million-kilowatt reactor located in the coastal area of Niigata Prefecture can actually be restarted soon because such a move still requires the consent of all local governments in the service area.
Giant Chinese Yangcheng-Binhai LNG import and storage terminal in Jiangsu receives first cargo from Qatar
China National Offshore Oil Corp. has received the first liquefied natural gas cargo, delivered from Qatar, to the giant Yancheng-Binhai Port import terminal with 10 storage tanks in eastern Jiangsu Province.
Japanese LNG and oil importers consider moves on following West's sanctions on sensitive area of energy
Japanese companies have begun moving towards imposing sanctions together with the US, the European Union members and other nations and targeting the sensitive areas for Japan of oil and liquefied natural gas imports after the invasion of Ukraine by its neighbour Russia.
Taiwan votes ‘no’ in referendum called in bid to move nation’s third LNG import terminal to other location
Taiwan voted in a referendum to retain the site of the nation’s third liquefied natural gas terminal, currently under construction at Taoyuan, though will extend the LNG carrier jetty slightly further out to sea away from a sensitive reef area.
Chinese major Sinopec gains approval for Longkou LNG terminal and urged to secure supply deals
China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, has been given the go-ahead by the state planning body to build another onshore LNG import terminal at Longkou in Shandong province at a cost of 8.3 billion Chinese yuan ($1.28Bln) and taking the size of nation’s network to 24 facilities.
Indian LNG imports drop amid 40 percent surge in prices as more domestic gas output offsets fall
Indian liquefied natural gas imports last month dropped by more than 17 percent amid a 40 percent surge in cargo prices year-on-year, while domestic natural gas production more than offset the fall in imports.
LNG importer CNOOC starts first deepwater gas field output in China fully operated by local company
China National Offshore Oil Corp, the Chinese major and largest LNG importer, has started production at the first deepwater natural gas field fully operated by a Chinese company.
CNOOC said the Lingshui 17-2 field started production in the South China Sea.
The field is expected to reach peak production of 328 million cubic feet of natural gas and 6,751 barrels of condensate per day by 2022.
CNOOC said the Lingshui 17-2 field would have 11 production wells when fully completed.
The new field would bring CNOOC's total gas production capacity in the South China to more than 13 billion cubic metres per annum, the equivalent of around 9.6 million tonnes per annum of LNG.
CNOOC said in its statement that Lingshui 17-2 was part of the company’s plan to significantly increase its gas output to cut carbon emissions over time.
In its LNG activities CNOOC has recently expanded the planned storage capacity from six tanks to 10 tanks for the Yancheng-Binhai Port import terminal now under construction in the eastern province of Jiangsu.
Phase one will have an annual receiving capacity of 3 MTPA and will be completed by 2022, including the first four 220,000 cubic metres full containment LNG tanks.
The company added that the Binhai LNG terminal project would also be an important asset in the industrial upgrade of the Yangtze River Economic Zone.
CNOOC has the largest regasification capacity of the Chinese majors with a presence in eight of the existing 22 import terminals, even after state-backed PipeChina bought and opened up several CNOOC-owned terminals to third-party access.
CNOOC also reportedly purchased almost a dozen additional LNG cargoes for delivery between July 2021 and March 2022 as demand in southern China is expected to remain strong as well as in the north and eastern industrial belts.
South Korea feels impact of rising costs of LNG imports as government continues power price freeze
South Korea, the world’s third-largest liquefied natural gas importer, is feeling the impact of increasing LNG prices and has just continued a freeze on power prices into the third quarter of 2021.
South Korea is back on path of LNG import growth backed by gas-fired power and industrial expansion
South Korea, the world’s third-largest liquefied natural gas importer, is expected to see domestic demand for natural gas increase by 15 percent through the next 12 years led by gas-fired power and industrial needs.
Zhejiang Energy deal
March 31 (LNGJ) - Zhejiang Energy Group, a leading state-owned utility in eastern China with scores of businesses including electricity provision and fuel, has signed an accord with Italian company Eni to cooperate in the energy sector. “The accord establishes a cooperation framework aimed at facilitating joint initiatives between Eni and Zhejiang Energy across the gas and LNG value chain in China and internationally,” said Eni. The initiatives listed include developing a long-term LNG supply agreement to joint participation in natural gas projects.
