World Gas Intelligence articles from October 2003

World Gas Intelligence archives from October 2003

Clear path for LNG into India.
October 1, 2003... India's Petronet LNG importing consortium has blinked in the standoff over contract terms with supplier RasGas by pushing responsibility for lining up domestic Indian customers for its gas onto the state companies that own it--concluding gas...

Exxon, Shell to split German marketing.
October 1, 2003... The split-up of the long-standing and highly profitable Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell gas partnership in Europe continues. The two have now agreed to split the gas marketing business of their German joint venture BEB as early as possible in...

Polypropylene--the new gas chain.
October 1, 2003... Statoil and two leading European technology firms say that they have succeeded in producing high-quality plastics for the first time from a natural gas-based feedstock. The result is the world's first heat-formed plastic cups made from...

China on course for mid-2005 LNG debut.
October 1, 2003... Australia's North West Shelf now appears on track to start shipping LNG to coastal China in mid-2006, and initially at least, it will come from the project's fourth train, itself set for commissioning in the middle of next year (WGI May21,p1)....

Sakhalin gas to Korea--North and South?
October 1, 2003... An important political mission has been conceived for gas from Russia's Sakhalin offshore: helping to resolve tension over North Korea's nuclear program by uniting the two Koreas within the so-called KoRus project that aims to build a 2,500...

Peru LNG to Mexico.
October 1, 2003... Peru has found a market for some of its Amazonian gas reserves, as Hunt Oil--operator of the LNG portion of the Camisea project--this week signed a memorandum of understanding to sell 2.7 million tons per year of LNG to Suez unit Tractebel for...

Rival euro hubs talk.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The two rival gas trading hub operators on the German/Dutch border, EuroHub and HubCo, are in informal talks on the possibility of merging and appear serious about joining their operations, a source familiar with the talks tells WGI. ...

Interconnector trouble.
October 1, 2003... UK gas exports to the European mainland are likely to remain below seasonal norms until at least early next week, as Interconnector UK (IUK)--the operator of the 230 kilometer link from Bacton in England to Zeebrugge in Belgium--continues...

Oman's Qalhat LNG.
October 1, 2003... Oman is following Qatar's--and Malaysia's--example in setting up new ownership structures and giving new project names to incremental LNG trains. "Qalhat LNG" is the consortium that will complete and operate Oman's third LNG train, already...

Market insight: US LNG bonanza.(Insight)
October 1, 2003... The recent drop in US gas prices doesn't seem to be blocking the flow of LNG, even though netbacks in Europe or Asia are now better for most exporters. The Japanese market is once again the strongest. Northwest European spot markets have firmed...

Italy's massive blackout may mean more gas-fired power.(Current)
October 1, 2003... The widespread electricity blackout suffered by Italy on Sunday exposes just how vulnerable a power system is that depends on imports to meet around 17% of its demand. The event may also provide the catalyst for politicians in Rome to speed up...

2003: a banner year for LNG tankers, despite typhoon.(Horizon)
October 1, 2003... This will go down as a banner year for LNG shipping, with 14 or so deliveries likely, despite some expected setbacks in the fourth quarter as a result of Typhoon Maemi's brush with Korean shipyards (WGI Sep.24,p1). In the first half, the action...

EU breakthrough on resales.(European Union)
October 8, 2003... The European Union's executive Commission has announced a settlement with Italy's ENI and Russian giant Gazprom over restrictive clauses in their existing sales contracts--a deal that it describes as a major step towards a fully competitive...

Confusion reins in Indonesian LNG.(liquefied natural gas)
October 8, 2003... Confusion over the future direction and ownership of Indonesia's LNG industry increases with each passing week. Most recently, senior government officials said that they are on the verge of signing a second agreement to supply LNG to China,...

Total resumes activity on LNG front.(liquefied natural gas)
October 8, 2003... France's Total is shaking off its apparent lethargy on the gas front, with active moves afoot to secure access to North American markets and to bolster its stake in Qatar's mega-gas industry (WGI May 14,p8). Total has made its first small...

UK-Norway accord advances Britpipe.
October 8, 2003... The UK and Norway signed an agreement on Oct. 2 setting out the basic principles of cooperation on cross-border projects in the North Sea--potentially opening the way for investment decisions on the Britpipe project from Norsk Hydro's Ormen...

