LNG

Glenfarne has signed a definitive agreement to supply 1 mtpa of LNG to the South Korean trading house POSCO International over 20 years from its planned 20 mtpa Alaska LNG project, the only federally authorized LNG export project on the U.S. Pacific Coast.

South Korean steelmaker and LNG importer POSCO has been engaged in damage restoration work after a typhoon and was planning to re-start the Pohang steel complex as the gas-fired power plant using regasified LNG is returned to normal capacity.

May 25 (LNGJ) - Cheniere Energy has entered into an LNG sales agreement with a subsidiary of South Korean steel and energy company POSCO Holdings. Under the deal POSCO has agreed to buy 400,000 tonnes per annum on a free-on-board basis from Cheniere Marketing for a period of 20 years.

The volumes will come from Cheniere’s planned expansion of the Corpus Christi export plant in Texas and would commence in 2026. The purchase price is indexed to the Henry Hub price, plus a fixed liquefaction fee. “We are pleased to enter into this long-term LNG contract with POSCO, a key player in the global industrial complex, and we look forward to a successful, long-term relationship,” stated Cheniere President and Chief Executive Jack Fusco.

South Korea is planning the use of hydrogen in blast furnaces for steel-making rather than in natural gas pipelines as European and US environmental energy lobbyists are putting forward as a gas replacement.

Nov 11 (LNGJ) - The South Korean energy subsidiary of steelmaking conglomerate Posco has begun operating its new liquefied natural gas supply business. The event was marked by a ceremony at the company’s Kwangyang LNG import terminal in Jeolla province. The terminal has previously supplied LNG only to the parent steelmaking company since 2005 when a commissioning cargo was shipped from Oman.

   Posco Energy explained that it planned to bring in LNG cargoes and store them in tanks inside designated customs-bonded zones, before suppling them to buyers. It also noted that given the location, its Kwangyang terminal was capable of meeting the growing demand for LNG in neighbouring Asian countries such as China.

South Korean steelmaker, LNG importer and trading company POSCO has formed a venture with research subsidiaries of US oil and gas major ExxonMobil to apply high-manganese steel to storage tanks for use in LNG and energy applications.

POSCO signed the accord with ExxonMobil's Research Engineering Company (RE) and ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company (URC) during an online ceremonyThe Korean group and the two ExxonMobil research units have agreed to make joint efforts to expand high-manganese steel's applications to global LNG projects and other energy-related sectors. 

ExxonMobil RE is in charge of basic research for materials for the US company and ExxonMobil URC is responsible for new material applications in existing facilities. 
Manganese steel refers to steel alloy containing 10 percent to 27 percent manganese to improve durability, strength and cryogenic toughness.

Due to its strength, the material is designed to be applied to cryogenic LNG and fuel tanks.

POSCO developed its high-manganese steel in 2013, containing 22.5 percent to 25.5 percent of manganese and it is capable of withstanding temperatures as low as minus 196 degrees Celsius.

The Korean group believes it is the world's first company to develop high-manganese steel for commercial use.

POSCO won government approval for using high-manganese steel for land-based LNG tanks and applied the material to LNG storage Tank No. 5 at POSCO Energy's LNG import terminal at Kwangyang in Korea’s southern Jeolla province.

The Kwangyang LNG terminal was Korea's first import facility not controlled by state-run Korea Gas Corp. when it opened in 2005 and currently has 530,000 cubic metres of storage.

The International Maritime Organization's Maritime Safety Committee has approved interim guidelines on applying POSCO's high-manganese steel in cryogenic LNG storage and fuel tanks.“This cooperation and commitment to long-term, strategic technology development combines ExxonMobil's expertise in metallurgy application with POSCO's expertise in world-class, high-quality steel manufacturing,” said ExxonMobil URC President Tristan Aspray.

The head of POSCO’s Technical Research Laboratories, Lee Duk-lak, said he was delighted with the cooperation venture.

“Along with steel alloy and its related technologies, we hope POSCO and ExxonMobil advance their work on reducing carbon-dioxide emissions and on other eco-friendly technologies,” said Lee.

POSCO said that this was not the first time that the Korea steel company and trader had teamed up with ExxonMobil on developing new materials.

In 2017, the two sides jointly developed high-manganese steel for pipelines carrying oil sand slurry.

“The energy dual challenge, supplying energy for modern life while minimizing the impact on the environment, is one of the most important issues facing society,” said ExxonMobil RE Vice President Vijay Swarup.

Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, a unit of France's industrial gases company, has signed a new contract with LNG importer, the POSCO Group and the leading steel producer in South Korea, to design and build an Air Separation Unit (ASU) at Pohang.

South Korean engineering company Trans Gas Solution and its partners in a joint project have received approval in principle from the maritime classification society Korea Register for the design of a liquefied natural gas bunkering barge.

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices rose last week for the second consecutive time, as very high temperatures continued to grip Japan.

Malaysian energy company Petronas said it delivered its first LNG cargo to South Korean oil refining company S-Oil Corp. to start a 15-year supply agreement.