LNG

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), known as the OPEC of LNG and pipeline gas, is preparing for its 7th Summit meeting with members scheduled to start arriving at the end of February in the Algerian capital of Algiers.

The GECF, whose secretariat is based in Doha in Qatar, will attempt to put some context into the geopolitical and economic challenges facing LNG and pipeline natural gas producers.

Although the GECF counts Qatar among its members the other main LNG producers, Australia and the US, have never been members nor will they be sending observers.

The GECF meeting will have 19 countries in attendance who together represent over 70 percent of the world’s proven gas reserves, 43 percent of its marketed production, 52 percent of pipeline gas and 58 percent of LNG exports.

Algeria, which is a key supplier of LNG to Europe from its Skikda and Arzew liquefaction plants and with gas pipelines connected to Italy and Spain, said it would use the occasion to “build a consensus” between the producing states to preserve the interests of gas exporters.

Algiers Declaration

Meetings will start on February 29 and the actual summit will take place on March 2, after which the LNG nations will issue what will be known as the “Algiers Declaration”.

The meeting is expected to support emerging African LNG nations and existing producers in their fight to alleviate energy poverty, in particular through better access to financial resources for gas development as well as improved energy security.

GECF Secretary General, Mohamed Hamel, who is himself an Algerian outlined what is on the agenda for the 12 nations who are members and the other seven countries who will attend as observers.

“This summit presents an opportunity for leaders to engage in comprehensive discussions encompassing geopolitical, economic and policy developments, providing an avenue to delve into both the immediate and long-term prospects and challenges in the natural gas sector,” explained Secretary General Hamel.

“Moreover, the summit will reiterate the important role of our Forum in strengthening cooperation among member countries, advocating for natural gas as a pivotal element in achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals, ensuring stability in natural gas markets and addressing energy security, affordability, and sustainability,” he added.

Prior to the March 2 summit, a high-level working group will meet and an Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting will be held to “prepare essential documents” for the summit, including the Declaration.

The summit will be complemented by a series of side events such as the inauguration of the Headquarters in Algiers of the newly established GECF Gas Research Institute.

Global Gas Outlook

Additionally, the delegates will approve and issue the latest edition of the “Global Gas Outlook”, one of the GECF's flagship publications.

Finally, there will be a signing ceremony for Memoranda of Understanding with the African Energy Commission (AFREC) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Preparations for the summit have been undertaken by the Algerian National Committee in collaboration with the GECF Secretariat and “all of the necessary resources have been mobilised to ensure ideal conditions for a successful and productive” summit.

“I am confident that this summit will go beyond discussions and collaborations, providing delegates the opportunity to immerse themselves in Algeria's distinctive culture and warm hospitality,” Hamel stated.

The 12 GECF members are Algeria, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

There are also seven observer members: Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique and Peru.

Italian energy engineering company Saipem was awarded three new offshore contracts and two competitive front-end engineering and design contracts totalling about $650 million and with three linked to increased LNG production in Angola, Trinidad and Papua New Guinea.

Trinidad and Tobago, which used to be the main LNG supplier to the US before the shale-gas boom in the late 2000s, said it would begin formal talks in March with Venezuela for joint development of the offshore Dragón gas field that will help boost the Caribbean island nation’s LNG export capability.

UK major BP more than doubled annual profits, though was hit by slowing natural gas prices during the fourth quarter and expected a flat 2023 with among the main highlights being the start-up of two LNG projects in West Africa and Indonesia.

UK major Shell plc posted the company’s highest ever annual profits helped by record natural gas prices as its LNG sales volumes also increased during the quarter and for the full year.

UK major BP posted underlying replacement cost profit, its equivalent of net profits, of $8.2 billion in the third quarter, a two-and-a-half times jump from the $3.3Bln posted in the same three months of 2021.

European offshore engineering and projects company Subsea 7 SA has been awarded a sizeable project by BP for the TOPR project located offshore Trinidad and Tobago in water depths of up to 280 feet and aimed at boosting natural gas supplies and LNG production.

BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT) runs the Trinidad compression (TROC) project as part of plans to deliver more feed gas.

Subsea 7, the Oslo-listed company headquartered in Luxembourg, said the latest part of the project covers the installation of a 96 kilometres of 12-inch pipeline, associated shore approach and diver tie-in spools.

Front-end engineering and design (FEED) is underway and the EPC and installation scope is scheduled to begin this month.

Subsea 7 said that project management and engineering would take place in Subsea 7’s office in Houston in Texas.

“We are honoured to have been selected for the fast-track delivery of the TOPR project and we look forward to continuing our collaborative relationship with BP,” said Craig Broussard, Vice President for Subsea 7 in the US.

