LNG

Feb 12 (LNGJ) - Three cargoes are heading for the Netherlands and Germany in the next week. The “Grace Emilia” with 173,955 cubic metres capacity is scheduled to deliver a US cargo to the Dutch Gate terminal in Rotterdam on February 16, according to shipping data. The shipment was loaded on February 4 at the Cove Point plant in Maryland.

   The “Alicante Knusten” with 174,000 cubic metres capacity is due to deliver a US cargo on February 17 to the Rotterdam terminal and which was loaded on February 2 at the Sabine Pass export plant in Louisiana. The carrier “Castillo De Caldelas” with capacity of 176,300 cubic metres is scheduled to discharge a shipment on February 19 at the German import terminal at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven. The cargo was lifted on February 2 from the Sabine Pass plant.

June 14 (LNGJ) - The Netherlands can expect to receive at least three more LNG deliveries for the remainder of June amid rising natural gas prices with the day-ahead Dutch Title Transfer Facility spot price on the European Energy Exchange hitting the equivalent of $11.240 per million British thermal units. The “Sonangol Benguela” with 160,500 cubic metres of capacity is scheduled to discharge a cargo from Angola on June 19 at the Dutch Gate terminal in Rotterdam, according to shipping data. The cargo was lifted on June 4 from the southwest African nation’s plant at Soyo.

   The “Maran Gas Pericles” carrier, with 174,000 cubic metres capacity, was due to deliver a shipment on June 21 to the newest Dutch facility at Eemshaven in Groningen from the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana and lifted on June 6. The Rotterdam terminal is due to receive a US cargo on June 24 on board the 176,300 cubic metres capacity “Rioja Knutsen” and lifted on June 9 from the Corpus Christi plant in Texas.

Royal Vopak of the Netherlands, the world’s leading independent tank storage company and LNG terminals shareholder, said it aimed to take a 50 percent stake in the floating LNG project at the Dutch port of Eemshaven though was pulling out of an LNG terminal venture in Hong Kong.

Vopak said it had agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in the Eemshaven project from Dutch utility Gasunie.

“This transaction will be subject to a number of conditions, including the approval from the competition authorities. The transaction is targeted to be completed at the latest by 1 October 2023,” Vopak said.

The EemsEnergyTerminal is an LNG import terminal located in the seaport of the province of Groningen.

“Gasunie developed this new floating LNG terminal in the Eemshaven area in response to gas supply insecurities and a desire to reduce the dependency on Russian gas,” Vopak explained.

Vopak has additionally decided to no longer pursue the acquisition of a 49.99 percent stake in a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) owned by Japanese shipping company Mitsui Osk Lines and deployed in Hong Kong.

FSRU plans

“Vopak has been working with MOL for developing and commissioning the Hong Kong FSRU LNG terminal, and Vopak has contributed much to the establishment of a reliable system for the operation and maintenance of the terminal,” Vopak stated.

“Although the commercial start is expected later this year, the delay of the project has resulted in reduced attractiveness and made Vopak decide not to make use of the share right,” it added.

Vopak said it would remain involved in the commissioning of the terminal and would continue to provide support to the operation of the terminal as required.

The Eemshaven LNG facility has been operational since September 2022 and has a regasification capacity of 8 billion cubic metres per year. 

It comprises two FSRUs, the “Energos Igloo” and an FSRU barge built in China for Belgian shipping company Exmar.

Vopak said that the partners would explore ways of increasing capacity further.

Vopak and Gasunie are also partners in the main Dutch LNG import terminal, the onshore Gate facility at the port of Rotterdam.

Dutch security

“This agreement highlights the commitment of Gasunie and Vopak to jointly develop and operate open access LNG infrastructure in the Netherlands and to contribute to the energy security of Europe,” the statement added.

Ulco Vermeulen, director of business development at Gasunie, said he was pleased with Vopak’s decision to become a co-shareholder in EemsEnergyTerminal.

