World Gas Intelligence articles from August 2003

World Gas Intelligence archives from August 2003

Norway, UK positioning.(possible subsea gas pipeline)
August 6, 2003... Statoil Chief Executive Olav Fjell has become "more optimistic of a positive result" from bilateral talks between the Norwegian and UK governments on preparing the way for a new subsea pipeline for Ormen Lange gas exports to the UK when the...

Gorgon partners sign up to buy own LNG.(exploration near Australia's Barrow Island)
August 6, 2003... Despite some setbacks on the environment front, the ChevronTexaco-led Gorgon LNG project far out on Australia's Northwest Shelf has managed to sign two initial agreements for sale of LNG to North America--both to upstream partners in the...

Centrica facing tight rules on storage use.(United Kingdom, gas storage)
August 6, 2003... Leading UK gas supplier Centrica has been told by the government that it must by Dec. 1 either accept far-ranging restrictions on its operation or divest a strategic North Sea gas storage facility offshore Yorkshire that it bought only last...

Japanese gas, power utilities join forces.(studing feasibility of connecting gas networks)
August 6, 2003... Japanese utilities are starting to team up in innovative ways both to fend off competition in their existing turf and to take advantage of new opportunities arising as a result of deregulation. Osaka Gas and Chubu Electric Power just...

Arab gas pipe puts Egypt in exporter club.(Arab Gas Pipeline project)
August 6, 2003... Egypt has joined the gas exporters club with the commissioning of the first phase of the Arab Gas Pipeline project, to supply Egyptian gas to Jordan. Egypt's first exports of pipeline gas come as the country is preparing to become an LNG...

Bilbao opening soon.(liquefied natural gas terminal, Spain)(Brief Article)
August 6, 2003... The Bilbao LNG import terminal in Spain's northern Basque region is due to receive its first cargo on Aug. 8, much earlier than expected. Although the terminal won't officially enter full commercial service before November, "commissioning"...

Endesa goes shopping.(liquefied natural gas import deals)(Brief Article)
August 6, 2003... Spain's biggest power producer, Endesa, has signed two new long-term LNG import deals within the space of a week. First it agreed to buy 800,000 tons (1.1 billion cubic meters) per year from Qatar's RasGas for 20 years starting in 2005....

Ruhrgas' failed release.(gas release program, Germany)
August 6, 2003... Germany's first-ever gas release program saw dominant supplier Ruhrgas sell 1.42 billion cubic meters (15 terawatt hours) of gas, less than half the 2.9 Bcm (33 TWh) it offered for auction. Deliveries are to be spread over three years starting...

New England LNG.(liquefied natural gas terminal, Massachusetts)
August 6, 2003... Within a few hours of a public heating last Tuesday on the proposed Weaver's Cove LNG terminal in Fall River, Massachusetts, another plan for a similar facility in a nearby town surfaced (WGI Jul.30,p4). Dubbed Somerset LNG, this terminal...

BG angst clouds Elba contract outlook.
August 6, 2003... Atlantic LNG project partner BG continues to balk at implementing a 20-year contract to sell around 300 million cubic feet per day of Trinidad Train 2 and 3 output to El Paso's marketing subsidiary El Paso Merchant Energy (EPME) (WGI...

Market insight: US bottoming out? (Insight).(gas prices, United States)
August 6, 2003... Many US gas market watchers believe the bottom is near following an eight-week slide in North American gas prices, although cool weather is keeping bulls on the sidelines and damping hope for a late summer rally. After peaking at $6.50 per...

Losers lose big, Centrica wins in UK electricity upheaval. (Current).(AES, possible loss of power plant in United Kingdom)
August 6, 2003... US merchant generator AES risks losing management control of Western Europe's largest power plant, the 3,960 megawatt coal-fired Drax complex near Leeds now owned by its creditors, to a bid from UK rival International Power--once part of...

Statoil aims to make micro-LNG commercial--at home. (Horizon).(liquified natural gas)
August 6, 2003... Size is at the core of strategies to land LNG a bigger role in global energy supply. To date, that size has virtually all been bigger, as ever-larger liquefaction trains and tankers give exporters the financial confidence to turn LNG into a...

Venezuelan gas for Trinidad.
August 13, 2003... Venezuela informally agreed on Friday to sell gas from the Deltana Platform venture to Trinidad and Tobago, the latter's ambassador to Venezuela told World Gas Intelligence this week. "The Prime Minister made an inquiry that [Venezuela's]...

Spain pulls distant LNG.(Brief Article)
August 13, 2003... LNG is arriving from far and wide in Spain, pulled by summer demand from gas-fired generation. Australia's North West Shelf this week confirmed that it had sold a spot cargo to BP Gas Marketing for delivery to Spain. The cargo, of up to...

BP quietly mulls US, UK LNG strategies.
August 13, 2003... Despite its interests in millions of tons of new gas liquefaction capacity under development in Indonesia (see p6), Trinidad, Angola, and elsewhere, BP hasn't been very open about its global LNG strategy, especially as regards the North...