Shell, Total expect high returns on Saudi deal.(Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Cos., Saudi Arabia Petroleum Corp.)
October 8, 2003... If exploration turns up as much new gas as participants expect, Royal Dutch/Shell and partners France's Total and state Saudi Aramco should end up with a rate of return of close to 15% on a recently concluded exploration and production deal...

Angola slips again.(liquefied natural gas project target date change)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2003... BP Chief Executive John Browne raised eyebrows this week when he let slip a 2010 target start-up date for the Angola LNG (ALNG) project. The original target date given by project leader Chevron Texaco was 2006. It was then shifted to 2007-08,...

German CCGT plan.(combined-cycle gas turbine)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2003... Siemens has been chosen by Concord Power to build what would be Germany's largest combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT), a planned 1,200 megawatt facility at Lubmin on the Baltic toast. The two firms signed a framework agreement last week, which is...

More Dutch delay.(Gasunie breakup)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2003... The legal split-up of Dutch Gasunie is facing another delay beyond the target of Jan. 1, 2004, due to extended negotiations on the structure, industry sources say. Dutch Economy Minister Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst is expected to inform...

TransCanada eyes Quebec LNG site.(TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., liquefied natural gas)
October 8, 2003... TransCanada PipeLines apparently wants more than one LNG receiving terminal in the US New England region or Canada's Maritimes Provinces. Last month, the big Calgary-based gas pipeline and power generator joined with US ConocoPhillips to...

IPE gas futures.(Insight)(Illustration)
October 8, 2003... IPE GAS FUTURES Contract Oct. 6 Week's Oct 6 Month p/therm High/Low $/MMBtu Nov. '03 24.35 24.50/23.90 4.07 Dec. 27.03 27.25/26.75 4.52 Jan. '04 29.23 29.40/28.85 4.89 Feb....

NYMEX gas futures.(Insight)(Illustration)
October 8, 2003... NYMEX GAS FUTURES Contract Oct. 6 Week's Sep. 29 Month $/MMBtu High/Low $/MMBtu Nov. '03 4.904 4.98/4.57 4.895 Dec. 5.183 5.20/4.86 5.130 Jan. '04 5.357 ...

Market insight--winter nerves afflict US.(Insight)
October 8, 2003... US storage levels look ample heading into winter, and official forecasts are for above-normal temperatures from the Rocky Mountains eastward through mid-October. Nonetheless, stiff support above $5 per million Btu in winter futures contracts at...

North American gas and comparative fuel prices.(Insight)(Illustration)
October 8, 2003... NORTH AMERICAN GAS AND COMPARATIVE FUEL PRICES ($/MMBtu) Pipeline Point/City Gate Oct. Sep. Aug. Sep. Bid-Week * '03 '03 '02 Henry Hub ...

Clean-coal gasification technology under spotlight in US.(Current)
October 8, 2003... Technological developments similar to those that vastly improved the economics of gas-fired power--and are starting to make natural gas-to-liquids projects commercially viable--could one day be applied to push coal back into favor as a clean...

Europe adrift as Russia knocks wind out of Kyoto sails.(Horizon)(Protocol to the Convention on Climate Change, 1997)
October 8, 2003... The future of the 1997 Kyoto Climate Change Treaty has been cast into doubt by Russia, which has yet to ratify the accord despite promises to do so, and now seems to be cooling to the entire concept, moving closer to Washington's position. ...

US LNG volumes triple.(United States liquefied natural gas )
October 15, 2003... US LNG imports more than tripled in the third quarter from year-ago levels, with the reopening of Dominion's terminal at Cove Point, Maryland, and new vaporization capacity at Tractebel's Everett facility contributing to the ability of US...

Algeria bends, does not break on resale.
October 15, 2003... Algeria has retreated in its battle with the European Union over the EU Commission's insistence that gas importers be barred from on-selling gas to other firms--but it hasn't yet surrendered, at least when it comes to potential trans-Atlantic...

Riots in Bolivia endanger Pacific LNG.(liquefied natural gas)
October 15, 2003... Violent rioting in Bolivia forced the government Monday to "suspend" the Pacific LNG project. This most severe setback so far for the already troubled venture raises questions about the ultimate feasibility of the $6 billion project to ship gas...

Russia, EU find new grounds for argument.(European Union)
October 15, 2003... Apparent progress by Russia and the European Union toward accommodation on the contentious issue of resale restrictions in contracts has recently been overshadowed by affront in Moscow over conditions that Brussels wants to attach to Russian...

