LNG

Taiwan is expected to be seeking more LNG cargoes through 2023 as one of its nuclear power plants was retired this week, though the government said two new coal-fired power plants would help offset most of the power losses.

Osaka Gas, the Japanese utility and one of the nation’s top six LNG importers, said its engineering subsidiary was awarded a contract for the large expansion project at the Tai-Chung LNG import terminal in Taiwan.

Taiwan is set to wind down its liquefied natural gas imports from Russia as its supply contract with the Sakhalin II export facility in the Russian Far East is set to terminate at the end of March 2022, while other nations are ending their Russian LNG ties through sanctions over the Ukraine war.

Petronas, the Malaysian oil and gas company and leading floating LNG plant operator, has announced a 50th cargo lifting from the “PFLNG Satu” production hull, the first in the world to operate over a stranded gas field.

Shipments of LNG are continuing unabated on a small fleet of Arc-7 ice-class carriers from the Russian Yamal export plant in northern Siberia along the Northern Sea Route to North Asian destinations such as China and Taiwan.

Royal Dutch Shell is flogging what it calls “carbon neutral” LNG cargoes and has traded three so far to boost its green corporate credentials and those of the buyer as energy majors and other companies seek to prevent any negative impacts from environmentally activist shareholders.

CNP Corp., the Taiwanese energy company, said it received its first cargo on November 26 from the Ichthys LNG export plant in the Northern Territory of Australia, as the Asian country claimed as part of China broadens its supply sources.

Sept 13 (LNGJ) – The 160,500 cubic metres capacity vessel “Sonangol Benguela” will unload a shipment on September 15 at the Tong-Yeong terminal in South Korea from the Angolan liquefaction plant at Soyo in southwest Africa. The 160,400 cubic metres capacity vessel “Cubal” is scheduled to unload a cargo from Angola on September 22 at the Yung-An terminal in Taiwan. The 155,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “British Ruby” will deliver a cargo on September 22 to the Map Ta Phut terminal in Thailand from Atlantic LNG plant in Trinidad. The 161,880 cubic metres capacity vessel “BW Pavilion Vanda” will deliver a cargo on September 18 to the South Korean Boryeong terminal, reloaded from Singapore. The 171,800 cubic metres capacity vessel “Papua” will deliver a shipment on September 21 to the Qingdao terminal, owned by Sinopec, in northeast Shandong province from Papua New Guinea. The 145,000 cubic metres capacity carrier Methane Heather Sally will deliver a shipment on September 30 to the Chinese Zhoushan terminal, operated by Enn Group, in eastern Zhejiang province, from Ras Laffan in Qatar.

Taiwanese energy company CPC Corp. has signed a preliminary accord with US LNG producer Cheniere Energy for the supply of 2 million tonnes per annum for 25 years.

April 30 (LNGJ) - Gulf Agency Company (GAC), the shipping and marine services company, has secured a contract with the Donggi Senoro LNG export plant in Indonesia to handle its vessels needing agency services at the two import terminals of Tai-Chung and Yung-An in Taiwan. Managing Director Kenny So said the contract win comes after the steady growth of agency business for all types of vessels, including LNG carriers, since the opening of GAC’s Taiwan shipping office in Kaohsiung in 2017. “Winning the DSLNG contract reinforces our optimism about the future of the LNG agency business in Taiwan, which is the world’s fifth-largest LNG buyer. We expect the number of LNG calls to rise, as Taiwan increases its LNG imports to drive power sector growth,” added So.