World Gas Intelligence articles from March 2007

World Gas Intelligence archives from March 2007

Culprits in Qatar.
March 7, 2007... The soaring construction costs publicly blamed for burying Exxon Mobil's Palm gas-to-liquids (GTL) project are not the sole culprit, WGI learns. Rapidly rising energy needs inside Qatar, concern about North Field reservoir quality, and...

Algeria's Gassi Touil LNG project stalls.
March 7, 2007... Spain's Repsol YPF and Gas Natural (GN) at end-December halted front-end engineering and design (Feed) work with Halliburton subsidiary KBR and Japan's JGC on LNG facilities in Algeria that form part of their planned 4 million ton (5.5 billion...

Alaska's Kenai LNG controvery.
March 7, 2007... Why are ConocoPhillips and Marathon seeking an extension of only two years to 2011 in their license to export LNG from the small Kenai, Alaska, liquefaction plant near Anchorage that they share on a 70-30 basis? US Department of Energy...

Turkey's transit role a work in progress.
March 7, 2007... Turkey's gas transit role--bringing Mideast and Caspian gas to Europe--remains very much a work in progress. Although talks continue, there's been no concrete progress as yet on the matter of transporting additional volumes of Iranian gas to...

Boston terminal sparring continues.
March 7, 2007... Controversy continues to swirl around plans by two separate LNG developers to build terminals offshore Boston. Opposition groups have banded together to pressure the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to hold another public hearing about...

E.On, Iran rumors.
March 7, 2007... It's not new that Germany's E. On Ruhrgas has approached potential Mideast suppliers about LNG supplies (WGI Jan.11 '06,p8). But the German-language magazine Focus reports that E. On has submitted a draft contract for 2.5 billion cubic...

Philippines LNG saga.
March 7, 2007... The Philippines' first LNG terminal, scheduled to be built and run by Manila-based project developer GNPower by 2009, is on hold due to high gas prices, with completion not now expected until 2014 at the earliest. However, Japanese trading...

French hub strategy.
March 7, 2007... Monthly spot traded volumes on France's five trading hubs (Pegs) from September to December 2006 were more than 50% higher than average levels in the preceding eight months, French regulator Cre says in its latest quarterly market analysis...

Conoco drops out of GTL race.
March 7, 2007... ConocoPhillips has dropped plans to develop natural gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects in favor of "fossil-fuel" gasification, Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Mulva said last week. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a conference at the...

Market insight: US looking bullish.(INSIGHT)
March 7, 2007... Last month provided a wild ride for the March gas futures contract in the US. The reason: February 2007 was 13% colder than normal (WGI Feb.7,p6). Even though prices dipped at end-month, a much more bullish, but probably volatile, trend could...

Texas eyes alternatives as utility buyout nixes coal plans.(CURRENT)
March 7, 2007... The decision by the potential new owners of top Texas generator TXU to scrap plans for at least eight of 11 planned conventional coal-fired power stations has rocked the state's electricity industry. Last week, investment groups led by...

EU gas demand stagnates as high prices hit industrial use.(HORIZON)
March 7, 2007... Milder weather certainly played a big part in a reduction last year in gas use in the European Union, despite a colder start. Industry association Eurogas says its preliminary data show that EU-25 consumption decreased by 1.1% in 2006 to 486.2...

Attacking Iran's route to EU.
March 14, 2007... Their motivations may be different, but both the US and Russia look to be applying pressure on Turkey and Hungary to either kill the heavily EU-supported Nabucco pipeline project or ensure that its future role excludes transporting Iranian gas...

Jamaica: Venezuela, Trinidad LNG bridge?
March 14, 2007... With Trinidad and Tobago oscillating over plans to supply neighboring Jamaica with 1.2 million tons per year of LNG--as the two countries agreed in a 2005 memorandum of understanding (MOU)--Jamaica is taking the initiative and looking for gas...

