World Gas Intelligence articles from July 2007

World Gas Intelligence archives from July 2007

Shifting US, global LNG pricing.
July 4, 2007... Thanks to the country's liquid and transparent gas market, the US benchmark gas price at Henry Hub in the gas producing region of Louisiana near Trunkline's Lake Charles receiving terminal has crystallized in recent years into the basis for US...

Iran, Oman gas sale progresses--some.
July 4, 2007... With a second high-level meeting last week in Tehran, Oman and Iran continue to make positive noises about a proposed joint gas development program that could send as much as 1 billion cubic feet per day (10.2 billion cubic meters per year) of...

Algeria helps US hit LNG import peak.
July 4, 2007... The US saw its heftiest LNG import levels ever in the second quarter, with 6 million tons entering the country (3.2 billion cubic feet per day), according to US Department of Energy data and estimates from the US Waterborne LNG Report. In...

Woodside's LNG hub idea for Pluto.
July 4, 2007... Woodside last week underscored just how effectively environmental regulations and cost escalations are hamstringing new LNG developments in Western Australia--particularly its own Browse project--by offering its Pluto plant at Burrup as an LNG...

Statoil outlines its US gas sales strategy.
July 4, 2007... Statoil is building up its US gas marketing operations in anticipation of first shipments from Norway's long-awaited Snohvit LNG project late this year and the expansion of the Cove Point LNG receiving terminal and regasification plant on...

North Europe's new infrastructure, trading.
July 4, 2007... Northern Europe's future supply security may be bolstered by progress last week on two gas infrastructure projects--the Skanled pipeline and a second German LNG terminal. More immediately, liquidity in the region could benefit from Monday's...

Natuna heats up.
July 4, 2007... Indonesian state Pertamina got backing last week from the energy arm of the Indonesian legislature to take over as operator of the giant Natuna D-Alpha gas block previously held 76% by Exxon Mobil and 24% by Pertamina. It's still not clear...

EDF clinches Flexi RasGas deal.
July 4, 2007... Electricite de France (EDF) has signed a deal to receive "interruptible deliveries of up to 3.4 million metric tons per year" (4.5 billion cubic meters per year) of LNG over the next roughly four-and-a-half years from Qatar's RasGas, on an...

Market insight: US hits skids.(INSIGHT)
July 4, 2007... Weak demand and anemic weather forecasts--not to mention a series of large increases to gas storage inventories--all combined to create a much more subdued bidweek as baseload prices for July were established in the final trading days of June....

High gas prices dim hopes for gas-fired power in China.(CURRENT)
July 4, 2007... Despite recent reports that China last year surpassed the US to become the world's top carbon emitter, the push toward gas-fired power generation remains weak in that country. Gas now accounts for less than 2% of generated power. And while the...

European storage attracts many, divergent investors.(HORIZON)
July 4, 2007... Investment in underground gas storage is growing in Europe--and it needs to if today's capacity is to double by 2030 to meet rising gas demand, as the International Energy Agency says it should. Not only are leading providers such as Eni's...

EDF LNG gains, Gazprom losses.
July 11, 2007... Last week France's EDF took over Qatar Petroleum's (QP) and Exxon Mobil's LNG receiving capacity in Belgium, plus accompanying rights to some LNG imports from RasGas (WGI Jul.4,p5). This week, EDF is the subject of so-far-unconfirmed reports...

Algerian LNG slide spurs Skikda deal.
July 11, 2007... A near 11% drop in LNG exports between 2003 and 2006 may have helped spur state Sonatrach to break a long stalemate and this week award a $2.8 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to US Halliburton subsidiary KBR to...

Petrobras' LNG purchasing strategy.
July 11, 2007... Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras is determined to become a major player on the world LNG scene and is prying open all possible doors to reach that goal and meet projected expanding gas demand inside Brazil in the years ahead. With...

Pipeline pull behind OMV drive for Mol.
July 11, 2007... Hungary's Mol, one of the largest energy groups in Central Europe and a key transit company for Russian gas delivered to the Balkans, is fighting a rearguard action to fend off takeover by its chief regional rival, Austrian OMV, which last...

Libyan acreage offer carries big risks.
July 11, 2007... International oil companies eyeing Libya's new gas licensing round for 12 exploration areas extending over 41 blocks are likely to be both eager and wary--eager because Libya is at least open to new investment, wary because monetizing any gas...

Canada export plunge.
July 11, 2007... Canadian gas exports to the US will plummet to 6 billion cubic feet per day (62 billion cubic meters per year) at most by 2015, from 10 Bcf/d in 2005 and 9.7 Bcf/d last year, and possibly to as little as 5 Bcf/d, projects Calgary-based...

Indonesia farm-in.
July 11, 2007... Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Petroleum is negotiating to farm out 30%-50% of its 100%-owned Sebuku Block in Indonesia, in order to secure additional funds for developing the Makassar Straits gas discovery--which could by 2009 feed the under-served...

Woodside, BG: LNG giant in making?
July 11, 2007... Deutsche Bank's Australian research arm caused a stir late last month by suggesting that local independent Woodside should merge with UK-based BG to create a world LNG superpower. On initial consideration, the proposition has considerable...

Market insight: Asia still buys spot.(INSIGHT)
July 11, 2007... Short-term deals continue to proliferate across Asia, despite apparently ample supply. Jul. 7 saw delivery of the first cargo under Indian importer Petronet LNG's recent contract for 1.25 million tons to be delivered by Qatar's RasGas over the...

EDF has little to fear from competition a la mode francaise.(CURRENT)
July 11, 2007... EDF, formerly Electricite de France, apparently has little to fear from the full opening of the country's power market to competition that took place Jul. 1 in line with an EU directive. Despite finally getting the legal right to switch...

