LNG

Shipping traffic in the Red Sea area has dropped significantly in the first five months of 2024 as Western responses to Iran-backed terrorism have not had the required results and have now led to the acceptance of the adverse economic effects of oil and gas tankers and containerships having to take alternative routes.

Peninsula, the leading independent global supplier of marine energy, has commenced LNG bunkering services at the Spanish Port of Algeciras with its new and purpose-built vessel, the “Levante LNG”.

Elengy, the operator of three terminals in Western and Southern France at Montoir-de-Bretagne, Fos Tonkin and Fos Cavaou has increased the LNG trucking capabilities at the Fos Cavaou facility located west of the Mediterranean port of Marseille.

The Managing Director of Elengy, Nelly Nicoli, inaugurated the two new tank-truck loading bays at the Fos Cavaou terminal.

The LNG fuel expansion event was also attended by René Raimondi, Mayor of the town of Fos, Hervé Martel, President of the Grand Port Maritime de Marseilles, and Régis Passerieux, Sub-Prefect of the district of Istres.

The new loading bays at Fos Cavaou now give the West Med terminal four bays with the capacity to offer 22,000 slots a year.

“LNG constitutes an immediate and effective response to the challenges of the energy transition in the road transport sector by reducing carbon-dioxide emissions,” stated Nicoli.

Commissioning

“With this commissioning, Elengy will continue with the development of its infrastructure to provide reliable and sustainable access to LNG for road transport,” added Nicoli.

“The two new bays of Fos Cavaou represented an investment of €10 million ($10.8M),” she stated.

Elengy has been expanding LNG truck-loading bays since 2013 at the Montoir-de-Bretagne and the Fos Tokin and Fos Cavaou terminals.

Over the past 10 years around 70,000 trucks have been loaded with LNG for the gradually expanding fuel market in the European Union.

Ship movements

Elengy’s three regulated terminals offer market flexibility for the unloading or loading of any type of LNG carriers as well as trans-shipment services.

The company’s LNG carrier traffic amounts to around 330 ships per annum at the three facilities.

Elengy added that during 2023 LNG had also been loaded into ISO containers at the Fos terminals for transportation by rail.

The company said it was also developing its services by investing in the development of bio-LNG made from waste to reduce the environmental footprint of the fuel.

Peninsula, the leading global independent marine energy supplier founded to fill a gap in the Gibraltar market for bunkering services and benefitting from the assistance of a refinery across the bay in Algeciras in Spain, has successfully supplied Royal Caribbean’s cruise liner “Silver Nova” with LNG fuel in an operation in Gibraltar.

The supply operation was carried out by Peninsula’s latest addition to its fleet, the LNG bunkering vessel “Levante LNG” with 12,500 cubic metres of capacity.

The “Levante LNG” bunker ship arrived at her Mediterranean home at the end of September and is now fully operational in the Strait of Gibraltar and the ports of the Western Mediterranean.

“We are all very proud of hitting this milestone. This is our first LNG supply in Gibraltar keeping us ahead of the decarbonisation curve and marking our move into the physical space through our joint owned, and operated vessel,” explained John A. Bassadone, Chief Executive of Peninsula.

“My thanks also go to Royal Caribbean for their commitment to Peninsula in further advancing a lower-carbon future together,” Bassadone stated.

Shipping asset

Nacho de Miguel, Peninsula’s Head of Alternative Fuels and Sustainability, said the company’s LNG bunkering services in the West Med are now fully operational.

“Our latest asset is a state-of-the-art, dedicated LNG supply vessel that is providing lower carbon alternatives to the global LNG-powered fleet,” said De Miguel.

“I want to thank Royal Caribbean for trusting in us to supply their 'Silver Nova' and I have no doubt this is only the beginning of our decarbonisation journey together,” he added.

Peninsula was also only recently awarded an LNG Bunkering Operator Licence from the Government of Gibraltar and the Gibraltar Port Authority.

“The ability to operate our LNG vessel in the Strait of Gibraltar will bring lower-carbon solutions to vessels entering and leaving the Mediterranean,” said the company at the time.

“The proactivity of the Gibraltar Port Authority and the Government of Gibraltar will continue to cement the jurisdiction’s position as a leading centre for maritime excellence,” Peninsula said.