Kazakhstan aims for big-time gas exports.
October 15, 2003... Kazakhstan has its sights set on boosting gas exports to Europe, as its energy industry moves up a gear. "Imports into the European gas markets will carry on growing," says Anuarbek Argingazin, general director of Kazakh-Russian marketing joint...

Dubai bargaining puts Dolphin in danger.(Dolphin Energy consortium)
October 15, 2003... Dolphin Energy, the Abu Dhabi-led consortium in which Total and Occidental are foreign partners, is at a critical juncture in its bid to kick-start the $3.5 billion-$4 billion project to pump up to 2 billion cubic feet per day of Qatari gas to...

BP, Sonatrach in UK.(United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2003... Sonatrach looks to be planning its first move into the UK gas market. According to Paris-based newsletter Petrostrategies, the Algerian state gas exporter may form an arrangement with BP to jointly lease capacity being tendered in National Grid...

US LNG lobbyists.(United States liquefied natural gas)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2003... LNG is the hot topic in US energy markets at the moment, with some 30 LNG terminals proposed across North America (WGI Sep.17,p8). Yet LNG lacks a centralized voice to speak and lobby for its interests in Washington. A US industry association...

BG firms NLNG deal.(BG Group PLC and Nigeria LNG Ltd.)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2003... Nigeria LNG (NLNG) has converted into a firm sales and purchase agreement a memorandum of understanding signed in May with UK-based BG Group for 3.5 billion cubic meters (2.5 million tons) per year of LNG starting in 2005, NLNG managing...

New face in Indonesia.(Brief Article)
October 15, 2003... Star Indonesia, a newcomer to Indonesia's rapidly changing gas sector that is staffed by former senior executives of Gulf Indonesia and, according to local sources, backed by a wealthy Indonesian entrepreneur, has bought ConocoPhillips' 31.25%...

Market insight: Kogas keeps buying.(Insight)(Korea Gas Corp.)
October 15, 2003... Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas) is looking to sign up more short-and medium-term LNG purchase contracts for delivery beginning in 2004, in order to satisfy a projected 10% or larger increase in gas demand for the next calendar year, to 21 million tons....

Spanish, Portuguese firms prepare for single Iberia market.(Current)
October 15, 2003... Ahead of the planned integration of the Spanish and Portuguese power markets in 2004 to create a single Iberian electricity system, regional players are busy repositioning themselves both to protect market share and to take advantage of new...

Russians eye GTL as solution for associated gas.(Horizon)(gas-to-liquids)
October 15, 2003... Failure of the Russian government to adopt reforms that would give oil producers economically viable access to domestic or export markets for associated gas may prove an unexpected boon for gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology, which is starting to...

Qatar's incredible week.
October 22, 2003... Qatar's list of accomplishments over the last week is breathtaking: a 15.6 million ton per year LNG development with Exxon Mobil for US supplies (p8); planning permission to build a 15.6 million ton/yr receiving terminal in the UK, also with...

Green light for UK LNG mega-terminal.
October 22, 2003... The largest LNG receiving terminal conceived anywhere in the world has obtained all needed planning consents in the UK--which has shifted into high gear in its move into LNG importing. Exxon Mobil's and Qatar Petroleum's proposed two-phase...

Dutch drop idea of gas industry breakup.
October 22, 2003... Cutting up the intertwined structure developed over the decades to produce, transport, and sell gas in the Netherlands has turned out to be too complicated and ambitious. After two years of talks, the Dutch government and its commercial...

Qatar gains on goal of GTL leadership.(gas-to-liquids plant)
October 22, 2003... The heads of agreement signed this week by Qatar with Royal Dutch/Shell for construction of a 140,000 barrel per day gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant is a landmark in the sense that it could well result in the world's first refinery-scale GTL plant....

Shell, Sempra eye joint Baja terminal.
October 22, 2003... The first step toward consolidation among the half-dozen or so LNG receiving terminals proposed for Baja California, Mexico, appears to be in the works. Industry sources indicate that Royal Dutch/Shell and Sempra are negotiating to join forces...

Philippines drawn to LNG by low prices.
October 22, 2003... Pricing concessions in Pacific Basin LNG are pushing the Philippines government toward approval for construction of an LNG receiving terminal to be completed as soon as 2007--although which company would build it and where the LNG might come...