Underground storage proves key to US LNG position.(HORIZON)
July 11, 2007... The past few months have provided convincing evidence for the ability of the US to absorb copious quantities of LNG at relatively attractive prices when demand is sagging elsewhere (WGI Jun.27,p6). Although such high import rates are still...

Total's mystery coup.
July 18, 2007... The framework agreement landed by Total last week for a 25% stake in the first 25 years of development of Gazprom's giant Shtokman field was a surprise not only because the French major was a dark horse among the contenders, but also because...

Petronas looking gas-short, all over.
July 18, 2007... Agreement by top UK gas marketer Centrica and Malaysian state Petronas' Asean LNG Trading Co. (Altco) subsidiary to terminate a 15-year agreement under which Petronas supplied LNG to Centrica "with immediate effect due to certain conditions...

Thai firm scores big in Myanmar.
July 18, 2007... Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) is starting to turn heads with its continued success in Myanmar exploration Block M9 in the Gulf of Mataban. The offshore block has been pegged by upstream consultants as one of Southeast Asia's...

Turkey's answer to Russia: Iranian gas.
July 18, 2007... Ankara on Jul. 14 fired off its riposte to last month's South Stream accord--inked by Gazprom and Eni on the supply of Russian gas to Bulgaria via the Black Sea, bypassing Turkey--by signing a memo-randum of understand (MOU) with Tehran on the...

Hungary eyes gas storage in Ukraine.
July 18, 2007... Ukraine, for the time being still the main transit hub for Russian gas exports to Europe, is considering leasing under-ground gas storage facilities to European countries, most notably Hungary, following Gazprom's failure to get an ownership...

Gazprom pained by unbundling prospect.
July 18, 2007... The EU moved a step closer to forcing the separation of gas and power transmission networks from production and sup-ply businesses last week when the European Parliament adopted a motion supporting "ownership unbundling" as a means to "promote...

Algeria, EU agree to peace terms.
July 18, 2007... The "common understanding" reached last week by Algeria and the European Commission on certain clauses in state Sonatrach's sales contracts is basically a compromise in which the EU has softened its opposition to profit-sharing arrangements...

Market insight: European bulls.(INSIGHT)(Industry overview)
July 18, 2007... Northwest European gas prices are more bullish than they were three months ago, in the warm early spring. Spot prices at the UK National Balancing Point (NBP) and the main continental hubs linked to it, Zeebrugge in Belgium and the Dutch TTF,...

US utility assets fall to mighty euro as dollar sinks.(CURRENT)
July 18, 2007... As cash-rich European utilities and other investors look overseas for growth opportunities, time and again the US market is targeted, as an 8% year-on-year appreciation of the euro to $1.38 and a 10% firming of the UK pound to $2.04 have left...

Qatari shipping arrangements not everybody's ideal.(HORIZON)
July 18, 2007... Exactly why state Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Royal Dutch Shell waited for two years after the launch of construction to cement their partnership by officially incorporating the Qatargas-4 joint venture to own and manage the output from that...

Qatar, Russia eye super swap.
July 25, 2007... Under the loose auspices of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Russia and Qatar are negotiating a large-scale accord involving potential multi-year swaps of LNG for European pipeline gas and associated spot trading arrangements that...

Technical strains ease in 2007, but 2008?
July 25, 2007... This is shaping up to be a strikingly different year on the LNG front than 2005 and 2006, as even meager production growth outpaces demand and spot cargoes have been easy to come by--at least so far (p6). Along with relatively mild weather and...

LNG traders spread wings--tentatively.
July 25, 2007... The past few years have seen a number of transforming trends in the LNG industry that have gone a long way toward globalizing what had been a collection of disparate, regional markets with static trading patterns. One of the most striking has...

Is there CBM to feed Santos LNG plant?
July 25, 2007... Phenomenal growth in Australia's coalbed methane (CBM) industry ratcheted up another level last week with the launch of Santos' ambitious plan to develop the world's first LNG facility to be fed entirely by CBM gas. The 3 million-4 million ton...

Enel on offensive in euro race to LNG.
July 25, 2007... Italy's Enel is laying the groundwork for its transformation into a significant regional LNG player in the Mediterranean Basin--even as various companies vie to similarly position themselves in Northwest Europe. Enel's most recent move...

Slow latam pipe moves.
July 25, 2007... The near completion of a gas pipeline between Colombia and Venezuela marks a step forward in Latin America's plans for energy integration. But a plan to extend the pipeline north to Panama and beyond is an ambition that will likely materialize...

Coal-to-gas project.
July 25, 2007... The North American turn from gas-to-liquids (GTL) toward coal-based synfuels has taken a new twist with consideration by ConocoPhillips and big coal producer Peabody Energy of a commercial scale coal-to-substitute natural gas (SNG) facility...

Market insight: LNG's eastward turn.(INSIGHT)
July 25, 2007... After months of dominating spot LNG trade, the US is starting to lose ground to Asia and, to a lesser extent, Europe. US imports are already on the decline, and while many expect volumes to remain at around 3 billion cubic feet per day (1.95...

Tepco strives to keep lights on amid nuclear woes.(CURRENT)
July 25, 2007... The closure after an earthquake in Japan last week of what is by most accounts the world's largest nuclear generating facility--Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (Tepco) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant--took roughly 8 gigawatts of capacity out of...

Forecasting UK gas balances for 2015 proves tricky.(HORIZON)
July 25, 2007... Forecasting the UK gas supply and demand balance out to 2015 is no easy task, particularly given that estimates for demand 10 years out vary by up to 20 billion cubic meters per year (1.93 billion cubic feet per day). That was the message from...