Expanding Thailand's PTT wants cheaper gas.
August 13, 2003... Thailand's largest oil finn, PTT, will proceed with a $2.4 billion five-year investment plan, almost 90% of which will go on gas developments, said Prasert Bunsumpun who took over last week as the state company's president. Meanwhile it is...

Mexican challenge.
August 13, 2003... Opposition legislators in Mexico look likely to make good on threats to mount a constitutional challenge to multiple service contracts (MSC), a means by which state oil company Pemex hopes to attract private development of gas reserves without...

Kovytka frictions.
August 13, 2003... Gazprom has bid for an exploration license covering two blocks of the South Kovykta gas deposit, adjacent to eastern Siberia's giant Kovykta field. It plans to explore western and eastern blocks, adjacent to the 280 billion cubic meter (990...

Iran, Ukraine talks.(Brief Article)
August 13, 2003... Iran is considering a proposal to supply Ukraine with 10 billion to 15 billion cubic meters per year of gas, after a preliminary agreement in Kiev on Jul. 30 between Ukrainian Energy Minister Sergei Yermilov and Iranian Deputy Oil Minister...

Enel's relief abroad.
August 13, 2003... Italian state-controlled power giant Enel is looking increasingly at international expansion to make up for continued erosion of its dominant position at home. Enel was required by the government to spin off three generation subsidiaries...

Kazakhs seek exports.(Brief Article)
August 13, 2003... As applause dies down from the recent inauguration of the $4 billion Phase 2 of the giant Karachaganak gas condensate field operated in Kazakhstan by ENI and BG, a potential flashpoint is brewing over how to proceed to the next stage. ...

AES walks away in UK.(Brief Article)
August 13, 2003... US merchant generator AES Corp. walked away from managing Drax, Western Europe's largest power plant, last week after its ultimatum to creditors, who now own the 3,960 megawau coal-fired complex in the UK, was rejected. AES paid $3 billion for...

Market insight: Tangguh's Korean boost.(Insight)
August 13, 2003... Prospects for the BP-led Tangguh development in Indonesia have improved, with reports that an accord on the first leg of an agreement to supply LNG to South Korea has been signed. Indonesian officials told newswires that the country's...

California wants power plants built, is re-regulation the way?(Current)
August 13, 2003... In California, construction has ground to a halt on five power plants that could provide a total of around 2,000 megawatts, only a portion of much-needed future electricity supplies the state will need. Work halted, just prior to...

Shell increases its lead as global LNG major.(Horizon)
August 13, 2003... Royal Dutch/Shell is aiming to seal its position as the global leader among the LNG majors through a succession of new projects, plant expansions, and purchase contracts that should help lever the firm into growing gas markets in North America,...

US, Mexican LNG progress.
August 20, 2003... Regulatory approvals are starting to pour in for LNG import projects in the US and Mexico, setting the stage for developers to fight it out for market access, particularly in more restricted West Coast markets. Sempra Energy just received US...

Independent LNG trade starts to sprout.
August 20, 2003... In a small step toward creation of an independent global LNG trading sector, but a giant leap for a small US LNG terminal developer, Cheniere Energy is forming a joint venture with Swiss-based oil and commodity trader J&S Services and...

PetroChina lays pipe with ends still loose.
August 20, 2003... PetroChina says that it has completed the entire eastern section and around 70% of the 1,400 kilometer western leg of the planned 4,200 km West-to-East pipeline system. The eastern segment should be ready by January to move gas to Shanghai from...

E.On evolves wider role for Ruhrgas.
August 20, 2003... While announcing lower first-half profits, German energy giant E.On last week said that big acquisitions on either side of the Atlantic are off for the time being. However, its Swedish affiliate Sydkraft managed to rustle up $595 million to...

Exxon outlines strategy for a gasier future.
August 20, 2003... Exxon Mobil Executive Vice President Harry Longwell last week outlined the supermajor's strategy for a more gas-oriented future--assuming all ventures meet the company's sacred rate-of-return thresholds. "And I emphasize profitably," Longwell...

Mexican gas pricing.
August 20, 2003... Mexico's Comision Reguladora de Electricidad (CRE) has ruled that Pemex may add the cost of transport from South Texas to the Mexican border to its formula for calculating gas prices inside Mexico. Pemex may add about 6.5 cent per million Btu...

BHP eyes US LNG.
August 20, 2003... BHP Billiton is adding to the potpourri of LNG receiving terminal proposals on the US and Mexican West Coasts aimed at capturing a part of the roughly 6 billion cubic foot per day California and other nearby gas markets (p1). Last week,...

Italian initiatives.
August 20, 2003... Italy's energy regulatory authority is inviting comments by Sep. 30 on two initiatives for future gas operations: creation of a virtual gas trading hub not unlike Britain's National Balancing Point and allowance lot LNG import terminal...

