LNG

March 11 (LNGJ) - Air Liquide of France and Vopak of the Netherlands, both prominent participants in the LNG business, have signed a accord to collaborate on the development and operation of infrastructure for ammonia imports and hydrogen distribution in Singapore. “Ammonia is considered as one of the low-carbon fuels for power generation and the maritime industry. As a hydrogen carrier, it is one of the most efficient ways to store and transport hydrogen,” a joint statement said.

   “As such, the parties will study and explore the joint development of low-carbon ammonia supply chains in Singapore, including the potential development of ammonia cracking facilities, associated ammonia storage and handling infrastructure at Vopak’s Banyan terminal,” they added.

The South American nation of Colombia is making moves to import more liquefied national gas at the floating LNG terminal at the port of Cartagena to supply the country's main thermal plants to deal with the El Niño weather phenomenon.

The South American nation of Colombia is making moves to import more liquefied national gas as the floating LNG terminal at the port of Cartagena has revealed expansion plans.

The terminal is a joint venture between Colombia’s Promigas and Dutch global energy storage giant Royal Dutch Vopak and is called SPEC LNG from its formal name, Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao.

SPEC LNG said it was now inviting expressions of interest from market participants for potential regasification services.

The Colombian floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is one of the original wave of FSRUs deployed in South America.

Cartagena is in the far northeast of the country on the Caribbean Sea and the terminal has been operational since December 2016.

SPEC LNG pointed out that the facility is Colombia’s main connection to international LNG markets and supports 2,000 megawatts of gas-fired power generation, about 60 percent of Colombia's gas-fired electricity capacity.

Gas security move

SPEC LNG said it was taking measures to address a potential shortage of natural gas supply in Colombia.

“Expansion plans consist of increasing its regasification capacity from 400 million cubic feet per day to 450 million cubic feet per day by the end of 2023 and up to a total of 530 mmscf per day as of the second half of 2026,” explained the company.

“This market test aims to assess demand from market participants´ for the potential additional capacity ahead of a final investment decision,” added SPEC.

The aim of the expansion is to ensure both medium-term and long-term supply of natural gas in Colombia as part of its energy transition measures.

“Considering the latest natural gas supply and demand projections in Colombia, the expansion of the capacity of our LNG import terminal is an efficient and competitive option to ensure the supply of natural gas to the market,” said Jose M. Castro, Managing Director of SPEC.

“As a result, this market test will help us advance to the next stages of the project before the FID,” he stated.

Vopak LNG interests

Dutch company Vopak’s most high-profile LNG investment is its 50 percent stake in the Gate LNG terminal in Rotterdam

Its involvement with SPEC LNG is through its 49 percent shareholding in the project with 170,000 cubic metres of capacity.

It also holds 60 percent of the Mexican Altamira import terminal on the Gulf of Mexico.

Vopak’s other LNG interests include its 44 percent stake in the 150,000 cubic metres capacity Engro Elengy terminal in Pakistan.

The Port of Rotterdam, host to the Dutch Gate LNG import terminal in the Maasvlakte area, reported “significant changes” in the first half of 2022 because of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine with incoming LNG shipments increasing by over 55 percent and coal imports also surging.

The Port said in its first-half report that total cargoes increased by 0.8 percent to 233.5 million tonnes compared with 231.6MT in the first six months of 2021.

Revenues at the port, which is owned by the City of Rotterdam and the Government of the Netherlands, increased by 6.3 percent to €412 million ($420M) versus €387.6M in the first half of 2021.

The increase in port dues accounted for €16.1M of the revenues and this rise was primarily attributable to a higher number of vessels, resulting in a higher price per throughput tonne.

“In many segments, the war in Ukraine led to significant changes. For example, imports of both LNG and coal rose very sharply as an alternative to reduced European imports of Russian gas by pipeline,” said the report.

The Port said it handled 5.32 million tonnes of incoming LNG from January through June compared with 3.41MT in the first half of 2021, a rise of 55.9 percent.

Dutch LNG imports for all of 2021 amounted to 5.64MT, an increase of 5.8 percent over the previous year.

Coal imports

Rotterdam’s coal imports in the first half jumped 31.9 percent to 14.05MT from 10.65MT in the prior-year period.

