LNG

ONGC Videsh - a wholly owned subsidiary of Indian national oil company, ONGC, has won Mozambique Governmental approval for its Golfinho-Atum natural gas field’s development plan.

This plan outlines the integrated development of the Golfinho-Atum field, located in Area 1 block of the Rovuma offshore basin, utilising an initial two train onshore liquefaction plant with a total processing capacity of 12.88 mill tonnes per annum.

The green light is the culmination of several years of progress on the development’s technical and commercial aspects, ONGC said.

Golfinho-Atum will also supply initial volumes of around 100 mill cu ft of natural gas per day for domestic sales for Mozambique’s industrial development, which will have significant socio-economic impact, the company added.

In addition, this initial project will pave the way for significant future expansion of up to 50 mill tonnes per annum from Offshore Area 1.

Area 1 is located in the deepwater Rovuma basin offshore Mozambique and is one of the largest gas discoveries in offshore East Africa with estimated recoverable resources of about 75 trill cu ft.

ONGC Videsh holds a 16% net interest in the project of which 10% is held directly by the company, while another 6% is held through its 60% shareholding in Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (BREML), with the remaining 40% shares in BREML being held by Oil India Limited (OIL).

Anadarko Petroleum Corp is the project’s operator with a 26.5% stake, while the other partners are Mitsui (20%), ENH (15%), BPRL (10%) and PTTEP (8.5%).

With the approval of major legal and contractual framework agreements and the start of resettlement implementation activities and site preparation, the development plan’s green light is a significant milestone in the project’s further progress towards achieving final investment decision (FID), ONGC said.

At present, ONGC Videsh is involved in 39 projects in 18 countries, including Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Myanmar, Russia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, Vietnam and New Zealand.

Regas LNG sale

In another move, India’s IRM Energy has signed a five-year agreement with Shell Energy India to supply regasified LNG.

The total volume to be purchased will be 10.23 mill MMBtu, equivalent to about 326.84 mill cu m @ 9,500 k/cal gross calorific value (GCV).

This agreement marks a significant milestone in IRM Energy's strategic growth, ensuring stable and cost-effective energy supplies for its customers, the company said and is set to play a pivotal role in ensuring consistent RLNG availability, supporting the industrial and commercial segments.

By leveraging Shell’s global expertise in LNG, IRM Energy said it aimed to enhance its service capabilities, helping businesses transition towards greener energy alternatives and reducing their carbon footprint.

Manoj Kumar Sharma, IRM Energy CEO, said; “This agreement is a testament to our commitment to providing sustainable and affordable energy solutions to our valued customers.

“With this partnership, we are confident in ensuring stable gas supplies that will support economic development and clean energy adoption,“ he said. 

Shell Eastern Trading has confirmed the completion of the purchase of Singapore-based Pavilion Energy.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) has purchased a 10% stake in Galp’s Area 4 concession in Mozambique’s natural gas project in the Rovuma basin.

US-based FSRU and LNG terminal developer Excelerate Energy is to buy New Fortress Energy’s (NFE) Jamaican assets and operations for $1.055 bill.

Australian oil and gas developer, Woodside is to sell its Greater Angostura assets in Trinidad and Tobago to Anglo/French developer, Perenco for $206 mill.

The sale includes Woodside’s interest in the shallow water Angostura and Ruby offshore oil and gas fields, associated production facilities and the onshore terminal.

Woodside said that this transaction provides near-term cash flow to support ongoing investments and shareholder distributions and builds on the Australian asset swap announced last December, further simplifying its portfolio.

CEO, Meg O’Neill said the development of Greater Angostura was made possible by the support of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

“Greater Angostura has been a valuable contributor to the economy of Trinidad and Tobago, providing economic and community benefits.

“As a result of operations over the past two decades, Woodside has paid more than $2 bill in taxes to Trinidad and Tobago and invested over $1 bill in major capital shallow water developments. The Greater Angostura field produces approximately 12% of Trinidad and Tobago’s gas supply.

“Woodside is proud of our employees and their commitment to safe and reliable operations in Trinidad and Tobago. Their efforts will continue under the stewardship of Perenco.

“The divestment accelerates the realisation of value from Greater Angostura and proceeds from the sale will be used to support ongoing investment in core priorities across Woodside’s portfolio.

