World Gas Intelligence articles from June 2008

World Gas Intelligence archives from June 2008

Iran's great gas debate.
June 4, 2008... Final talks on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline should conclude by mid-June under a 45-day timeline set out by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his late April visit to India and Pakistan. The final draft would then be...

EU Commission scores on unbundling.
June 4, 2008... The European Commission may still lack the votes to push through compulsory ownership "unbundling" of power and gas grids from marketing operations, but it is proving adept at accomplishing its goal through other means. Germany's two largest...

Nabucco sounds out buyers as cost rises.
June 4, 2008... Although estimates for the cost of the proposed Nabucco pipeline from Turkey to Austria have jumped by nearly 60% to [euro]7.9 billion ($12.3 billion), the consortium backing the line expects to conduct a nonbinding "market sounding" this month...

Onboard regas ships spreading fast.
June 4, 2008... Onboard regas vessels and offshore "ports" to receive them are gaining momentum worldwide, not only because this low-profile technology tends to generate less public hostility, but also on security of supply grounds. In the event of a surge in...

GDF, E.On drive forward into Italy.
June 4, 2008... Two of Europe's largest utilities have advanced their plans to expand into the Italian market. Gaz de France (GDF) has agreed on terms for developing its own LNG import terminal on Italy's east coast, while Germany's E.On has set up an office...

Myanmar gas sale to China delayed.
June 4, 2008... The expected award this month to PetroChina of official rights to buy gas transported to China via pipeline from Myanmar's offshore Blocks A-1 and A-3 is likely to be delayed, as several important issues still stand in the way of a final gas...

Gros Cacouna LNG partners part ways.
June 4, 2008... The partners in Canada's proposed Gros Cacouna regas terminal are hoping the project can survive the body blow it suffered from Russian state Gazprom's decision to supply the rival Rabaska project in Quebec instead. But TransCanada and...

Gas forum in Moscow.
June 4, 2008... A panel of senior experts from the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is holding a three-day meeting in Moscow this week, apparently aimed at finalizing an official charter for the group ahead of a ministerial-level meeting of the forum now...

Market insight: US trading storms.(INSIGHT)
June 4, 2008... Bid-week trading in US gas featured not a dull moment last week. The Nymex gas futures contract rolled of the board at an all-time high of nearly $12 per million Btu as early hurricane season activity emerged, whipping already strong market...

Mexico aims for more gas-fired generation, renewables.(CURRENT)
June 4, 2008... Mexico will need to add 25,600 megawatts to its 50,000 MW of installed generation capacity over the next 10 years to keep its industry growing and make electricity more widely available, according to Francisco Santoyo Vargas, finance director...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
June 4, 2008... US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning May 27-Jun. 2. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Jun. 2 for day-ahead delivery Jun. 3. European power prices are from exchanges on...

Feeding frenzy develops in Australian CBM-to-LNG sector.(HORIZON)
June 4, 2008... Dramatic new developments have been unfolding almost daily of late in Australia's coalbed methane (CBM)--known locally as coalseam gas--sector. To recap the week's events: Malaysian state Petronas forms a US$2.5 billion alliance with Santos,...

New LNG Trading model.
June 11, 2008... France's EDF has signed a trans-Atlantic LNG cooperation deal with US chemicals major Dow which, at its most basic, could mean only that each is offered one slot per month--roughly 725,000 tons (1 billion cubic meters) of import capacity--by...

Gas-short Malaysia eyes Indonesian role.
June 11, 2008... The strain of stagnant production combined with rising domestic demand is showing in Malaysia's domestic market, with local industries complaining of a gas shortage, and state Petronas seeming to prioritize supply for the domestic market over...

France sinks EU unbundling proposal.
June 11, 2008... None of Europe's large integrated gas and power utilities will be forced to sell off their networks under new European Union rules, ministers decided last Friday. Energy ministers from the EU's 27 states reached a "broad agreement" Jun. 6 on...

Competition for Azeri gas heats up.
June 11, 2008... As Azerbaijan sets its sights on becoming a major gas exporter within five to 10 years, the country is being courted by a growing crowd of potential gas buyers. Over the past few weeks, Russia and Iran have each submitted proposals to buy all...

