LNG

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has stressed the Department of Energy will fast-track the export license review for the Alaska LNG project. "We will treat Alaska differently. The public interest is not an issue for us," he said at a briefing in Anchorage.

Aug 20 (LNGJ) - Hawaii and several other US island territories increasingly view imported LNG as a 'viable option' for expanding their fuel diversity, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Relatively low US natural gas prices, support this move as well asthe use of standardized cryogenic shipping containers which allows smaller volumes of LNG to be trucked, railed, and shipped.

The parliament of Mozambique has passed an amended petroleum law that authorizes the government to create "a special regime" for LNG processing in the offshore Rovuma Basin Areas 1 and 4, where Anadarko and Eni are operating with the aim of developing LNG export terminals.

Aug 20 (LNGJ) - Moody's expects that new investments by Japanese shipping companies Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha will keep their debt levels high and slow deleveraging.

Continued high debt leverage due to a rise in LNG tankers on order could trigger downgrades for NYK and MOL, the rating agency warned.

Prices for LNG spot cargoes into Asia have notched up for the second straight week, recovering to just under $11/MMBtu, after buyers bid close to $12/MMBtu in a tender Australia's Northwest Shelf (NWS) project for an unspecified number of cargoes loading from late August to late November.

Aug 19 (LNGJ) - Brazilian energy company HRT is in talks with Russia's Rosneft and Brazil's state-owned Petrobas about a work plan for the monetization of for the monetization of gas in the Solimoes basin in the Amazonian jungle through LNG.

"In the coming months, [we] will establish the steps and responsibilities, prioritizing the options in the scope of natural gas converted to LNG and the electric power generation, both of which are critical inputs for the development of the region and the country," HRT said in a report.

Partners in the Papua New Guinea LNG project are in talks with customers Sinopec, Tecpco, Osaka Gas and CPC to shift from selling spot-priced cargoes to exporting via long-term contracts before the end of 2014, PNG LNG partner Oil Search said.

Though start-up of the $5.2 billion Panama Canal expansion is scheduled for January, it may be difficult to accommodate 30 mtpa of LNG from the US Gulf Coast and Trinidad and Tobago - equivalent to 1 LNG ship per day, each way - to reach Pacific via the shortest route, Wood Mackenzie warns.

Aug 19 (LNGJ) - Surging gas demand for power generation has made India emerge as the fourth-largest LNG importer following Japan, South Korea, and China in 2013, figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show.

LNG imports now account for about 29% of India's 2.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas consumption, mostly sourced from Qatar through long-term contracts.

New Orleans-based Harvey Gulf International Marine has contracted Wärtsilä to supply a control system for shore-based LNG fuelling facility in Port Fourchon, Louisiana.