World Gas Intelligence articles from November 2004

World Gas Intelligence archives from November 2004

BP in Chinese LNG shipping.
November 3, 2004... BP has concluded agreements with two Chinese shipping companies, China Ocean Shipping Co. (Cosco) and China Merchants Group (CMG), to create an LNG shipping venture that would use BP's knowledge base to create what would in time become a fully...

Woodside discusses LNG ups, downs.
November 3, 2004... Last week was a rollercoaster ride for Australia's Woodside Energy. Collapse of talks between East Timor and Australia on a permanent border dealt a major blow to the Woodside-operated Greater Sunrise LNG project. But just a day later,...

Chinese, Indian firms courted by Iran.
November 3, 2004... Iran continues to chum out preliminary agreements with prospective LNG customers from both China and India, although it remains to be seen whether all the activity represents genuine progress or just the spinning or wheels. Iran's recent...

Gasunie's first step toward full split.
November 3, 2004... The Dutch word Gasgebouw translates literally as "gas building," but refers to the structure of relationships that has existed since the 1960s between the Dutch state and gas producers in the Netherlands--most notably Royal Dutch/Shell and...

North American LNG terminals turn dirt.
November 3, 2004... Neither loose threads on the permitting side nor continuing uncertainty over supply seems adequate to hold back the more assertive of the numerous would-be LNG terminal developers in North America. Last Thursday, Anadarko broke ground at...

Rotterdam port seeks entrepot LNG role.
November 3, 2004... Rotterdam's city-owned port authority is seeking investors for an LNG import terminal with initial capacity of 6 billion cubic meters (4.35 million tons) per year for startup in 2009 at Europe's largest oil port. It's not the first time that a...

Pricey Nigerian LNG.
November 3, 2004... The late November Nigeria LNG f.o.b. tender for uncontracted volumes--for which bids were due in last week--was awarded to BP, WGI understands. Some industry watchers say the price may have been as high as $6.75 per million Btu, although this...

French market forming.
November 3, 2004... French energy regulator Cre last week published the results of gas release auctions held by state Gaz de France (GdF) on Oct. 22 and Total subsidiary Gaz du Sud-Ouest (GSO) on Oct. 27, which Cre described as "a significant step towards opening...

Market insight: US bulls roar again.(Insight)
November 3, 2004... The lingering effects of Hurricane Ivan--nearly 2% of US gas production is still offline six weeks after the storm plowed through the eastern Gulf of Mexico--have combined with $50 crude oil to fuel a surge in North American gas prices that...

Japan poised for growth in electricity, gas demand.(Current)
November 3, 2004... Japan is likely to see slow but steady growth in power demand through 2020, with gas accounting for progressively more of that electricity, according to a study on the country's long-term energy demand outlook by the Institute of Energy...

BP's John Browne talks about global gas prospects.(Horizon)
November 3, 2004... WGI Editor Sarah Miller conducted a wide-ranging interview with BP Chief Executive John Browne--known more formally as Lord Browne of Madingley--during the Energy Intelligence-sponsored Oil & Money conference in London last week. Following are...

On the move in Sakhalin.
November 10, 2004... Although Gazprom does not as yet have an equity position in either of the big Sakhalin projects already under development on Russia's Pacific Coast, the expansive state company's pronouncement last month that it is assigning a high priority to...

Mexico set to squelch lawsuits over LNG.
November 10, 2004... Say Nimby (Not in My Backyard) to Cornelius van der Bom, and he'll say Nope (Not On Planet Earth), Banana (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) and Cave (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). These acronyms, which Van der Bom...

Turkey starts troubled gas-release tender.
November 10, 2004... Turkey's state pipeline operator and monopoly importer Botas last week invited bids for six long-term supply contracts, covering a total of 16 billion cubic meters (1.55 billion cubic feet per day) --a move that would appear to constitute a...

Exxon exec outlines Qatargas' UK plans.
November 10, 2004... Plans to have the Milford Haven LNG receiving terminal in Wales up and running in 2008 are moving according to schedule, says Roberta Luxbacher, director, Europe, for Exxon Mobil Gas and Power Marketing. The 15.6 million ton per year (2.3...

Make-or-break time for West African pipe.
November 10, 2004... By the end of this month, the World Bank expects to have made a make-or-break decision on whether to approve a $50 million risk guarantee for the $535 million West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP). If the answer is yes, the World Bank will act as...

Helping gas users cope with high prices.
November 10, 2004... North America's gas utilities are facing a multi-pronged challenge. They are having to cope with gas prices that seem to spiral ever higher, while simultaneously protecting consumers from the extremes, fending off regulators inclined to...

E.On reintegrates east.
November 10, 2004... Germany's E.On, which owns Ruhrgas, is to acquire a majority stake in the gas business of Hungarian energy group Mol, in the latest of a series of asset purchases in central and eastern European grids and supply by the German giant. It...

