LNG

Denmark, the pipeline natural gas and power market player involved in LNG trading and a bridge supplier of gas to Poland on the Baltic Pipe, has revealed plans for increased power prices and methods of making energy savings.

Denmark, the pipeline natural gas and power market player involved in LNG trading and a bridge supplier of gas to Poland on the Baltic Pipe, has revealed its “mini tender round” for interested oil and gas companies to apply for a licence for a concession in the North Sea had flopped as the one company interested had withdrawn.

Denmark has become a benchmark nation for measuring pipeline natural gas and power needs in the European Union as a bridge supplier of gas to Poland on the Baltic Pipe and being outside the LNG supply loop unlike Germany.

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 European Commission is paying Poland €3.85 billion ($4.04Bln) to support the initial aftermath of the shutdown of coal mines in five Polish regions as the nation increases LNG and pipeline natural gas imports as well as developming renewable energy sources.

Equinor, the Norwegian LNG producer and largest supplier of pipeline natural gas to Europe, has signed a gas sales agreement with Poland for 10 years of supply through the new Baltic Pipe project.

April 28 (LNGJ) - Russian natural gas company Gazprom issued a statement from its headquarters in Saint Petersburg saying it had halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland over their refusal to pay for their gas in Russian roubles. “Gazprom has completely suspended gas supplies to Bulgargaz and PGNiG (Polish Oil and Gas Company) due to absence of payments in roubles,” said the Gazprom statement. “Payments for gas supplied from April 1 must be made in roubles using the new payments details, about which the counterparties were informed in a timely manner,” added Gazprom.

   Poland and other members of the 27-nation European Union have refused to pay for their natural gas in roubles as Russia has demanded as a way of stabilizing and supporting the rouble, which has been weakened by Western sanctions. Poland's PGNiG said in a statement it would continue to monitor the situation and was prepared to obtain gas from other connections. Bulgaria's Energy Ministry said state gas company Bulgargaz had received a similar notice from Gazprom. Bulgaria is almost completely dependent on Gazprom for its gas supplies.

Norwegian energy company Equinor has delayed the re-start of the Hammerfest LNG export plant in northern Norway by six weeks to mid-May 2022 as repair work continues after the 2020 fire at the facility.

Gazprom, the Russian pipeline natural gas giant competing with LNG in the European Union, produced 422.6 billion cubic metres of gas in the January-to-October 2021 period, an increase of 15.8 percent, or 57.7 Bcm on the same period of last year.

July 5 (LNGJ) – Russian and US cargoes are still pointing at Europe as the natural gas benchmark price, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), is at record 2021 levels for the Northern Hemisphere summer season. The 177,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Boris Vilkitsky” is expected to deliver a cargo on July 8 to the Montoir-de-Bretagne import terminal on the Atlantic Coast of France from the Yamal plant in northern Siberia operated by Novatek, according to shipping data.

   Among other cargoes for Europe, the 154,880 cubic metres capacity vessel “BW Pavilion Vanda” is scheduled to deliver a US shipment on July 19 to Poland’s import terminal at the Baltic port of Swinoujście from the Corpus Christi export plant in Texas. The cargoes were heading for Europe as the Dutch TTF hit the equivalent of $12.45 per million British thermal units while the UK National Balancing Point natural gas price was around $12.30 per MMBtu.