“By pooling our knowledge and experience we will offer a unique and reliable LNG import solution,” Vermeulen added.

Walter Moone, president New Energies and LNG at Vopak, said he was keen to build on the existing successful partnership with Gasunie.

“This fits very well with Vopak’s strategy to grow in LNG infrastructure and accelerate towards new energies,” Moone explained.

“We are proud to develop and operate reliable and open access infrastructure as this plays an important role both in the security of energy as well as in the energy transition,” added Moone.

Sept 23 (LNGJ) – Dutch and UK terminals are receiving shipments from the US Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana in the coming week. The 162,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “Maria Energy” was scheduled to discharge its US cargo on September 24 at the Dutch Gate terminal in Rotterdam. It was lifted from the Cheniere Energy Sabine Pass facility on September 8.

   The 173,400 cubic metres capacity carrier “Ribera del Duero Knutsen” is scheduled to unload its Sabine Pass shipment on September 29 at the UK Dragon LNG terminal at the Port of Milford Haven, according to shipping data. The cargo was lifted from Sabine Pass on September 16.

Gasunie subsidiary, EemsEnergyTerminal, has sold the remaining LNG capacity at its Eemshaven terminal to French energy company, Engie.

The Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands said in its first-quarter report that liquefied natural gas throughput increased by 77.7 percent via the Gate LNG import terminal while the Dutch are also moving ahead with a second facility at the port of Eemshaven.

Equinor, the Norwegian oil and gas company, said the Hammerfest LNG export plant that suffered a fire last month will likely be closed until October 2021 for repairs, cutting more than 60 cargoes from the European market for the next year.

French energy major Total and one of its fuel subsidiaries have started construction of a multiple-energy trucking station at the new A1 business park in Deventer in the Netherlands.

German LNG Terminal, the Dutch-led joint venture developing a planned liquefied natural gas import terminal at Brunsbuettel on the Elbe River near Hamburg, expects to make an investment decision soon after binding import contracts have been finalised at the end of 2020.

RWE, Germany’s largest utility and power producer and whose headquarters are in the city of Essen, confirmed that it had secured potentially 5 billion cubic metres of import capacity at Brunsbuettel as it also seeks a wider role for the facility.

“Currently the parties are in the final phase of negotiating fully binding legal contracts for LNG imports,” said RWE and German LNG Terminal in a joint statement.

“RWE and German LNG expect this process to be finalised by the end of 2020, putting German LNG in a position to reach a positive investment decision shortly thereafter,” it added.

German LNG Terminal is a venture comprising Dutch gas network operator Gasunie, German tank storage provider Oiltanking GmbH, and Dutch storage company Royal Vopak.

Gasunie and Vopak were the development companies behind the Dutch Gate LNG terminal at the port of Rotterdam.

RWE added that LNG import terminals like Brunsbuettel could also be combined with entry points for (liquid) hydrogen produced in other regions of the world where wind and solar energy are available at larger scale and lower cost than in Germany.

“Existing gas pipelines connected to the LNG terminal are perfectly fit to distribute hydrogen locally,” said RWE.

Javier Moret, Global Head of LNG at RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, said his company was an advocate of LNG.

“It can provide Germany with clean and affordable energy today and at the same time contribute to reducing emissions in the maritime and road transport sector as an alternative fuel,” added Moret.

“At the same time we want to make sure we are prepared for the next technological advancement. In the future hydrogen will play a key role as a climate-neutral fuel in the energy mix,” he explained.

“We are prepared for this next step with the new agreement. Therefore we are happy to support German LNG Terminal’s initiative in this field,” stated Moret.

Currently the parties are in the final phase of negotiating fully binding legal contracts for LNG imports.

RWE and German LNG expect this process to be finalised by the end of 2020, putting German LNG in a position to reach a positive investment decision shortly thereafter.

Another German utility, Uniper, is backing a second German import project at the deepwater North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven using a floating storage and regasification unit.
Uniper has said it expected that a competitive tender process would be conducted in the months ahead to seek binding accords with potential customers