Mexico breaks logjam blocking reform.
October 22, 2003... Energy reform in Mexico has broken through a logjam, and bolder statements by oil sector officials--plus an emerging political consensus on electricity reform-herald further movement in the next few weeks. One watershed event was the award last...

Dolphin deals signed.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2003... Qatar's multi-pronged charge into world gas markets advanced on a third front this week, with regional pipeline supplies joining LNG and gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects in the country's ballooning list of new outlets (p3,8). Dolphin Energy,...

Market insight : Europe's unsteady opening.(Insight)(Paris International Gas Summit)
October 22, 2003... The process of prying open Europe's gas markets continues, albeit at still widely varying tares, according to reports from regulators and industry commentators at last week's Eighth International Gas Summit in Paris. In France itself, Patrice...

Enel, EdF angle for position as change arrives in Italy.(Current)
October 22, 2003... Having struggled through summer blackouts, Italy's power sector is poised for a shake-up. Many of the reforms were already in the pipeline, and others have yet to be finalized (WGI Oct.1, p7). But one relatively new and substantive...

Qatar charges to top of global LNG league tables.(Horizon)(liquefied natural gas)
October 22, 2003... It's been a week of superlatives for Qatari gas--and one that seems destined to reshape the global LNG industry almost beyond recognition (p1). With so many international heavyweights now in its corner, Qatar is virtually assured of displacing...

Gazprom, the reformer.
October 29, 2003... A desperate need for cash and for incremental supply is creating an unlikely advocate for reform of Russia's gas markets: Gazprom. The monopoly supplier and pipeline operator is pushing to gradually open up the system at a time when Moscow has...

India's state Gail consolidates power.
October 29, 2003... Indian state transportation monopoly Gall (formerly Gas Authority of India Ltd.) is consolidating its position at all levels of the downstream gas chain in India, as the government prepares sector reform plans ahead of a pending major expansion...

BP, Sonatrach ahead in LNG-to-UK race.
October 29, 2003... BP and Algerian state Sonatrach last week announced plans to form a joint venture to provide the first LNG to the UK market in over 20 years, beginning in early 2005. The joint venture might later expand to US and other markets they said. ...

First US offshore terminal approval due.
October 29, 2003... ChevronTexaco looks poised to get the green light in less than a month for what could turn out to be the first offshore LNG receiving terminal ever built in the US, its proposed 800 million cubic foot per day Port Pelican facility. A steady...

Gorgon not as far along as it looks.
October 29, 2003... There may be considerably less than meets the eye to last week's announcement of a massive deal for the sale of "up to 100 million tons" of LNG to China over 25 years starting in 2008 from the ChevronTexaco-operated Gorgon field off Australia....

Gas prices start to inch up in Argentina.
October 29, 2003... Producers in Argentina finally look set to get at least a bit more than the current meager 35cents-40cents per million Btu for at least part of their gas, after months of negotiations. But it's likely to be another 18 months to two years,...

Caspian pipe progress.
October 29, 2003... While Gazprom struggles to maintain and upgrade its export network and the European Union and Russia face off over Gazprom's transport monopoly, projects to bring Caspian gas to Europe that bypass the Russian network are progressing (p1). ...

Libya, Tunisia deal.(Brief Article)
October 29, 2003... Tunisia and Libya have formed a joint venture to supply 2 billion cubic meters per year (193 million cubic feet per day) of Libyan gas by pipeline to Tunisia beginning in 2005 (WGI fun.11,p4). Jointgaz, a venture between state Libyan National...

Market insight: shifting LNG allure.(Insight)
October 29, 2003... Viewed from the prospective of a now amply stocked domestic market, US gas prices look peculiarly strong (WGI Oct.8,p6). But from the vantage point of most LNG suppliers, they appear decidedly weak relative to those on offer in either oillinked...

US focuses on reliability before market restructuring.(Current)
October 29, 2003... Since the big US blackout this August, everybody wants to ensure that the lights stay on in the US--more than they want the cost savings and other benefits of choice that are supposed to permeate competitive electricity markets (WGI Sep.10,p7)....

EU accepts marketing deals outside that it fights inside.(Horizon)
October 29, 2003... Greek mythical monster Hydra, decapitated by Hercules, started with seven heads or, in some versions, nine or more. Competition officials at the European Commission (EC) have long singled out three "illegal" practices under European Union...