LNG

Spain and the national gas grid operator and LNG terminal owner Enagás have marked the successful first phase of a European Union-backed project to bring liquefied natural gas maritime fuel to the ports of the Iberian Peninsula.

April 5 (LNGJ) - The 148,450 cubic metres capacity carrier “LNG Imo” was scheduled to deliver a cargo on April 5 to the Sines import terminal in Portugal from the Bonny Island plant in Nigeria. Another Nigerian cargo is headed for Europe onboard the 142,990 cubic metres capacity vessel “LNG Enugu”. The carrier is scheduled to arrive on April 10 at the Cartagena terminal in southeast Spain. The Cartagena facility is also expecting a shipment on the 180,000 cubic metres capacity vessel, the “Adriano Knutsen”, in the days ahead. That cargo was lifted from the Corpus Christi LNG plant in Texas.

The natural gas drilling programme in the Timor Sea to increase available feed gas for the Australian Darwin LNG export plant from the Bayu-Undan gas field joint venture has produced better than expected results for the six energy company shareholders and the tiny Asia-Pacific state of Timor-Este.

May 18 (LNG) - Total has strengthened its positions in power generation and the supply of electricity and natural gas in Spain with the acquisition from Energías de Portugal (EDP) of its portfolio of 2.5 million residential customers and two combined-cycle gas-fired power plants with a capacity of nearly 850 megawatts.

   “The transaction, concluded with EDP on the basis of a price of €515 ($557M) in value, remains subject to preconditions, including the approval of the competent authorities, and should be finalized by the end of 2020,” said Total.

   Total now also enters the Spanish residential market and becomes the country's fourth-largest supplier of gas and electricity with residential market shares of 12 percent and 6 percent respectively. “This deal allows Total to become one of the main players in the energy market in Spain, from the import of LNG to the production and sale of electricity, based on renewables and gas,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive.

HAM Group, the Spanish natural gas and LNG fuel and transportation company, has widened its filling station network for trucks and automobiles by opening a new facility in province of Albacete, a key crossroads between the centre and the east of the Iberian Peninsula.

LNG deliveries were heading for the largest importers Japan, China and South Korea as well as the European destinations like the UK amid a two-year deal concluded by oil producers to cut output by 9.7 million barrels per day.

Chinese LNG terminals on the coast have returned to normal working and shipments will rise in the weeks ahead.

There was also a continuing flow of Australian long-term contract shipments heading for Japan and Middle East cargoes for South Korea.

Current suppliers to the Atlantic market in the days ahead include Qatar and all the main US export plants as well as Trinidad in the Caribbean.

North Sea Brent crude prices were still lacklustre at around $32 per barrel on April 13 after falling to 20-year lows of just over $20 per barrel in mid-March from $70 per barrel in January 2020.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia held a series of video-conferences over four days during the Easter holiday to secure a deal to reduce production by almost 10 million barrels per day.

However, analysts said the lack of an oil price jump in early Asian crude markets suggested the oil output cuts were not enough in the current crisis.

OPEC was forced into action after the near month-long price war between OPEC's leading member Saudi Arabia and production rival Russia had failed to envisage the huge impact of the coronavirus on the global economy.

The OPEC production cuts by 23 oil nations are expected to be for about two years, though more may still be needed.

Four Qatargas LNG carriers are, meanwhile, heading for the UK with shipments and arrivals are scheduled for, April 15, April 18 and April 19.

The 216,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Al Ghashamiya” is scheduled to arrive at the UK South Hook terminal in the port of Milford Haven on April 18 from Ras Laffan, the UK port authorities said.

Another Q-Flex vessel, the “Al Utouriya”, is expected to berth on April 19 at Milford Haven’s Dragon LNG terminal to discharge a Qatargas cargo.

The 210,100 cubic metres capacity carrier “Murwab” is expected at South Hook on the same day with more Ras Laffan volumes for the UK. The  Q-Flex “Al Khattiya”, will deliver to South Hook on April 15.

LNG carriers also continuing to load in the Atlantic Basin at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana.

They included the 155,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Golar Seal”, now headed for the Revithoussa terminal in Greece with arrival by around April 21.

The 155,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “British Emerald” is scheduled to discharge a shipment on April 22 at the Turkish Aliaga terminal.

The 162,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “Adam LNG” loaded a cargo at the Cove Point plant in Maryland and is scheduled to deliver on April 17 to the Sines terminal in Portugal.

The “Diamond Gas Orchid”, with 150,000 cubic metres capacity, is scheduled to arrive on April 18 at the US Cameron LNG plant near Lake Charles to lift a cargo.

Atlantic Basin LNG price indicators were still flat and under $2.50 per million British thermal units. The UK National Balancing Point natural gas price was at the equivalent of $2.10 per MMBtu.

The main Continental European price, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), was at the equivalent of $2.35 per MMBtu.

The New York Mercantile Exchange front-month US Henry Hub futures price lower at around $1.77 per MMBtu.

There were about 98 LNG cargo liftings at global plants in the past week, amounting to 6.84 million tonnes compared with 101 cargoes in the previous week.

Total LNG cargo volumes in transit amount to more than 16MT, according to shipping data.

The 150,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “Energy Confidence” is due at Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory on April 15 after delivering to the PetroChina-operated Tangshan terminal in northeast Hebei province.

“Flex Endeavour”, with 173,400 cubic metres capacity, is scheduled to arrive on April 15 at Chevron’s Wheatstone export plant in Western Australia after delivering to Taiwan.

That’s as Japan-Korea Marker (Platts) spot values were also still low.

Shipments for southeast Asia and North Asia were quoted at $2.805 per MMBtu for May compared with $2.970 per MMBtu last week and $5.25 per MMBtu in November 2019.

The spot price for June was quoted at $2.650 per MMBtu versus $2.810 per MMBtu a week ago.

The pace of deliveries is picking up for East of Suez, particularly from the Middle East.

The vessels heading for Asia are carrying shipments from nations such as Qatar and Oman as well as US and West African plants.

In the spot shipping charter market, LNG carrier spot rates are firm.

Rates were quoted at an average of between $56,000 per day and $50,000 per day West of Suez and $48,000 per day and $42,000 per day East of Suez for vessels of between 155,000-165,000 cubic metres capacity, according to various brokers.

One-year time charters have dropped for vessels of between 155,000-160,000 cubic metres capacity and are now seen at around $52,000 per day.

Italian energy company Eni said it signed a new long-term contract for the purchase of 1.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from the Nigeria LNG plant at Bonny Island on the Niger Delta.

Flex LNG, the growing shipping company with six vessels operating and seven others on order and whose largest shareholder is a company controlled by Norwegian magnate John Fredriksen, has entered into a new time charter in what is its second deal in a month.

Three Iberian Peninsula companies have opened a liquefied natural gas fuel station at the Port of Barcelona, offering an alternative and cleaner fuel for land transport of goods around the northeast Spanish port.

Portugal has carried out its first liquefied natural gas bunkering operation at one of its ports when a cruise liner owned by a subsidiary of Carnival Corp. of the US was refuelled at  the Atlantic island of Madeira.