World Gas Intelligence articles from November 2008

World Gas Intelligence archives from November 2008

Trinidad's ALNG renegotiation.
November 5, 2008... Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning met last month with Atlantic LNG's main shareholders in Europe, and obtained agreement on formation of a team to discuss renegotiation of the contracts that underpin the project's early trains,...

Natuna-D again eyed for Trans-Asean pipe.
November 5, 2008... The long-touted Trans-Asean Gas Pipeline (TAGP) scheme may move back to the forefront, possibly anchored by Indonesia's huge Natuna D-Alpha gas block, according to state Pertamina Chief Executive Ari Soemarno. However, this would not preclude...

Advice to Qatar.
November 5, 2008... Changes in global gas markets are "screaming out for a change in policy by the world's largest LNG exporter: Qatar," Fereidun Fesharaki, head of Facts Global Energy, writes in a report this week. Qatar, by taking "a very hard line on sales...

Schlumberger chief still bullish on gas.
November 5, 2008... Schlumberger may be best known as an oil-field services provider, but the French-US company does a lot of business on the natural gas side, too. And that part of its business is growing with the development of more unconventional sources of gas...

BG's upbeat outlook on LNG profitability.
November 5, 2008... BG has reported impressive third-quarter LNG earnings and, despite the apparent downturn in spot prices after a two-year boom in the Asian LNG market, has increased its full-year LNG profit guidance for both 2008 and 2009. A stronger US dollar...

Gasunie head urges cross-border fixes.
November 5, 2008... The chief executive of one of Europe's biggest gas transportation grids, Dutch state Gasunie, does not expect the credit crisis to delay either the planned Nord Stream pipeline to flow Russian gas directly to Germany or the Gate LNG terminal at...

Next Karachaganak Phase in limbo.
November 5, 2008... The planned Phase 3 expansion of Kazakhstan's giant Karachaganak gas and condensate development is in limbo as joint operators BG and Eni look to reschedule the multibillion-dollar project in the hope that previously mushrooming development...

Italy, Spain gas up.
November 5, 2008... Southern Europe's gas demand looks to be resurgent, judging by figures issued last week by its two key grid operators. Throughput so far this year in Italy, the European Union's third-largest market, is up by almost 8%, while flows through the...

Tunisia pipeline plans.
November 5, 2008... Tunisian state Etap is planning a 10 million cubic meter (350 million cubic foot) per day pipeline that will take gas from southern fields to the coast for domestic consumption, while also leaving some 6 MMcm/d available for export, Etap head...

Market insight: US upside potential.(INSIGHT)
November 5, 2008... While US gas prices spent much of October trending lower, in line with tumbling crude oil futures and stock markets, Nymex November gas futures rebounded at expiry, pulling up some of the bid-week prices that value most baseload gas sales--and...

Maintenance may buy time for German nuclear plants.(CURRENT)
November 5, 2008... Ironically, the less-than-exemplary track record of some of Germany's nuclear power stations may prove to be their salvation. Reactors are scheduled under the country's nuclear phase-out program to shut down after producing an amount of power...

GAS and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
November 5, 2008... US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning Oct. 28-Nov. 3. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Nov. 3 for day-ahead delivery Nov. 4. European power prices are from exchanges on...

Prices aside, supply surge may bring US back into LNG game.(HORIZON)
November 5, 2008... The ongoing global financial and economic crisis could bring the US back into the LNG game. Despite plunging North American gas prices, LNG producers faced with lackluster demand could end up turning to the US as the "market of last resort"...

Gas troika ambitions.
November 12, 2008... Indications emerged in the run-up to this Wednesday's expert-level meeting of the so-called "gas troika" in Doha that agreements affecting such politically and industrially important issues as LNG development at Iran's giant South Pars field...

Everett terminal may lose Trinidad supply.
November 12, 2008... The two medium-term contracts with Spanish companies Gas Natural (GN) and Gas de Euskadi that have provided the bulk of the Trinidadian supply to GDF Suez's Everett terminal are due to expire next spring, potentially triggering the end of one...

Ukraine-Russia gas talks go on and on.
November 12, 2008... Nearly three years after Russia's cutoff of gas to Ukraine disrupted flows farther west, Moscow and Kiev are locked in arduous price negotiations that could once again rattle wary consumers across Europe. The seemingly unending talks...