US LNG partnerships.
November 10, 2004... Three major oil existing or would-be integrated LNG players--Royal Dutch/Shell, Total and ChevronTexaco--are turning to partnerships with smaller companies in their quest for US receiving capacity. Chevron has acquired 5.4 million tons per...

Market insight: Indonesian fog.(Insight)
November 10, 2004... Last week's loudly trumpeted announcement from regulator BP Migas that Indonesia will be seeking to cut as many as 45 cargoes--up to 15 from Arun and 30-35 from Bontang--from LNG exports in 2005 does little to clear the fog surrounding supply...

Europe starts to develop its LNG-to-power allure.(Current)
November 10, 2004... German group RWE has confirmed plans for a new "up to 2,000 megawatt" gas-fired power plant on its site at Pembroke in Wales, near two planned UK LNG import terminals at Milford Haven. The site once housed a giant oil-fired plant, demolished...

Just how hard are soaring steel prices hitting LNG?(Horizon)
November 10, 2004... High steel prices have become a bottom-line issue for the oil industry, with executives warning that cost creep could lead to a dilution of returns on investment (Petroleum Intelligence Weekly Nov.4,p2). LNG facilities, already considered some...

Pioneering BG deals.
November 17, 2004... The LNG spot market may still be small and its rate of growth uncertain, but it's starting to take on many of the trappings of a genuine commodity market. Most recently, LNG has been the object of the type of "cash and carry" arbitrage common...

Japan nuclear revival frees up spot LNG.
November 17, 2004... Prospects for increased availability of spot LNG in the Atlantic Basin, and particularly the US, have brightened considerably this winter and through 2005. The reason: While one of Japan's recurring nuclear safety crises is still on the boil, a...

Latest of many LNG glitches in Venezuela.
November 17, 2004... If the Guinness World Records book had a section for the longest time spent negotiating a project, Venezuela's Mariscal Sucre LNG venture would probably make the list. After 13 years of negotiation, new hurdles have popped up that seem destined...

New study on Libya's oil & gas potential.
November 17, 2004... After years of living on the fringes of the international oil market, Libya is poised for a surge in foreign investment in oil and gas development. The competition will be fierce. With the recent removal of international sanctions, this...

Dabhol asset sale starts to look real.
November 17, 2004... The infamous Dabhol power project in India's Maharashtra province may get a fresh lease on life soon, with the new government in New Delhi asking state National Thermal Power Corp. (NTPC) and Petronet LNG to take over the nearly completed 2,184...

Alaska pipeline partners slug it out.
November 17, 2004... Which will come first for sponsors of the proposed Alaska Natural Gas Transmission System--a resolution of what regulatory regime to use for the newbuild segment within Canada, or a commercial agreement stipulating ownership positions, shipper...

Exxon, Shell Sakhalinate.
November 17, 2004... Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell are level-pegging on construction of the Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 projects that they respectively manage off Russia's Pacific Coast, having each completed about 40% of the work. But the competition over gas...

Gasunie's TTF boost.
November 17, 2004... Gasunie Trade & Supply (GT&S), trading arm of Dutch Gasunie, began offering gas for sale last week at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF)--the national balancing hub for gas delivered into the Netherlands pipeline network, run by another Gasunie...

Oman Oil Co. deals.
November 17, 2004... It has been a bumper month for state Oman Oil Co. (OOC), which last week signed deals with UK-based GTL Resources to develop a 3,000 ton per day methanol plant in the southern port of Salalah and with South Korea's LG International and Iran's...

J&S Cheniere's spot LNG debut.
November 17, 2004... The LNG spot market welcomed a new player last week: J&S Cheniere, the trading affiliate of Cheniere Energy and Swiss oil and commodity trader J&S Services, snapped up the December Nigeria LNG f.o.b. spot cargo. The price was reportedly...

Market insight: end of era in Spain.
November 17, 2004... One of the world's longest continuous LNG supply contracts looks set to lapse at end-2004, bearing witness to the continued preference of both buyers and sellers for pipeline gas when it's available. Signs are that Algerian state...

European emission trading poised for takeoff--but ...
November 17, 2004... Spurred on by Russian acceptance of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and the approaching start of the European Union's mandatory Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), the market for carbon dioxide emission credits in Europe is picking up both new...

Exmar, Golar push LNG spot trading with shipping pool.
November 17, 2004... Two well-known independent LNG tanker owners, Norway's Golar and Belgian Exmar, have set up a joint venture pooling their combined open LNG ships. While the move came as no great surprise--Golar and Exmar have attempted more than once to...

