LNG

German technology has been chosen for the first floating liquefaction and export plants being developed offshore Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa by BP of the UK and Dallas-based Kosmos Energy.

Equinor, the Norwegian energy company formerly known as Statoil has awarded a major contract to Nexans in France to design, manufacture and supply a total of 42 kilometres of static infield and inter-field umbilicals to control the subsea production systems linked to the Hammerfest LNG plant.

May 14 (LNGJ) - Statoil, the Norwegian energy company and operator of Europe’s only major LNG production plant at Hammerfest, will change its name from May 16 to Equinor. The new name will be proposed to a meeting of shareholders on May 15. The Norwegian government, as the majority shareholder, supports the proposal and will vote in favour of the resolution. This means that May 15 will be the last day of Statoil trading on the Oslo stock exchange under the ticker “STL”. From May 16 the company will trade under the new ticker “EQNR”, which will also be the ticker name of the company’s American Deposit Rights traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The name Equinor is formed by combining “equi”, the starting point for words like equal, equality and equilibrium and “nor” for its Norwegian origin.

April 25 (LNGJ) - Norwegian energy company Statoil, operator of Europe’s only baseload LNG production plant at Hammerfest in northern Norway, reported increased first-quarter earnings of $4.4 billion and $1.5Bln after tax. Net operating income was $4.96Bln compared with $4.25Bln in the first quarter of 2017. “The increase was primarily due to higher liquids and gas prices and increased volumes of liquids sold, partially offset by the reduced value of derivatives and higher operational costs,” said Statoil. First-quarter natural gas sales volumes amounted to 15.5 billion cubic metres, little changed from the first quarter of 2017. Statoil is still on course to change its name to Equinor, marking equality and equilibrium in “equi” and with “nor”, signalling a company proud of its Norwegian origin. The new name will be proposed to shareholders at a meeting on May 15. The Norwegian government, as majority shareholder, supports the proposal and will vote in favour of the resolution.

Woodside Petroleum, the operator of two liquefied natural gas plants in Western Australia, has joined nine other global oil and gas majors in signing guiding principles that commit it to further reduce methane emissions from the natural gas assets it owns.

March 15 (LNGJ) - Statoil, the Norwegian energy company and operator of Europe’s only baseload LNG production plant at Hammerfest, is planning to change the name of the company to Equinor. “The name change supports the company’s strategy and development as a broad energy company,” said Statoil. “The name Equinor is formed by combining ‘equi’, the starting point for words like equal, equality and equilibrium, and ‘nor’, signalling a company proud of its Norwegian origin,” explained the company. Statoil Board Chairman Jon Erik Reinhardsen said the world is changing and so is Statoil. “The biggest transition our modern-day energy systems have ever seen is underway and we aim to be at the forefront of this development. Our strategy remains firm. The name Equinor reflects ongoing changes and supports the always-safe, high-value and low-carbon strategy we outlined last year,” said Reinhardsen.

Argentina, the world’s second-largest holder of shale-gas resources after the US and currently an LNG importer, expects shale gas and oil production to grow 35 percent in 2018 as costs in its prolific and extensive Vaca Muerta Shale Basin continue to drop.

Dynagas LNG Partners, the US-listed owner of six modern LNG carriers chartered to companies such as Russia’s Gazprom, posted a 55 percent plunge in annual revenue, with the Chief Executive saying the slump was only short term.

Feb 7 (LNGJ) - Statoil, the Norwegian oil and gas company and operator of Western Europe’s only baseload LNG production plant at Hammerfest, reported adjusted fourth-quarter overall earnings of $4 billion and $1.3Bln after tax. Statoil said the earnings were based on a solid operational performance with record production in the final three months of 2017. “In a recovering market, we delivered strong earnings and cash flow from all business segments,” said Chief Executive and President Eldar Saetre. At an average oil price of around $54 per barrel, Statoil said it generated 3.1Bln in free cash flow in 2017 and strengthened its financial position. 

Norwegian energy company Statoil, operator of Europe’s only baseload LNG plant, was fined $4 million by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission for attempting to manipulate an Asian-priced gas market in 2011.