“This transaction is another demonstration of Woodside’s disciplined approach to portfolio management and optimisation, aimed at delivering sustainable returns to shareholders over the long term,” she said.

The sale is expected to close in the third quarter of this year with an effective date of 1st January, 2025 and is subject to customary conditions precedent, including joint venture, government and regulatory approvals.

Woodside will continue to operate the assets until the transaction’s close.

Once the deal is finalised, Perenco will be responsible for all restoration obligations in relation to the Greater Angostura assets.

Woodside also said that it expected most of its employees based in Trinidad and Tobago to be transferred to Perenco.

This transaction does not include the deepwater Calypso field in which Woodside will continue to work with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and its joint venture partner to progress the project. 

TotalEnergies has published its ’Sustainability & Climate - 2025 Progress Report’, which presents the progress of its transition strategy.

Glenfarne Alaska LNG, an affiliate of Glenfarne Group, is to become the majority stakeholder in Alaska LNG.

A public takeover bid of EXMAR NV launched by Saverex last year has been reopened.

Saverex had decided to waive the 95% threshold and proceed with the bid without conditions, following the ending of the initial acceptance period.

The bid was reopened unconditionally on 27th March and will run to 16th April, 2025.

Shareholders who have not yet accepted will thus be able to accept the bid during this second acceptance period, EXMAR said.

In addition, the Belgian gas shipping and infrastructure group reported exceptional results for last year.

Its infrastructure division, which includes the LNG infrastructure, continued its strong performance, with the successful startup of the FLNG terminal operations in the Congo.

Infrastructure revenue was $212 mill, compared to $374.7 mill for 2023.

The revenue drop was due to modifications and LNG startups for their respective projects.

However, Infrastructure’s EBITDA was $143.6 mill compared to $75.6 mill in 2023, while the net result was $121.5 mill, compared to $56.1 mill in the previous year.

Overall group revenue was $348.9 mill, compared to $487.3 mill in 2023, EBITDA was $204.7 mill, compared to $80.4 mill, while the net result was $181 mill, compared to $72 mill last year.

The net result was significantly boosted by the reversal of the contingent liability accrued at the time of the sale of ‘Tango FLNG’ ($78 mill).

EXMAR is partnering with Eni to drive the LNG export project off the coast of Congo Brazzaville.

Commissioning

While in 2023, EXMAR’s focus was on the engineering, procurement and conversion (EPC) of ‘Tango FLNG’ and ‘Excalibur’ for their use in Congo Brazzaville, in 2024 the activities and revenue shifted into commissioning and operations.

After provisional acceptance in February, 2024, 700,000 cu m of LNG had already been offloaded and exported from the facility by the end of last year.

EXMAR’s LNGC ‘Excalibur’, added to the same project as an FSU under a 10-year charter, generated stable hire revenue in 2024 with 100% uptime.

The ‘Eemshaven LNG’, the 600 mill cu ft per day regasification barge currently in EXMAR’s portfolio, has been operating for two years in Eemshaven in the north of the Netherlands as an LNG import facility.

With these milestone projects performing above expectations, EXMAR said it was working on the development of several floating liquefaction projects (ranging from 0.5 to 5 mill tonnes per annum), floating regasification projects and storage initiatives.

The group also divested assets during the year.

EXMAR continued to take delivery and sell LPG carriers, while its engineering affiliate, EXMAR Offshore Co (EOC) signed an engineering contract with bp for an Opti-Ex design.

The group also improved its liquidity position through the financing of the LNGC ‘Excalibur’, and the refinancing of its LPG carriers.

The warranty period for the Marine XII project in Congo ended with the result that the related provision for warranty claims of $15 mill were due to be reversed in 1Q25.

A highlight of 2024 was the selection and contract award to engineer and design a new hull, deck and mooring system for the floating production facility for bp’s Kaskida development in the US Gulf.

The use of EOC’s proprietary, patented OPTI® hull design for Kaskida marked the fifth time that this hull design will be used.

In addition, EXMAR’s net debt position last year was lowered thanks to robust growth of the cash flow resulting from operating activities and the sale of assets. 

The Bahamian Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has initiated a public consultation on the proposed LNG Transfer Operations Regulations.

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