Sonatrach at Gassi Touil.
November 24, 2004... Repsol YPF and Gas Natural (GN) last week beat out several heavyweight European and US rivals to become the first foreign companies awarded a major integrated LNG project in Algeria (WGI Oct.6,p5). But early indications are that state...

Iran eyes nearby pipe exports, then LNG.
November 24, 2004... Agreed and pending gas export deals could see Iran exporting some 10 billion cubic meters per year (967 million cubic feet per day) of gas to its Mideast Gulf neighbors well before the end of the decade. And the country is targeting first LNG...

UK's Centrica eyes coal "exposure".
November 24, 2004... Leading UK gas supplier Centrica is looking to coal-fired generation to reduce its exposure to gas prices, which have been high recently. Supply and trading chief Jake Ulrich explained the motivation to a London conference this week: "If coal...

WGI supplement: European end-user prices (in Eurocents/kWh).
November 24, 2004... WGI SUPPLEMENT: European End-User Prices (In Eurocents/kWh) Gas Prices: --100,000 cm/yr-- --1 Million cm/yr-- Typical High Low Typical High Low Belgium Oct. '04 2.40 2.49...

Australian LNG seeks its natural order.
November 24, 2004... Australia's LNG sales outlook may not be as complex as it sounds from the jangling crescendo of claims and counter-claims coming from the country's politicians and gas project promoters. Woodside Petroleum's sudden push for a Browse LNG...

Shell aims to remain tops in Asian LNG.
November 24, 2004... Royal Dutch/Shell lavishes between $1 billion and $1.5 billion of capital spending each year on its global gas and power business, and it currently boasts equity LNG volumes of 7.5 million tons per year in Asia from stakes in Brunei LNG,...

India, Shell and ships.
November 24, 2004... Royal Dutch/Shell remains embroiled in a dispute with the government in New Delhi over what it terms "India's restrictive LNG shipping policy"--just a couple of months from the planned opening of the 2.5 million ton per year regasification...

Shah Deniz expansion?
November 24, 2004... Statoil Senior Vice President Bjorn Jacobsen at a conference in London this week raised the prospect of an expansion of the planned Shah Deniz development in Azerbaijan, in which Statoil has 25% equity alongside upstream operator BP. This even...

Danes size up.
November 24, 2004... Danish state oil producer Dong has secured BP's 10.34% stake in the giant offshore Ormen Lange gas development in Norway plus a 10.2% interest in the related Langeled gas export pipeline for $1.2 billion, some 50% more than the most bullish...

UK LNG due in April.
November 24, 2004... UK gas and power networks operator National Grid Transco (NGT) expects the first LNG cargo to arrive at its 4.4 billion cubic meter (3.2 million ton) per year Isle of Grain import facility in April 2005, NGT senior UK gas director Steve...

IPE gas futures.(Insight)
November 24, 2004... Contract Nov. 22 Week's Nov. 22 Month p/therm High/Low S/MMBtu Dec. '04 33.90 37.00/33.80 6.34 Jan. '05 42.38 47.00/42.00 7.93 Feb. 41.39 45.50/41.00 7.74 Mar. 33.95 ...

Nymex gas futures.(Insight)
November 24, 2004... Contract Nov. 22 Week's Nov. 15 Month S/MMBtu High/Low S/MMBtu Dec. '04 6.762 7.57/6.71 7.436 Jan. '05 7.540 8.19/7.47 8.047 Feb. 7.655 8.23/7.59 ...

Prices for feedstock and power station gas.(Insight)
November 24, 2004... (In Eurocents/kWh) Oct. '04 Jul. '04 Oct. '03 Power Stations Belgium 1.30 1.16 1.15 Great Britain (DTI average) * 0.99 1.11 0.97 (LTI 2) ** 1.19 1.21 1.15...

Ready for the LNG boom?(Insight)
November 24, 2004... If you are involved in the LNG business, our new World LNG Review will provide you with a comprehensive, up-to-date desktop reference to the key aspects of the industry, including: * How a global LNG market is developing, with a review of...

Biomass electricity gets boost from high gas, oil prices.(Current)
November 24, 2004... Wind power isn't the only renewable energy source that is taking off in the US with a boost from high gas and oil prices and an expanded tax credit for renewable energy (WGI Oct. 13,p7). Biomass resources--including agricultural crops, wood,...

IEA sees global gas use doubling by 2030, despite slowdown.(Horizon)
November 24, 2004... Worldwide consumption of natural gas will almost double by 2030 to around 4.9 trillion cubic meters (475 billion cubic feet per day), driven mainly by power generation, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) recently released...

Market insight: hard news for UK users.(Insight)
November 24, 2004... Energy Advice's latest quarterly survey of European end-user prices for WGI confirms sharp rises in gas prices to UK industrial consumers in the three months from July to October. Nov. 24 is the last day for submission of written evidence...