Mideast petchems looking vulnerable.
March 14, 2007... The recent boom in oil prices has generally been good news for Mideast petrochemical producers, which now enjoy a wide cost advantage over ethane-feedstock plants in most other parts of the world. The bulk petrochemical ethylene costs under...

Gas forum looks set to draw crowd.
March 14, 2007... Amid heightened speculation that certain gas producers favor the creation of a "gas Opec," members from the Caribbean to the Caspian look set to travel to Qatar next month to attend the annual Gas Exporter Countries Forum (GECF)--an event that...

Indonesia's persistent pipeline problems.
March 14, 2007... Last week's launch by Indonesian state gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) of the first phase of the estimated $1.1 billion South Sumatra-West Java (SSWJ) pipeline is an important step in making the island nation more reliant on its own...

German giants boost sales--barely.
March 14, 2007... Germany's two energy giants managed to outsell many of their peers in a sickly 2006 European gas market (WGI Mar.7,p8). Having ample gas in storage during last winter's cold snap certainly helped, but not all the volume growth was organic--and...

RasGas to Belgium.
March 14, 2007... RasGas's first export cargo could be on its way to Belgium even before the Mar. 20 launch ceremony announced last week. Belgium's Distrigas says it expects to receive an LNG cargo from RasGas Train 5 at Zeebrugge in late March or early April,...

Market insight: Tangguh price revisited.(INSIGHT)
March 14, 2007... Japan's thirst for LNG looks to be driving markets around the Pacific Basin, from Mexico to South Korea. Indonesian Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told legislators last week that he plans to hold talks with South Korean buyers with the...

Russian power reform advances, Gazprom well positioned.(CURRENT)
March 14, 2007... Russian power giant UES is pressing ahead with its own breakup and privatization, after the government on Mar. 2 approved its restructuring program, which is now expected to be complete by July 2008. The sale of stakes in UES spin-offs to...

Norway eyes yet another export pipeline, linked to Troll.(HORIZON)
March 14, 2007... Norway's consistency and its growth as a supplier of gas to northern Europe are often overlooked as Europeans fuss over security of supply (p5). While Russia's share of the EU-25 gas market held at 24% over the last two years, Norway's climbed...

Gorgon: expand or die?
March 21, 2007... The Greater Gorgon LNG project on Barrow Island in northwest Australia is doing a bit of shape-shifting, with shareholders saying the plant's initial production could jump by half. Reviews are currently underway to see if Gorgon could sustain...

Election hype besets Nigerian projects.
March 21, 2007... As the Nigerian government readies for elections, senior energy officials are cheerfully spinning progress in an attempt to burnish the government's somewhat dull track record. This week state Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) chief...

Shell set to take more LNG to India.
March 21, 2007... Royal Dutch Shell plans to double imports into its 2.5 million ton per year Hazira LNG terminal this year, as it has found customers willing to pay international prices for the sendout and secured a deal with Gail (India) that will allow it to...

Latest Shtokman revival underway.
March 21, 2007... The future of the giant Shtokman project in the Barents Sea seems as opaque as ever, even with Russian state Gazprom reopening discussions with potential partners. The list of candidates starts with the shortlist Gazprom developed last time...

Obstacles face grand Venezuelan gas ideas.
March 21, 2007... Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has been playing up his country's potential to become a regional--if not a world--hub for natural gas production. In fact, prospects for that happening anytime soon are slim. Last week during a visit to...

Chevron field eases Bangladesh gas woes.
March 21, 2007... Chevron this week began gas output from its $230 million Bibiyana gas field onshore Bangladesh, delayed from a late 2006 start-up primarily due to political instability inside the gas-hungry nation. Even with launch of the large field, the...

RasGas-5 supply heading to Europe.
March 21, 2007... Belgian Distrigas says it expects to receive the first cargo under its new 20-year contract with RasGas on Mar. 29 at Zeebrugge. It says the journey time from Qatar is two weeks, implying that the cargo is already en route from Ras Laffan. A...

