LNG

April 15 (LNGJ) - Gasunie, the Dutch utility and LNG terminals owner, said it was concluding new 10-year framework agreements with a selection of six contractors for the maintenance and management of existing natural gas pipelines and the construction of new pipelines for hydrogen, green gas and carbon-dioxide. “The energy transition leads to many new projects, where maintenance of existing infrastructure also remains crucial. The agreement includes maximum investments of around €4 billion ($4.25Bln) spread over a period of 10 years,” Gasunie explained.

   Janneke Hermes, Chief Financial Officer of Gasunie, said the agreement included “a new working method” that focuses on strategic partnership in the light of the energy transition. “We will invest large-scale in our core activity, the transport of energy, in the coming years,” Hermes added. “The focus of the investments is on maintaining a safe and reliable gas network,” she stated.

European maritime classification society DNV said that there was still momentum in orders for LNG-fuelled vessels from ship owners in the month of August even as LNG bunker prices hit record levels in ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The DNV report said there were currently 827 confirmed LNG-powered ships and 229 additional LNG-ready ships, while LNG bunkering infrastructure was continuing to be developed worldwide.

DNV said that car carriers broke through the 100 confirmed ships line to 104 and containerships moved above the 200 ships mark to 209.

That’s as LNG priced in fuel oil terms at Rotterdam hit record levels of around $4,545 per tonne on September 2 versus about $3,255 per tonne on August 1.

Among other emissions-reducing fuels, Ultra Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (ULSFO) at the Dutch port declined slightly during the period and was priced on September 2 at around $990 per tonne compared with $1,010 per tonne in mid-August.

According to the latest figures from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform, 13 LNG vessels were added in August.

However, the increase on the database will only be 11 additional orders, as the electrification of the Norwegian ferry sector continues, evidenced by two more ferries being retrofitted for pure battery operations and thus moving to another category.

The total order figure for the year to date has therefore reached 173, with the last month seeing a mix of smaller and larger vessels ordered.

Perfect snapshot

“This month's update is a perfect snapshot of the current alternative fuels trend, and clear evidence of the diversified fuel mix predicted.,” explained Martin Wold, Principal Consultant in DNV’s Maritime Advisory business.

“Electrification will continue to happen, where technically feasible, meaning for small ships and on short crossings,” said Wold.

“LNG remains the preferred low carbon solution, despite current gas pricing which we must assume will prevail for some time,” he added.

“We are also witnessing the start of the diversification into methanol fuel on trades where there is sufficient confidence that supply can be made available on a reasonable time scale. For regional and international trading ships LNG and methanol is likely to be the short- to mid-term preference going forward,” stated Wold.

According to DNV, there are now 209 LNG-powered containerships in operation or on order, followed by 87 crude oil tankers, 74 oil-chemical tankers and 62 bulk carriers.

Among other classes of LNG-fuelled ships in operation or on order, there were 104 pure car carriers, 50 car or passenger ferries, 39 cruise liners, 38 tugs, 37 offshore supply vessels, 33 roll-on and roll-off ships and a smaller number of general cargo ships and fishing vessels.

This data does not include smaller inland vessels and barges that are part of the Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp (ARA) refining hub in northwest Europe.

“LNG bunkering infrastructure is being developed to supply the growing fleet,” said DNV.

Glencore Plc, the London-listed company whose marketing business includes Australian coal and from next year US LNG from Cheniere Energy in Houston, said it expected the marketing division to make at least $3.2 billion in the first half of 2022 after the volatility that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Royal Vopak, the Dutch global storage and terminals company and co-owner of the Gate liquefied natural gas import facility in Rotterdam, has purchased a stake in the floating LNG terminal in the Colombian Caribbean port of Cartagena.

Vopak said it bought 49 percent of Colombian company Sociedad Portuaria el Cayao (SPEC) in Cartagena, owner of the terminal which has been in service since 2016. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The Dutch company also owns 60 percent of the Mexican Gulf Coast onshore LNG import terminal at Altamira.

The Colombian facility consists of an LNG jetty, onshore infrastructure and 9.2 kilometres of gas pipeline connecting to the national gas grid.

A chartered floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is receiving the LNG and sending the gas to shore. The SPEC company holds long-term supply contracts with three local gas-fired power plants.

The FSRU, the 170,050 cubic metres capacity vessel “Hoegh Grace”, is on charter from Norwegian fleet owner Hoegh LNG.

The majority shareholder in the terminal company will remain the South American utility Promigas with 51 percent.

“We are very much looking forward to this partnership with Promigas and to enter into the growing Colombian LNG market,” said Eelco Hoekstra, Chairman and Chief Executive of Vopak.

“This is another growth step in our LNG portfolio and it fits very well in our ambitions to grow and diversify our service offering in LNG,” added Hoekstra.

Promigas is a private company in the natural gas sector in Latin America with 45​​ years of experience providing access to natural gas.