Ormen Lange terminal.(Brief Article)
August 20, 2003... The UK's Centrica has been awarded a contract by partners in Norway's giant Ormen Lange field to build and operate a new gas pipeline reception facility adjacent to its existing Easington terminal, to handle gas imported into England from...

Market insight: eco-taxes hit euro users.(Insights)
August 20, 2003... Mandatory use of electricity from renewable or co-generated sources, funded either through additional taxes or pretax levies, is now putting significant upward pressure on power prices to final consumers in most European countries--although...

Blackout adds intensity to US deregulation debate.(Current)
August 20, 2003... Accusations, denials, and "I told you so's" are reverberating throughout the public and private debate over the cause and eventual effects of the power blackout that last week turned off the lights, computers, and machinery used by 50 million...

Air-conditioning starts to make a mark in Europe.(Horizon)
August 20, 2003... A sultry summer has witnessed a surge in electricity consumption for air-conditioning in Europe that may not end with the passing of the season. While summer power demand peaks are a common feature in the US, where air-conditioning is almost...

WGI supplement: European end-user price.
August 20, 2003... WGI SUPPLEMENT: European End-User prices (In Euro cents/kWH) Gas Prices: 100,000 cm/yr 1 million cm/yr Typical High Low Typical High Low Belgium Jul '03 ...

Outline Of Trinidad Train 4.(British Petroleum Company PLC, BG Group PLC, Repsol YPF S.A., National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago)
August 27, 2003... While some of the pesky upstream details are still being hammered out for Train 4 at Trinidad's Atlantic LNG, the equity stakes and structure have been agreed: BP will take 37.78%, BG Group 28.89%, Repsol YPF 22.22%, and Trinidad's National Gas...

Russia, Ukraine to build new transit pipe.
August 27, 2003... The Russian and Ukraine governments agreed this week at a meeting in Kiev to build a new gas pipeline that would allow an increase of over 25% in gas shipments to Europe, in what would be the first investment project by an international...

China, Korea play up problems for Kovykta.(Rusia Petroleum)
August 27, 2003... Key issues, including the details of a pricing formula, remain to be resolved in trilateral negotiations on the export of gas from Russia's East Siberian Kovykta field to China and South Korea, a number of sources close to the talks tell WGI...

US Rockies gas still needs new homes.
August 27, 2003... The story in North America's gas-rich Rocky Mountain region isn't about supply. As it stands, so much Rockies gas is flowing that oversupply is causing producers to receive less for that gas than their counterparts in other parts of the US. ...

Guangdong LNG faces still more delay.(liquefied natural gas)
August 27, 2003... Chinese officials have now confirmed that completion of the Guangdong (Shenzhen) LNG project is being pushed back by more than a year to 2007 or beyond. The reasons are delays in construction and in approval by the State Development and...

Israel looks back to Egypt for gas.
August 27, 2003... Israel has apparently decided that it wants to import gas from Egypt after all, snubbing a rival offer from BG Group to deliver gas from fields off the Gaza Strip. If negotiations with Cairo succeed, an initial 1.8 billion cubic meters per year...

Medgaz pipe progress.(Algeria-to-Spain gas pipeline)
August 27, 2003... Spain's Cepsa is apparently aiming to breathe new life into the delayed Medgaz Algeria-to-Spain gas pipeline project, with a firm statement that the $1.3 billion scheme is financially viable and that construction could begin next summer for...

Spanish tanker debut.(Inigo Tapias, Gas Natural SDG S.A.)(Brief Article)
August 27, 2003... The newest LNG carrier of Spain's leading gas supplier Gas Natural (GN), the Inigo Tapias, loaded its first-ever cargo on Aug. 21 at Ras Laffan in Qatar, for delivery early next month to Cartagena, one of Spain's four receiving terminals. ...

Nova Scotia spawns LNG terminal idea.(liquefied natural gas)
August 27, 2003... Access Northeast Energy threw its hat into the LNG ring Tuesday, unveiling plans to build and operate a receiving terminal at Bear Head near Point Tupper, Nova Scotia. Access would not take possession of the gas, but rather would process and...

Market insight: easing LNG availabilty.(Insight)(liquefied natural gas)
August 27, 2003... After a long winter in which shipping and regional supply bottlenecks put strict constraints on LNG trade even though supply remained tight in most key gas markets, some relief arrived with the summer. Trinidad Train 3 came on line to ease...

Distributed power looks set for takeoff after US blackout.(Current)
August 27, 2003... The largest US blackout ever has sparked renewed interest in distributed generation (DG), potentially pushing the developing sector in parts of the US over the line from specialized uses into full-time reliance on independent on-site...

Slow going at Mariscal Sucre as Caracas spreads focus.(Horizon)(Venezuela)
August 27, 2003... After years of neglecting its vast natural gas reserves in favor of oil development, can Venezuela become a major player in international gas? The answer hinges largely on the success of the Mariscal Sucre LNG terminal project that would...