LNG

Australian gas developer, Squadron Energy’s Port Kembla Energy Terminal (PKET) - Australia’s first LNG import terminal - has been completed.

Australian gas developer, Squadron Energy’s Port Kembla Energy Terminal (PKET) - Australia’s first LNG import terminal - has been completed.

Commissioning of the onshore receiving facility is now underway, which will ensure the functionality of all of the import terminal’s equipment, including the control system, marine loading arms and fire system.

Squadron Energy Executive General Manager, Operations, Stuart Davis, said that completing PKET’s construction was a significant milestone and a testament to the hard work and commitment of the many teams working together to deliver the project.

“This is a huge achievement for our team and a significant milestone - PKET is the only solution capable of resolving Australia’s looming domestic gas shortage by guaranteeing supply.

“The terminal is now getting ready to support domestic gas supply, without the need for new gas fields in Australia, which will be critical, as we transition to renewable energy.

“It will address NSW and Victoria’s electricity challenges by providing gas for peaking power generation, ensuring reliability and stability in the energy market,” he said.

Located on Dharawal land, in Port Kembla’s Inner Harbour, the project has supported about 200 jobs during construction and injected $27 mill into the regional economy.

The terminal has the capacity to supply 500 TJ a day - enough to meet all of NSW’s gas needs on a peak day or half of Victoria’s peak day demand.

Building out variable renewable energy generation, backed up by batteries and flexible gas, will deliver the lowest-cost new build energy option in time for the retirement of ageing coal power plants, the company said. 

Around five more sales and purchase (SPA) agreements have been signed in the past few weeks.

Australian oil and gas developer, Woodside and the North West Shelf (NSW) joint venture has welcomed the Western Australian Government’s decision to provide environmental approval for NSW’s project extension.

Igneo Infrastructure Partners (Igneo) is to acquire a 50% ownership stake in Larus Holding, the 100% owner of Höegh Evi, from funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP).

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has launched FUMES 2 (Fugitive and Unburned Methane Emissions from Ships Part 2), an expanded follow-up to the FUMES study.

This study is aimed at measuring methane emissions from LNG fuelled ships under real conditions.

The two-year research project brings together an international consortium, which includes Explicit ApS, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Queen Mary University of London, and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Centre for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS).

Building on the successful quantification of methane slip from 4-stroke marine engines in the first FUMES project, FUMES 2 will address knowledge gaps in understanding methane emissions from LNG powered engines, LNGCs and LNG cargo handling systems.

The project comes at a crucial time as the use of LNG as a marine fuel continues to grow, and as the global LNGC fleet has nearly doubled from 400 ships in 2014 to more than 750 today, with an additional 300 vessels on order, ICCT said.

“With the rapid growth of LNG shipping, understanding the full scope of methane emissions is increasingly important for climate policy,” said Dr Bryan Comer, ICCT’s Marine Programme Director. “FUMES 2 will generate the most comprehensive data set yet of real-world methane emissions from using and transporting LNG.”

The two-year project will employ a combination of methane measurement techniques, including:

• On board measurements of methane slip from at least five engines, focusing on 2-stroke engines.

• On board measurements of fugitive methane emissions from fuel tanks, cargo tanks, and other sources during at least five voyages.

• Drone-based measurements of methane emissions from at least 20 instances of LNG cargo handling operations.

This research was said to be timely, as the European Union (EU) prepares to implement its FuelEU Maritime regulation next year, and as it incorporates shipping into its Emissions Trading System (ETS), with methane emissions set to be covered starting in 2026.

In addition, the IMO is finalising its own greenhouse gas fuel standard and economic measure, which are both expected to be implemented in 2027.

The project’s findings will be published in peer-reviewed publications, a public report, and with a public presentation.

Moreover, the findings will be presented to IMO and EU policymakers throughout the project to inform ongoing policy decisions, the ICCT explained. 

Click to Download

Click to Download

Spain has continued to import gas from France and withdraw from storage to meet higher power sector demand in the first week of this month.

Asian spot LNG prices fell slightly last week as high inventories affected demand.