LNG finance to change, not dry up.
November 12, 2008... As ailing US and UK banks have queued up to be partly nationalized, France--a country that has never seen state banks as inconsistent with capitalism--has remained one of the few places where bankers still look favorably at lending to strong...

Pakistan, India, Iran squirm on pipeline.
November 12, 2008... Pakistan is becoming increasingly impatient as Tehran plays a waiting game on the proposed gas pipeline running east out of Iran, partly to see how the India-US civilian nuclear deal affects New Delhi's interest in the estimated $7.4 billion...

North Africa severely tests gas explorers.
November 12, 2008... Gas exploration in North Africa is proving to be anything but easy. In Libya, Royal Dutch Shell is "going deep" to look for gas that could supply Europe. Rig constraints mean BP will only start drilling under its 2007 deal with state Libyan...

Dutch LNG progress.
November 12, 2008... LNG terminal developer 4Gas last week advanced its open-access Dutch project LionGas by agreeing to terms on its connection to the national gas grid and by recruiting a third customer. Dutch utility Delta last week became the third firm to...

Market insight: chill on Asian LNG.(INSIGHT)(Industry overview)
November 12, 2008... Winter's approach has failed to lift Asia's appetite for LNG in the way sellers had hoped, suggesting it may be a chilly season indeed for markets (WGI Nov.5,p8). Tumbling oil prices and ample inventories have combined to open a wide gap...

UK demonstrates obstacles faced by offshore wind power.(CURRENT)
November 12, 2008... Doubts are mounting as to the current economic viability of offshore wind power, at least in UK waters. A recent report on Offshore Wind: Big Challenge, Big Opportunity from the Carbon Trust, a government-funded company set up to help the UK...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
November 12, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Week for five trading days, spanning Nov. 4-10. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Nov. 10 for day-ahead delivery Nov. 11. European power...

Japanese gas use likely to rise despite forecasts of decline.(HORIZON)
November 12, 2008... An aging population, maturing economy, and official determination to continue a shift toward nuclear for power generation do not bode well for Japan's LNG appetite in the long term. But plans to bring at least five new LNG importing terminals...

Looming US Northeast glut.
November 19, 2008... Gas from two major US producing regions is expected to soon start competing for market share in the US Northeast, including around both New York City and Boston. Output from the Marcellus Shale, which spans West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and...

Timely LNG arrivals into Northwest Europe.
November 19, 2008... The North Sea's two main LNG terminals--at Isle of Grain east of London and Zeebrugge in Belgium--are pulling in cargoes from Qatar, Algeria, Egypt, Norway and floating storage, in response to a colder-weather-related uptick in prompt gas...

New hurdles to Iran-Pakistan-India pipe.
November 19, 2008... Iran is seeking last-minute changes in the pipeline gas sales agreement it has been negotiating for years with Pakistan and India to insulate itself from penalties under supply-or-pay obligations in case flows through the proposed...

Nabucco backers eye Iraqi, Iranian gas.
November 19, 2008... Machinations over the supply of Azeri, Iranian or even Iraqi gas to Europe via the Nabucco pipeline proposed by Austria's OMV and others--plus Iran's effort to come up with its own alternative--gained momentum this week. Turkey, as ever, is in...

Japan turns positive again on LNG.
November 19, 2008... Dire warnings from Japanese buyers of likely demand destruction resulting from high prices have all but disappeared with the softening in oil-linked LNG import prices and a general shift in market sentiment toward the buy side (WGI Dec.12,p8)....

Producers Lukewarm on Argentine policy.
November 19, 2008... Resolute attempts by Argentina to attract private investment and thereby reverse four years of gas shortages have yielded some results. But fear of continued government intervention is keeping a damper on investors' enthusiasm. Investment...

Gazprom sales slump.
November 19, 2008... Gazprom's largest industrial customer in France, and one of its largest in Western Europe, has slashed its gas use. Norwegian firm Yara, spun off in 2004 from Norsk Hydro, said it will "temporarily stop production of ammonia and urea at its...

Gazprom still pushing troika, China sales.
November 19, 2008... Gazprom continues to intensely promote its global commercial and geopolitical ambitions. Although little concrete information has yet emerged on joint investment plans being hatched by the "gas troika" of Russia, Iran and Qatar, Gazprom Deputy...

Market insight: Europe's end-user gap.(INSIGHT)
November 19, 2008... Although spot and forward prices in Europe have been trending lower since summer, gas prices under long-term contracts and industrial and household end-user prices either remain very high or even continue to rise due to their lagged indexation...

