LNG

Denmark, one of the largest energy traders in LNG and gas and power in the Nordic market, has brought pipeline natural gas supplies to two of the nation’s isolated areas.

The Danish Energy Agency has issued permits for Energinet and Evida to put the Lolland-Falster pipeline into operation on Danish maritime territory in Storstrømmen and Guldborg Sund.

“The Danish Energy Agency has granted a license to Energinet for the commissioning and operation of the Lolland-Falster gas pipeline on Danish lake territory in Storstrømmen and a licence to Evida for commissioning and operation of the pipeline on Danish territory in Guldborg Sund,” said the Agency.

The Lolland-Falster pipeline in Danish waters is part of a larger gas pipeline project between Everdrup on Zealand and Nakskov on Lolland.

Capacity

The gas pipeline runs as an underwater pipeline at the water crossings at Storstrømmen and Guldborg Sund.

The total length of the pipeline route is around 115 kilometres (72 miles) long and the pipeline can transport up to 290 million cubic metres of natural gas per year.

According to the timetables of both companies commissioning is planned for 30 August 2024.

The Agency said the nation’s consumption of natural gas fell by more than 10 percent in 2023 while the share of bio-natural gas made from waste increased its share of the energy mix.

Denmark is part of the changing Nordic regional energy market where Norway is an LNG exporter and Sweden and Finland are LNG importers, while the Norwegians and Swedes additionally supply power to Denmark.

Additionally the Danes are a conduit for pipeline gas supplies to the Baltic region.

Natural gas consumption in Denmark amounted to around 1.7 billion cubic metres for all of last year, a decrease compared with the previous year.

Natural gas use by the Danes peaked in 2006 at 5.3 Bcm per annum.

The United Kingdom by comparison has much larger natural gas consumption.

UK gas use averaged around 7.4 Bcm per month during the past winter and 72 Bcm for the year, down from almost 79 Bcm in the previous year.

March 12 (LNGJ) - UK Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said the government was committed to supporting the building of new gas-fired power plants, matched with more LNG imports to maintain a safe and reliable energy source when renewables are unavailable. “Without natural gas backing up renewables, we face the genuine prospect of blackouts,” said Coutinho.

   “Other countries in recent years have been so threatened by supply constraints that they have been forced back to coal,” the Minister added. There are 32 gas-fired power stations in the UK, many of them built in the 1990s and coming to the end of their lifespan. The last new unabated gas power plant was announced in 2018.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the UK regulator seeking more oil and gas exploration and production in British territorial waters that will affect future import needs for pipeline gas, LNG and oil has offered a total of 24 licences in the second tranche of the 33rd oil and gas licensing round.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the UK Government agency for oil and natural gas, has expressed concern about the slow pace of North Sea development plans that may mean more future demand for liquefied national gas, pipeline gas and oil imports for the UK to avert an energy crisis.

The UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has given the go-ahead for the development of the North Sea Rosebank oil and gas field by Norway’s Equinor and London-listed Ithaca Energy with sizeable contracts for US engineering company TechnipFMC and several European energy contractors.

Feb 18 (LNGJ) - The 211,840 Qatari Q-Max carrier “Al Sahla” is scheduled to deliver a cargo on February 25 to the UK South Hook import terminal at Milford Haven, the latest in a steady series of deliveries from countries like Qatar and the US during this month. The cargo was lifted on February 5 from the Ras Laffan plant in the Gulf.

   The UK National Balancing Point wholesale natural gas price was still at an elevated level on February 18 at the equivalent of $24.45 per million British thermal units compared with $5.80 per MMBtu on the same day in 2021.

North Asian spot cargo prices declined on the week while remaining at seasonal highs through to the second quarter as cargo liftings fell and European values stayed above the Asia price with energy markets buoyed by crude oil over $90 a barrel.