Alaska, Nigeria in global Gazprom plan.
June 11, 2008... Russian state Gazprom, already the world's largest gas reserve holder and pipeline gas supplier, also wants to provide a full one-quarter of global LNG by 2030. And the company is pushing ahead aggressively on international as well as domestic...

Egypt's export ban May nix Segas train 2.
June 11, 2008... The Egyptian government's Sunday announcement that it will not sign any new gas export contracts until the end of 2010-or until world prices stabilize--immediately casts doubt on the fate of a second, 5 million ton per year LNG export train...

Eni's UK storage plan.
June 11, 2008... Italy's Eni plans to buy out the majority shareholder in the UK southern North Sea's Hewett field, with the intention of applying for a license for the field's subsequent conversion into up to 5 billion cubic meters (176.5 billion cubic feet...

Two more Cheniere cargoes, one Q-Flex.
June 11, 2008... Although pessimism still prevails when it comes to US LNG terminal prospects, Cheniere Energy has successfully secured the second and third commissioning cargoes for its 2.6 billion cubic foot per day (20 million ton per year) Sabine Pass...

Market insight: India fills up on LNG.(INSIGHT)
June 11, 2008... India's two LNG import terminals are running at full capacity as shipments rise to meet peak summer gas demand. Petronet LNG's Dahej terminal on the west coast is set to receive a spot cargo from Algeria Jun. 15--its first spot purchase in nine...

Nuclear renaissance still dim, distant prospect for Italy.(CURRENT)
June 11, 2008... Silvio Berlusconi has put nuclear energy back on the political agenda in Italy--although reactors still face huge obstacles to movement beyond the political stage and into construction. Within weeks of the boomerang prime minister's return for...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
June 11, 2008... US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Week for five trading days, spanning Jun. 3-9. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Jun. 9 for day-ahead delivery Jun. 10. European power prices are from exchanges on Jun. 9...

New LNG importers set to alter global LNG market dynamic.(HORIZON)(Industry overview)
June 11, 2008... It is easy to identify as many as two dozen countries that are actively entertaining the idea of importing LNG for the first time. None on its own is likely to be as important as industry stalwarts Japan, South Korea or Spain, or to play as...

LNG legal vacuum in Nigeria.
June 18, 2008... Nigeria may not have enough gas production and pipelines for its established LNG projects, or a pricing policy or legislation covering new developments, but newcomers continue to propose smaller export schemes--apparently hoping to overtake...

Korea-Oman storage, trading plans advance.
June 18, 2008... Koman Energy, the 50-50 joint venture between Korea Gas (Kogas) and the Omani government for LNG storage and trading in Oman, has started operations and is intent on expanding its presence as a trader in the Mideast LNG market, a senior Korean...

Sempra's vision of LNG price parity.
June 18, 2008... While Asian buyers bemoan new LNG contracts that include weaker S-curves and stronger indexation to oil prices, Sempra LNG Chief Executive Darcel Hulse argues that global prices could even out in the not-too-distant future and Asia's big LNG...

Total continuing to stall on Iran LNG deal.
June 18, 2008... French Total will not make a final investment decision on Pars LNG Block 11 this month, despite the threat issued three months ago by Tehran to retender the upstream contract if no decision was taken by June. That much is certain. Equally clear...

BG, Exxon under fire in Equatorial Guinea.
June 18, 2008... Equatorial Guinea is "very unhappy" with the main lifting contract for Equatorial Guinea LNG (EGLNG), held by BG, and is still planning to slap a large fine on Exxon Mobil for continuing to flare associated gas from Zafiro, the country's main...

Peru's gas industry attracts attention.
June 18, 2008... Peru's booming gas industry is attracting increased attention from international investors, at a time when new exploration and output is contracting in much of South America. On companies' immediate radar screen are Peru's plans for expanding...

Yamal LNG confusion.
June 18, 2008... Russian state Gazprom appears to have run hot and cold within the course of a single week on prospects for an LNG export scheme on the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia. A plausible reading is that Royal Dutch Shell is still in the running...

Eni Libya LNG closer.
June 18, 2008... Otherwise tougher new upstream contracts that Eni agreed to this week in Libya should help forward the Italian company's plans to increase both pipeline and LNG exports from the North African country. Eni this week converted the original...