US, Europe need big transmission fixes to handle renewables.(CURRENT)
November 19, 2008... Just how critical--and how expensive--power transmission system investment will be to making wind and other forms of intermittent renewable energy major contributors to electricity supply is getting increasing attention on both sides of the...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
November 19, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning Nov. 11-17. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Nov. 17 for day-ahead delivery Nov. 18. European power...

Operators' data on gas flaring, use in Nigeria goes missing.(HORIZON)
November 19, 2008... International oil companies are pumping out "good" news in Nigeria to flag compliance with the spirit, if not the letter, of Abuja's demands that they eliminate flaring by 2009, supply more gas to the local market by 2010, and beef up the...

WGI supplement: European end-user prices.
November 19, 2008... WGI SUPPLEMENT: European End-User Prices (eurocents/kWh) Gas Prices: 100,000 cm/yr 1 Million cm/yr Typical High Low Typical High Low Belgium Oct. '08 4.29 4.50 3.95 3.87...

Iran, Turkey: big ambitions.
November 26, 2008... Iran and Turkey have committed to a challenging timeline, aiming to conclude three gas agreements within 12 months based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) they signed Nov. 17 (WGI Nov.19,p3). What's more, the three agreements are each...

Exxon, Statoil, Petronas leaders for Natuna.
November 26, 2008... Indonesian state Pertamina's shortlist of eight companies to jointly develop its complex Natuna D-Alpha field will be cut to two by the end of this year, with Exxon Mobil, Malaysian state Petronas and Norway's StatoilHydro the early...

Turkmenistan reserves: big, but nasty.
November 26, 2008... Turkmenistan's good news is that it has one of the world's largest gas fields, the onshore Osman/South Yolatan reservoir. With now certified in-place reserves of 6 trillion-14 trillion cubic meters (212 trillion-495 trillion cubic feet), Osman...

CNPC looks to Shell, maybe Iran for LNG.
November 26, 2008... As LNG markets sink into the doldrums, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and its listed affiliate PetroChina look to be moving more aggressively to line up long-term supply for its three planned receiving terminals (p6). This week, it...

Why interest still scant in China's CBM.
November 26, 2008... Even with vast untapped resources and strong government support underpinned by attractive fiscal terms, China's coalbed methane (CBM) sector has not been able to attract more than a handful of small-cap foreign investors. Last year, state...

Russian-Ukrainian dispute intensifies.
November 26, 2008... Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz Ukrainy have managed for the time being to avoid a repeat of the 2006 shutoff of Russian gas supply to Ukraine that also disrupted flows further West and sent shockwaves through Europe. The Ukrainian firm promised...

Egypt-Israel gas case.
November 26, 2008... The Egyptian government is appealing a Nov. 18 administrative court decision that called for a halt to gas exports to Israel. The case was brought by lawyer Ibrahim Yousri, who argued that parliamentary approval was required for the 2005 deal....

Shell, Turkey on Iraq.
November 26, 2008... Turkey is continuing to actively pursue gas supply from Iraq, as well as Iran--for itself and also potentially for Europe (p1). Royal Dutch Shell has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Turkish explorer TPAO and state pipeline...

Adriatic LNG starting.
November 26, 2008... The first commissioning cargo is expected in March at the world's first offshore gravity-base LNG terminal, the Adriatic LNG project, according to Riccardo Pasetto, director of business unit gas supply and logistics at Edison. Full...

Market insight: LNG lull, part 2.(INSIGHT)
November 26, 2008... Spot LNG trading remains at a halt, with users in no hurry to buy before year-end--the only notable exception being Northwest Europe. "There is no incentive for buyers to contract expensive volumes right now. This is why the market is very...

What carbon control could mean for electricity generation.(CURRENT)
November 26, 2008... If government policies worldwide continue as they were in mid-2008, electricity demand can be expected to grow through 2030 at an average rate of 1% per year in the US, 1.2% in OECD Europe, 0.7% in Japan, and a staggering 4.6% in China and 5.7%...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.
November 26, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Week for five trading days, spanning Nov. 18-24. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Nov. 24 for day-ahead delivery Nov. 25. European power...

Canadian oil sands: politics, carbon capture, gas coalesce.(HORIZON)
November 26, 2008... The manner in which the divergent interests of the incoming center-left Obama administration in the US, Canada's Conservative Harper government and Alberta's oil sands projects coalesce on controlling carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could have a...