“There is very strong demand for LNG as an alternative to the natural gas entering Europe by pipeline from Russia,” said the Port.

“The throughput of crude oil increased, with oil products falling off. Throughput of iron ore, agricultural bulk and containers was lower than in the same period last year,” it added.

LNG shipments come under the Port’s Liquid Bulk segment and first-half traffic of liquid bulk rose by 4.6 percent.

“The 4.3 percent increase in crude oil was mainly caused by the flow of Russian oil through Rotterdam to India in particular. Refineries in Northwest Europe are switching to non-Russian oil, with the result that Russian oil is finding its way to other markets,” the Port explained.

“It was possible to see a shift in the origin of imports of coal, crude oil, oil products and LNG in the second quarter. Companies are sourcing these energy carriers and raw materials less and less from Russia and purchasing them elsewhere in the world,” said the report.

CEO overview

Allard Castelein, Chief Executive of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, noted that Europe has relied heavily on Russian energy.

“The current geopolitical situation makes Europe very vulnerable. The availability of energy and raw materials at reasonable prices cannot be taken for granted,” said Castelein.

“A positive development is that concrete steps have been taken in recent months to make our energy supply more sustainable and to further our energy independence, particularly through investment decisions to build a large biorefinery,” he added.

“In addition to the vulnerability of the European energy system, nitrogen emissions continue to be a major bottleneck. Several major projects, including the carbon dioxide-capture and storage project Porthos, are being delayed or threatened with delays due to uncertainty and restrictions associated with nitrogen emission,” stated the CEO.

Rotterdam’s Gate LNG terminal started operations in 2011 and is a joint venture between Dutch utility Gasunie and global storage company Royal Dutch Vopak.

Gate Terminal BV, the operating company, said in early July 2022 that annual capacity was now 12 billion cubic metres on a firm basis and in addition 4 Bcm on an interruptible basis will be available in the future.

The terminal company said it had started working on a permit application, regulatory conditions and technical feasibility with the aim of launching an open season on 15th August 2022 to increase the firm annual capacity by 4 Bcm.

Germany, the world’s fourth-largest consumer of coal and which is celebrating the near completion of the controversial Nord Stream II gas pipeline from Russia, is set for a week of protests by environmental and left-wing activists - at the site of what will be the country’s first LNG import terminal.

Police said that the protesters were setting up a camp and plan blockades and other activities on approach roads to the LNG terminal location at Brunsbüttel from July 29 to August 2.

“It is assumed that most of the participants in the ‘climate camp’ will express their protest peacefully,” a spokesman for the Schleswig-Holstein state police told the Germany news agency DPA.

The state police said that several hundred officers would be on duty at the LNG terminal site from July 28 through August 2.

The developers of the Brunsbüttel terminal have received all of their regulatory permits.

However, since the terminal’s engineering phase gathered pace, the state Greens party has called for the project to be halted, claiming that it would a centre for the import of US LNG made from feed-gas that was a product of hydraulic fracturing.

German natural gas supplies mostly come from Russia's Gazprom and the Nord Steam I and new Nord Stream II projects and from offshore fields in Norwegian waters.

Elbe River

Brunsbüttel, on the Elbe River near Hamburg, is the most advanced of just two terminals moving forward.

The second terminal is west of Hamburg and also on the Elbe at the town of Stade.

The Brunsbüttel terminal is scheduled to be commissioned around July 2024 and the Stade facility a year later.

The Brunsbüttel joint venture is owned by two Dutch companies, Gasunie LNG Holding BV and Royal Dutch Vopak, as well as Oiltanking GmbH, a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls AG, based in Hamburg.

The aim of the joint venture is to build and operate a multifunctional import and distribution terminal for LNG.

The terminal will also provide a wide range of services including the loading and unloading of LNG carriers, the temporary storage of LNG, regasification, feeding natural gas into the German natural gas network, and distribution of LNG via tank trucks and LNG railcars.

The developers opted for the location at Brunsbüttel because of its proximity to Hamburg and the many manufacturing companies based in the region.

The Dutch Gate LNG import terminal in Rotterdam has awarded a contract to Spanish energy engineering company Sener to provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services needed for better maintenance and the improvement of activities in work scheduled for 2021.