Market insight: easing euro end-use prices.(INSIGHT)
March 21, 2007... Industrial end-user prices for gas fell by as much as 10% between October and January in most of the European countries surveyed for WGI by Energy Advice, due to significant falls in the crude oil and petroleum products prices to which most...

Mideast seeks alternatives to gas for power generation.(CURRENT)
March 21, 2007... Early this decade, gas-fired independent power projects (IPPs) had hit take-off point in the Mideast Gulf. Given abundant reserves, gas was seen as an obvious, and cleaner, fuel for power generation by governments also keen to free up oil for...

New formula tried for cracking tough California LNG nut.(HORIZON)
March 21, 2007... Building an LNG terminal in California remains a tenuous proposition, with local opposition fierce and supply hard to come by. The point was brought home in January when a terminal project in Long Beach, near Los Angeles, proposed by the Sound...

WGI supplement: european end-user prices (eurocents/kWh).
March 21, 2007... WGI SUPPLEMENT: European End-User Prices (eurocents/kWh) Gas Prices: 10 Million 100,000 cm/yr 1 Million cm/yr cm/yr Typical High Low...

New Mideast price reality.
March 28, 2007... A new pricing reality is imposing itself on gas-deficient Mideast Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, where both imported and domestic gas has traditionally cost a relative pittance. Imports from regional...

Venezuela, Trinidad agree only to agree.
March 28, 2007... A unitization deal signed last week between Venezuela and neighboring Trinidad and Tobago covering two shared offshore gas fields raises as many questions as it answers. Venezuela has stipulated that its portion of the estimated 10 trillion...

Gazprom prefers pipes over LNG.
March 28, 2007... It's becoming increasingly clear that Gazprom has reverted to form and is focusing on pipeline gas rather than LNG sales in the Atlantic Basin. Even as the Nord Stream pipeline that would run under the Baltic direct to Germany is progressing,...

Price shift gets Egypt part of way there.
March 28, 2007... The deal on improved pricing terms struck recently by BP and Germany's RWE with Egyptian authorities for gas to be developed from their estimated 4 trillion cubic foot offshore Raven field represents belated recognition by the government of the...

Others eyeing Exxon's Indonesian giant.
March 28, 2007... It's been a frenzied week for Exxon Mobil at the gas-rich Natuna D-Alpha Block off Indonesia, for which the major has been seeking a viable development option for well over a decade. Meanwhile, amid troubled negotiations between Exxon and...

Brindisi prognosis bad.
March 28, 2007... BG's plan to develop a large LNG import terminal at Brindisi, in southeast Italy, may be in its death throes. On Mar. 22, key officials from Italy's Environment Ministry and other federal agencies plus regional, provincial and city...

Oregon LNG options.
March 28, 2007... Despite the competitive playing field for LNG developers on the US West Coast--and in California in particular--companies continue to make headway with proposals for terminals in Oregon, with five projects currently on the table (WGI...

Spain, Algeria tiff.
March 28, 2007... The war of words between Spain and Algeria continues. Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil has complained in the Spanish press about delays to the integrated Gassi Touil LNG export project, led by Spain's Repsol YPF with partner Gas Natural...

Market insight: LNG spot surplus.(INSIGHT)
March 28, 2007... In an abrupt reversal of pattern, the global LNG spot market suddenly looks oversupplied and firmly tilted towards the US, where March has seen record imports and April loadings are potentially as great. Indeed, receiving capacity in the US is...

New Texas transmission policy aims to aid wind energy.(CURRENT)
March 28, 2007... The gas and oil capital of the US, Texas, looks to be taking the lead in wind power, as well, beating out the East and West Coast areas that have moved more aggressively on carbon control (WGI Sep.20,p7). The state already leads the nation in...

Taqa fast-tracks Dutch LNG terminal, eyes storage potential.(HORIZON)
March 28, 2007... Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (Taqa) is aiming to complete its Dutch offshore LNG receiving terminal within the first few months of 2008 and could have an upstream position in North African LNG in less than two months. But as the company sees...