LNG

Avenir LNG, the London-headquartered global energy supplier for small-scale projects and gas carriers, has signed a Time Charter Party with Vitol International Shipping, a unit of the global commodities company.

Elenger, the largest privately owned energy company in the Finnish-Baltic region, said it received the first US liquefied natural gas cargo onboard the tanker “Vivit Americas LNG” with 174,000 cubic metres capacity to arrive at the port of Inkoo in Finland.

“We are one of the few energy companies in the region to procure gas directly from Western sources, this allows us to offer our customers greater security and better prices, and has significantly increased our market share in Finland and the Baltic countries over the past year," said Pasi Näkki, Chief Executive of Elenger Suomi in Finland.

Elenger had previously used the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania to bring LNG from the US and from Norway and now the firm has started cooperating with the Inkoo floating import terminal.

Elenger has signed agreements with LNG terminals to deliver a total of 10 cargoes by the start of the winter season this year.

Three deliveries have already arrived in Lithuania's Klaipeda port in January and March 2023 from the US and Norway, and a total of seven deliveries will arrive in Finland's Inkoo port in the spring and summer.

Cargoes procured

“Last year, Elenger procured five large shiploads of gas for its customers through the port of Klaipeda,” said the company.

Elenger offers customers natural gas in the form of pipeline gas, LNG and compressed natural gas.

The company is also developing a renewable energy portfolio in the form of solar energy and biomethane production and sales.

Elenger operates in Finland, the Baltic states and Poland and the group has a total of 50,000 customers.

Elenger in the market in the Baltic state of Estonia it is known under the Eesti Gaas brand name.

“Vitol is delighted to deliver the first LNG cargo to Elenger via Finland’s Inkoo terminal,” said Pablo Galante Escobar, Head of LNG and European Gas and Power at global commodities firm Vitol.

“The opening of the terminal will enhance energy security in Finland and the Baltic region, facilitating the flow of LNG from around the world to European industry and consumers,” Escobar added.

The cargo originated from Vitol’s portfolio of US LNG, specifically the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility in Louisiana.

Vitol has a global LNG portfolio with long-term sourcing contracts from producers in the US, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

In 2022 Vitol traded over 17.5 million tonnes of LNG with around 67 percent of this volume being supplied to Europe.  

The US Delfin floating LNG export project proposed for offshore Louisiana has finalized a binding sale and purchase agreement with the US subsidiary of global commodities firm Vitol.

The deal was between Delfin Midstream Inc. and Vitol Inc. and also includes “strategic investment” by Vitol in the US export project.

Under the SPA, Delfin will supply 500,000 tonnes per annum of LNG on a free-on-board (FOB) basis for 15 years at the Delfin Deepwater Port to be established 40 nautical miles off the coast of Louisiana.

“The SPA is indexed to Henry Hub benchmark. The agreement is valued at approximately $3 billion in revenue over 15 years,” said a statement.

Dudley Poston, Chief Executive of Delfin, said that recent events had accelerated the need for a wider array of potential buyers to source reliable low-cost energy from the safety of the US at “compelling” prices.

“After evaluating multiple projects and running an extensive diligence process, Vitol’s decisions to invest demonstrates the strong trust they have in our ability to deliver a reliable source of LNG,” added Poston.

Delfin added that it had signed other accords and term sheets that are being finalized into fully termed supply agreements.

Modular project

The company declared that as modular project requiring between 2 MTPA and 2.5 MTPA of long-term contracts to begin construction, Delfin is on schedule to make final investment decision on the first FLNG vessel by the end of 2022.

“We are delighted to conclude this agreement with Delfin,” said Pablo Galante Escobar, Global Head of LNG and European Gas and Power at Vitol.

“Global LNG demand is experiencing tremendous growth and Vitol continues to strengthen its position to safely and reliably deliver cost effective, flexible solutions to our customers around the world,” added Escobar.

Vitol’s commitment and investment grade rating will help Delfin on its path to financial close of this exciting project,” he stated. 

Delfin has completed the engineering and design phase of the venture for the vessels being built at South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard and the liquefaction equipment and technology is being provided by Kansas-based company Black & Veatch.

UTOS pipeline

At the outset of the project planning Delfin had purchased the UTOS pipeline, the largest natural gas pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico, and submitted its deepwater port licence application way back in 2015.

The UTOS pipeline is the only 42-inch pipeline in the GoM and was formerly owned and operated by Enbridge Inc.

