LNG

July 12 (LNGJ) - The Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, the third-largest port in the United States and a major energy export hub, has named Kyle Hogan as the incoming Chief Operating Officer to succeed Clark Robertson, who will retire on September 3, 2024.

   “Most recently, Hogan served as commander of the Corpus Christi Army Depot. His career spans three decades of Distinguished Military Service, including 15 years with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne),” said the Port statement. “In his new role at the Port of Corpus Christi, Hogan will oversee engineering services, port operations, police and security, emergency management and Channel Development,” the Port added.

The 27-nation European Union has brought into a law to try and reduce methane emissions from the energy sector in Europe and across the world, including LNG imports, and will police the emissions of other nations such as the USA and China and decide whether imports from outside the EU are compliant with European standards.

Intercontinental Exchange, the leading global provider of trading platforms for the whole energy complex from crude oil to LNG cargoes and European and Asian natural gas futures and options, has refined its contract for key US Gulf Coast oil futures.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has announced a special meeting on May 13 to consider its long-awaited electricity transmission reform proposals that will affect energy markets across America.

The reforms have been considered since severe storms in states from North Dakota to Georgia struck in the Christmas of 2022. This followed an earlier major winter storm in Texas that caused power outages in the Southeast.

The Transmission Reform meeting begins at 11am on May 13 in the Commission Meeting Room at the FERC’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

FERC has proposed a set of regulatory reforms to speed a much-needed expansion of the nation’s network of long-distance electric transmission lines.

FERC’s final rules, which are now set to be debated, are expected to substantially update the framework under which transmission lines are planned and paid for, and pave the way for the growth of clean energy.

Analysts noted that the FERC’s reforms come at a time when the future of the electric grid has become the focus of partisan debate and legal challenges to FERC’s proposed rules are expected.

Power demand surge

Electricity demand in the United States is expected to grow dramatically over coming decades, by some estimates tripling before 2050.

This is because under current US plans, from cars to home heating, there will be a move to the use of more electric power.

Accompanying this demand will be a fundamental shift in how electricity is produced, with renewable energy becoming an ever-larger portion of the generation mix.

Both of these trends to more and cleaner power will require simultaneous expansion of the network of long-distance transmission lines to reliably deliver power to consumers.

Yet despite clear need, relatively few miles of new transmission have been built in recent years.

At the core of the challenge are outdated frameworks for how the grid is planned and paid for.

In addition, the future of the electric grid has become the focus of political debate, turning what was once primarily an engineering challenge into a political one.

“One factor at play here is that the utility industry wants to make sure that the system is developed for its own needs, which don’t necessarily align with broader decarbonization goals or the interests of consumers in having low-cost power,” said one study filed with FERC.

ExxonMobil Corp. has filed for arbitration to retain pre-emption rights in a world-class oil field offshore Guyana in the northeast tip of South America, threatening Chevron Corp.’s agreed $53 billion acquisition of New York-based oil and gas company Hess Corp.

The official start of the Atlantic Hurricane season is still three months away but forecasters say it’s never too early to start preparing for what may or may not come in 2024, especially along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana.

The United States forecasts that the nation’s natural gas supply will increase to meet growing demand for domestic pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas exports, though benchmark Henry Hub prices are expected to remain subdued as US oil and gas production increases to new record levels.

Williams Companies, a leading US natural gas pipelines operator with projects aimed at boosting feed-gas supplies for Gulf Coast LNG export plants, has reached an agreement to acquire a portfolio of natural gas storage assets from an affiliate of Hartree Partners LP for $1.95 billion.

The United States energy outlook for December has forecast lower benchmark Henry Hub natural gas spot prices for the rest of the winter heating season to March 2024 because of higher production and storage levels.

Williams Companies, a leading US natural gas pipelines operator with projects aimed at boosting feed-gas supplies for Gulf Coast LNG export plants, successfully closed two strategic transactions that now position the company as the third-largest gatherer in the Denver-Julesburg Basin.