LNG

Eagle LNG Partners of the US has taken delivery of its first small-scale LNG carrier, the “Coral Favia”, from Dutch shipping company Anthony Veder for supply and bunkering services in the Caribbean Basin.

Eagle LNG Partners, said it would partner with the Royal Caribbean Group to provide liquefied natural gas bunkering for the cruise company’s LNG-powered ships.

Feb 24 (LNGJ) - US company Eagle LNG marked a series of firsts when it fueled the 7,500-car carrier “SIEM Aristotle” from its Talleyrand LNG Bunker Station at the Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) in Jacksonville, Florida. The “SIEM Aristotle” is the first deep-sea pure car, truck carrier (PCTC) equipped with dual-fuel engines designed to operate on LNG and marine gas oil.

   “It was the first time ‘SIEM Aristotle’ had been refueled from a landside bunkering facility and the first ship that Eagle LNG had refueled of that size from the bunkering station,” said Eagle. The “SIEM Aristotle” and sister ship “SIEM Confucius” are chartered from Norway’s SIEM Shipping to Volkswagen to transport automobiles from the northwest German port of Emden to the US East and Gulf Coasts and Mexico.

Dec 9 (LNGJ) - Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, based in Wisconsin near the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal and Lake Michigan, has delivered the LNG bunkering barge “Clean Canaveral” to US NorthStar Midstream’s subsidiary Polaris New Energy. 

   The latest US bunkering barge has 5,400 cubic metres of capacity and will refuel LNG-powered vessels at ports in Florida. The LNG fuel will be sourced from a small-scale liquefaction plant near the port of Jacksonville. Polaris New Energy signed an agreement in November 2021 for the Wisconsin yard to build a sister ship to the “Clean Canaveral” to meet growing LNG fuel demand in the US.  

The LNG supply company in the US state of Florida owned by Pivotal LNG and NorthStar Midstream, plans to increase the liquefaction capabilities to 360,000 gallons per day and double its storage capacity to 4 million gallons using the growing expertise of construction services companies in the US small-scale LNG sector.

Dominion Energy said it planned to carry out maintenance on the Cove Point LNG export plant on Chesapeake Bay in Maryland during June, though would continue to ship cargoes as usual.

Chart Industries, the US supplier of equipment for the industrial gas, energy and liquefied natural gas sectors, also supplies medical oxygen for critical care and had to increase production by over 50 percent to meet continued demand for COVID-19 patients.

This was in addition to lining up LNG fuel products for Royal Dutch Shell and securing its biggest ever industrial gases sale in China.

“All Chart manufacturing locations globally have been deemed essential business by each local and federal government and therefore continue to operate under this status,” said the company in its first-quarter earnings report.

“During March 2020, we increased production on specific medical oxygen related products by over 65 percent in the US and 50 percent in the Czech Republic,” added the Atlanta, Georgia-based Chart.

Additionally, Chart stated that orders for its cryobiological product line used for storage and transport of vaccinations, cell therapy and biological inventory increased by 14 percent to $20.8 million in the first quarter of 2020 when compared to the first quarter of 2019. 

“Typically, my quote would be about the financials and decisive, agile responsiveness during this unprecedented time,” said Chart Chief Executive Jill Evanko.

“The related facts in this release contain that information, but I would like to thank our team members who, as essential personnel, have worked tirelessly and safely to increase production on critical care products that are being used globally to save lives,” stated the CEO.

In its core LNG and industrial gases business Chart’s order backlog of $733M was flat compared with the first quarter of 2019, which included $135M of equipment for US developer Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG project.

Excluding Calcasieu Pass, backlog increased 6.8 percent year on year.

There was a first-quarter order backlog of $151M for the Distribution & Storage Western Hemisphere division, up 18.7 percent and its highest ever.

Overall, first-quarter orders amounted to $304.3M and were 34 percent less than the prior-year quarter.

The first quarter of 2019 had included the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass order ($135M), Golar’s floating “LNG Gimi” tanker conversion project ($20M) and Niche LNG’s small-scale LNG work ($7M).

In the second of its four divisions, Distribution & Storage Eastern Hemisphere, Chart booked 14 LNG fueling stations, which is the same level as the first quarter 2019.

“Additionally, in April we received verbal commitment from Shell for the supply of seven LNG fueling stations,” said Chart.

“Our teams are currently working toward a multiyear long-term contract whereby Shell will place the order for up to four stations in the second quarter of 2020 and three more in 2021,” the company added.

“The multiyear agreement will allow for expansion of these quantities with privileged support to Shell’s business plans and strategy for LNG in Europe,” stated Chart.

Chart said backlog in China was $68M at the end of the first quarter and subsequently the company received its largest industrial gas order in its history from China in early April, though gave no details.

Chart also received a letter of intent for process technology and associated equipment for Eagle LNG’s Jacksonville project in Florida.

Industrial plant orders of $4.7M were received by its Energy & Chemicals Cryogenics division for retrofitting a refinery with air cooled heat-exchangers.

Chart’s fourth division, called E&C FinFans, recorded its highest orders in the first quarter compared with the previous three quarters, including $23M in the month of March.

“This is specific to air coolers, and we expect fans products to continue to grow year-over-year,” said Chart.

Dominion Energy has closed its acquisition of Pivotal LNG from the utility, Southern Company, to enter the small-scale market for deliveries by containers, trucks and to be a supplier to the maritime fuel market.

Sea-LNG, a global coalition of energy and shipping companies and other sector participants backing the increased use of liquefied natural gas as a maritime fuel, has signed up US LNG equipment-maker Chart Industries as the newest member.

May 24 (LNGJ) - JAX LNG, a small-scale liquefied natural gas facility located at Dames Point in Jacksonville, Florida, has held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the start-up of the newly constructed plant. JAX LNG is the first small-scale plant in the US with both marine and truck-loading capabilities and was constructed through a joint venture between Pivotal LNG and NorthStar Midstream.

   “Pivotal is committed to transforming the nation's energy landscape by leading the way in how we supply liquefied natural gas to our customers,” said Tim Hermann, President of Pivotal LNG. “With our partners NorthStar, we've implemented innovative solutions to make clean, safe, reliable and affordable LNG available to marine and inland customers that can be served from the port of Jacksonville,” added Hermann.