Far East fixing

The company operates far beyond Gibraltar as well and at the start of October 2023 Peninsula fixed its first Biofuel deal for one of the world’s largest shipping companies from China.

Cosco Shipping Lines, the Shanghai-based international shipping company, teamed up with Peninsula units in Shanghai and Singapore for a re-fuelling with biofuel.

Peninsula’s Shanghai and Singapore trading teams recently combined to deliver 2,000 tons of UCOME-based B24 marine biofuel to the 155,000 deadweight ton Cosco container carrier, the “CSCL Venus”, through local Singapore physical supplier Vitol Bunkers.

Biofuel demand continues to increase as a result of tighter regulation around maritime carbon emissions.

Feb 8 (LNGJ) - Sonatrach, the Algerian oil and gas company and Public Gas Corp. of Greece AE (DEPA) have confirmed the extension of an LNG supply contract relating to the sale and purchase of LNG for delivery to Greece from the North African nation’s Skikda LNG plant. The existing contract was for cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) shipments to Greece's onshore Revithoussa terminal.

   “In addition to the delivery of LNG cargoes to the Greek energy group DEPA, the agreement also provides for a readjustment of the existing contractual terms in accordance with current and future developments in the energy markets,” said Sonatrach.

Avenir LNG, the small-scale LNG supplier with an import terminal on the Italian island of Sardinia and a small fleet of vessels, has just reported a positive operating profit for the first nine months of 2021.

The chief executives of Italian energy company Eni and Algerian LNG, pipeline natural gas and oil group Sonatrach have signed an accord related to the North African nation’s onshore Berkine Basin.

Sonatrach CEO Toufik Hakkar and his Eni counterpart Claudio Descalzi, signed the deal in the presence of the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab and Italian Ambassador to Algeria Giovanni Pugliese.

“Eni and Sonatrach also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on initiatives in the energy transition,” said a statement.

“The agreements are testimony to the commitment of Sonatrach and Eni to continue the shared strategy of accelerated project development,” said Eni CEO Descalzi.

The Algerian Government noted that the Berkine Basin contract was the first ever signed under the aegis of the new Algerian oil law and covers an area of 7,880 square kilometres in the southern part of the Berkine Basin, in close proximity to the company's current production assets.

More E&P

Descalzi and Hakkar stated that they shared the commitment to create an ambitious exploration and development programme in the area.

“In the first phase, the project envisages the fast-tracked development of reserves estimated at 135 million barrels of oil equivalent, with a start-up of production expected by the end of 2022,” it added.

“This project will enhance synergies with existing plants. The entry into force of the new contract is subject to approval by the competent Algerian authorities,” they stated.

Eni has been present in Algeria since 1981 and is the operator of various permits with an equity production in the country of 95,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Eni also recently agreed earlier in December 2021 to sell a minority stake in two pipelines involved in transporting natural gas from Algeria to Italy for €385 million ($435M) to Italian LNG terminal and gas grid operator Snam.

Eni said that deal involved Snam purchasing a 49.9 percent stake in the onshore gas pipelines running from Algeria to the Tunisia border and the Tunisia coast (TTPC), and the offshore gas pipelines connecting the Tunisian coast to Italy (TMPC).

Eni said the transaction would create synergies in the respective areas of expertise in gas transport on a strategic route for the security of the natural gas supply to Italy.

Snam said the deal consolidated Snam’s central role in Italy’s security of supply as well as in energy transport from the Mediterranean region.

Snam operates the gas grid and the onshore Panigaglia facility in the northwest near Genoa as well as having a 49 percent stake in the LNG facility, the “FSRU Toscana”, which is deployed off the Italian west coast.

First analyses have begun to emerge on the future impact of Turkey’s huge Tuna-1 Black Sea natural gas discovery announced last month, with estimates suggesting the country could save up to $20 billion in import costs for LNG and pipeline natural gas deliveries.

Cyprus has held a foundation stone-laying ceremony at the site of the Mediterranean Island’s first LNG import terminal being built at Vasilikos port near Limassol by a Chinese company and partly financed by the European Union.

Eni, the Italian energy company with widespread LNG interests, said it would write off around €3.5 billion euros ($4Bln) from the value of its assets after revising down its long-term outlook for oil and gas prices.