Delfin then proposed to activate the formerly abandoned offshore pipeline for the FLNG project and construct new connecting pipelines, a compressor station and associated facilities.

Wouter Pastoor, Chief Operating Officer of Delfin, explained that the company had completed permitting work with a positive record of decision from the Maritime Administration and had been granted its Department of Energy export licence.

“Delfin has completed front-end engineering and design with Samsung and Black & Veatch which puts us on pace to execute our project this year and to commence operations in 2026,” he stated.

Tellurian Inc., the developer of the Driftwood LNG export project in Louisiana, has finalized a second LNG supply deal with international commodities company Vitol after previously signing another agreement in late May with Vitol’s market trading rival Gunvor.

Tellurian’s LNG sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with Vitol is for 3 million tonnes per annum on a free-on-board (FOB) basis for a 10-year period.

The volumes will be indexed to a combination of two indices, the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) for North Asian spot cargoes and the European benchmark Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), each netted back for transportation charges, the same terms as the Gunvor deal.

Tellurian said that at today’s prices, each of these SPAs is valued at around $12 billion in revenue over 10 years for the Gulf Coast venture with proposed total output of over 27 MTPA.

Tellurian had earlier signed a supply deal with Gunvor to give the Driftwood project some momentum after several years of firms declining to commit to long-term contracts.

“Vitol expressed interest in the development of Driftwood early on, and it is finalizing this agreement,” explained Tellurian President and Chief Executive Octávio Simões.

Attractive

“As the world electrifies and our population grows, the demand for reliable, low-cost energy will continue to increase. LNG provides a stable source of fuel at an attractive price, and Tellurian’s integrated model is positioned perfectly to offer volumes on JKM, TTF or blended price basis,” added Simões.

Tellurian’s Executive Vice President LNG Marketing and Trading Tarek Souki added that the company had made exceptional progress in the first phase capacity sales by securing this second SPA.

“The two recent agreements represent an aggregate of $24Bln in estimated revenue. We will continue to be deliberate and selective in choosing our additional customers,” added Souki.

Pablo Galante Escobar, Global Head of LNG and European Gas and Power at Vitol, said the firm was excited to conclude this agreement with Tellurian.

“Our long-term commitment and investment-grade rating will help Tellurian as they continue their path to financial close,” he added.

Tellurian had hinted in its first-quarter earnings report at the start of May 2021 that the improving market favoured the signing soon of supply agreements.

The Houston, Texas-based company said it continued to build its Gulf Coast natural gas business and had concentrated on paying down debt.

The overall project plan for Tellurian now is for the Driftwood liquefaction plant to have first-phase production of 16 MTPA, rising to 27 MPTA with expansions.

Tellurian produced 3.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas for the quarter in the Haynesville Shale basin in north Louisiana.

Tellurian’s upstream assets include 9,704 net acres and interests in 72 producing wells.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s LNG unit has signed a supply agreement with global commodities company Vitol for the sale of 1.8 million tonnes per annum of cargoes for six years and another two-year deal with French major Total for 750,000 tonnes.

Vitol, the global commodities company, has signed a 10-year deal with Nigerian LNG to buy 500,000 tonnes per annum as the Swiss-based trader expands its portfolio in the medium-term and spot cargo markets.

Vitol, the global commodities company, has signed a 10-year time charter agreement with South Korean company H-Line Shipping for a newbuild liquefied natural gas carrier as its portfolio expands with the recent joint venture signed for Mozambique LNG trading.

Tellurian Inc., the US liquefied natural gas development company founded by former Cheniere Chief Executive Charif Souki, has signed a preliminary accord with Swiss-based international commodities firm Vitol to supply 1.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG cargoes for 15 years.

April 20 (LNGJ) - Swiss-based global commodities company Vitol has signed a multi-year LNG purchase agreement for the Russian player Gazprom Marketing and Trading (Singapore) to supply around 300,000 tonnes of LNG per annum from 2018. The supply will come from Gazprom’s diversified LNG portfolio.  “We are delighted to be working with Gazprom Marketing and Trading, a subsidiary of Gazprom, the world’s largest producer of natural gas,” said Pablo Galante Escobar, Head of LNG at Vitol. “Vitol is an established participant in LNG markets globally and this development will strengthen our offering to customers worldwide,” he added. Vitol, whose headquarters are in Geneva, has been active in the LNG sector since 2005 and last year supplied 3 million tonnes of LNG to customers.