Market insight: European price gloom.(INSIGHT)(Industry overview)
June 18, 2008... European gas prices look set to continue rising sharply, barring a decisive fall in the oil prices to which they are linked. WGI estimates the wholesale price of Russian gas at Germany's eastern borders this quarter at about $11.90 per million...

LNG uncertainty helps push UK gas to uncompetitive prices.(CURRENT)
June 18, 2008... Record-high forward gas prices for the coming winter have prompted UK gas and electricity network operator National Grid to downgrade the role of gas in electricity generation from primary to marginal status. Replacing gas is, once again, King...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
June 18, 2008... US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning Jun. 10-16. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Jun. 16 for day-ahead delivery Jun. 17. European power prices are from exchanges on Jun....

Canadian drilling may pick up, but production still lagging.(HORIZON)
June 18, 2008... Canada's decline in gas drilling looks to be bottoming out as prices rise. But it may not matter all that much to production rates and the availability of exports for an LNG-short US market. Geology is now working against Canada's ability to...

Gazprom's vision for 2020.
June 25, 2008... Russian state Gazprom has over the last week laid out a vision of itself in 2020 that is both much more global and more Yamal-and East Siberia-centered than anything discussed before. The subtext seemed to be messages to both Europe and China...

LNG supply shortfalls keep on coming.
June 25, 2008... Global LNG supply could be even tighter this month because of production problems at Algerian state Sonatrach's Arzew liquefaction plant (p6). The company Jun. 13 declared force majeure on seven spot cargoes. WGI is told that a flare tip is...

Algerian upstream gas round slipping.
June 25, 2008... Would-be investors are still in the dark about precisely what gas acreage Algeria plans to tender in a promised licensing round, as the hoped-for event starts to recede--and with it prospects for additional gas production. Although...

Nord stream moving, minus E.On deal.
June 25, 2008... The Nord Stream pipeline consortium owned 51% by Gazprom, 20% each by BASF's Wintershall unit and E.On Ruhrgas, and 9% by Dutch Gasunie has signed a contract worth more than [euro]1 billion ($1.55 billion) with Italian contractor Saipem to lay...

BG further expanding its Asian footprint.
June 25, 2008... BG is further expanding its Asian market footprint, announcing over the last week first a heads of agreement (HOA) to supply 1 million tons per year of LNG (1.37 billion cubic meters per year of gas) to Hong Kong's Castle Peak Power Co....

India gearing up for more LNG terminals.
June 25, 2008... The fact that Reliance Industries expects by September or October to start gas production from its eastern offshore Krishna-Godavari Basin Block KG-D6 has not stopped other firms in India from proposing new LNG terminal projects, as robust...

Argentina loosens ties to divided Bolivia.
June 25, 2008... Gas-rich Tarija became the fourth Bolivian province to declare autonomy from the central government following a local referendum Sunday in which an overwhelming majority voted in favor of greater independence. The vote deepened Bolivia's...

France aims to keep Chantiers' LNG skills.
June 25, 2008... The French government's purchase earlier this month of a 9% stake in Chantiers de l'Atlantique's shipbuilding facilities at Saint-Nazaire, France, was aimed at regaining influence over Chantiers' strategy, avoiding technology transfer to Asia,...

Market insight: big US LNG question.(INSIGHT)
June 25, 2008... US netbacks finally look competitive with Northwest Europe, and sales into that market earn Mideast exporters much less than term sales in Japan. What's more, hydro levels are rising in Spain, and LNG storage tanks are reportedly almost full,...

Another earthquake complicates Japan's nuclear dilemma.(CURRENT)
June 25, 2008... The strong earthquake that hit Japan Jun. 14 makes it all the more likely the country will remain a major spot LNG buyer for months or even years to come (p6). The nearest nuclear reactors, at Fukushima and Onagawa, remained open. But the event...

Gas and power prices for major US and European Hubs.(CURRENT)
June 25, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning Jun. 17-23. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Jun. 23 for day-ahead delivery Jun. 24. European power...

Floating LNG projects popping up all over Asia-Pacific.(HORIZON)
June 25, 2008... Asia-Pacific is emerging as a front-runner for what is a veritable craze worldwide: floating LNG (FLNG) projects. Several are in the pipeline in the region, in addition to two firm deals already announced so far this year, one with Norway's...