Subsea 7 noted that its defines a sizeable contract as being between $50 million and $150M

Low-pressure wells

The latest facilities are expected to improve production capacity by increasing output from low-pressure wells in BPTT’s existing acreage.

The TROC project is viewed by BP as a clear example of BPTT, the government and many key players in the oil and gas industry cooperating to improve production capacity, which will benefit both the petrochemical plants and Atlantic LNG.

Production at the Atlantic LNG plant dropped by more than 38 percent in 2021 to 6.20 million tonnes compared with just over 10MT in the previous year.

Atlantic LNG Train 1 has been idle since November 2020 because of a feed-gas shortage and was closed indefinitely in mid-2021.

In January 2022 a heads of agreement was signed between BP, Shell and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and the Government to consolidate Atlantic LNG Trains under the framework of a single ownership structure.

Shell, the major Atlantic LNG shareholder, had started production in July 2021 on Block 5C, known as the Barracuda project, a backfill gas production venture to supply feed gas to the Atlantic plant.

The decline in gas production has been the major reason for the shortages being experienced by the country and BPTT’s own Matapal natural gas project was also completed in 2021 and will be able to shore-up potential supplies.

April 1 (LNGJ) - Shell said production had started on Block 22 and NCMA-4 in the North Coast Marine Area in Trinidad and Tobago to boost LNG production capability at the Point Fortin liquefaction plant in Trinidad called Atlantic LNG. Colibri is a backfill project that is expected to add around 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or 174 million standard cubic feet per day of sustained near-term natural gas production, rising to 250 mmscf per day at peak.

   “The start-up of Colibri follows the amendment to the Block 6 Production Sharing Contract for the Manatee field, marking yet another significant milestone in Shell’s growth strategy,” said Shell. “This will allow for the delivery of gas both domestically and internationally through Atlantic LNG,” added the UK-based major.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the OPEC of natural gas and LNG based in Qatar, has published its Annual Outlook outlining supply and demand forecasts and expects total upstream and midstream investments to reach $8.7 trillion by 2050.

In its sixth edition, the Outlook finds that natural gas can become the fuel of choice in satisfying the growing world energy needs, addressing climate change and improving air quality.

“The GECF Global Gas Outlook 2050 underscores that investment in natural gas is critical for the stability of global energy systems,” declared Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the GECF.

“Environmental policies are a key driver of the projections contained in the Outlook. In this context, whilst upholding that natural gas is the cleanest of hydrocarbon fuels, the Outlook explores the state of technologies that will make it even cleaner,” added Hamel.

The GECF comprises 19 countries who together represent 71 percent of the world’s proven gas reserves, 43 percent of its marketed production, 52 percent of pipeline gas and 58 percent of LNG exports.

Asia-Pacific demand

“Global energy demand will rise by 29 percent over the next three decades, with the majority of that increase emanating from growing economies in Asia Pacific and Africa,” said the report.

“Natural gas demand will rise by 46 percent from 3,840 billion cubic metres in 2020 to 5,625 Bcm in 2050. The Asia-Pacific region will represent the largest growth share,” it added.

“The power generation sector will take a frontline place, accounting for 42 percent of the total increase in gas demand. The transport sector and blue hydrogen generation will emerge as significant new areas of gas demand expansion,” stated the GECF.

The Middle East, principally Qatar, will deliver 32 percent of the global gas supply increase and there will be a growing role for deepwater and unconventional natural gas resource developments to meet demand.

The global gas trade is forecast to increase by 45 percent by 2050 and become more integrated and interrelated through LNG expansion.

Trade in natural gas is seen expanding by 1.5 percent per annum between 2020 and 2050 to reach 1,815 Bcm and account for a third of global gas demand.

The report forecasts that LNG will overtake pipeline trade around 2030 to reach 845 million tonnes (1,150 Bcm).

The GECF has 11 full members, including seven LNG producers: Algeria, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, along with pipeline producers Bolivia, Iran, Libya and Venezuela.

It also has eight observer-status member countries. They include five LNG nations: Angola, Malaysia, Norway, Peru and the United Arab Emirates, along with Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Kazakhstan.

Dec 9 (LNGJ) - Trinidad and Tobago, the LNG exporter whose principal market was formerly the United States before the shale-gas revolution and which now supplies Europe and South America, expects to see shipments drop by around 20 percent in 2021 because of feed-gas declines at the Atlantic LNG liquefaction plant at Point Fortin.

   Atlantic LNG exported 12.50 million tonnes last year compared with 15.3 MTPA of nameplate capacity and this total is lower in 2020 and will also fall in the coming year because of a supply deficit for Train 1. BP, which supplies the feed-gas for Train 1 at the four-Train facility, said its infill drilling had failed to deliver at forecast levels to ensure supply. Executive said that it was expected that Train 1 would be put in operations-ready mode for all of 2021 into 2022 as upstream results are investigated.