World Gas Intelligence articles from September 2008

World Gas Intelligence archives from September 2008

Shtokman under scrutiny.
September 3, 2008... Russia's reliability as a business partner came under unprecedented scrutiny at last week's Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) conference, as state-run giant Gazprom begins honing its marketing strategy for the Shtokman development in the Barents...

Trinidad tops $18 into Asia.
September 3, 2008... Recently sold spot cargoes from Trinidad will not only make long voyages into the Pacific but have achieved very high free-on-board prices. Japan's Mitsubishi has confirmed buying a cargo that loaded on Aug. 24 at Port Fortin, Trinidad,...

China signs Turkmen, HK deals.
September 3, 2008... Turkmenistan has agreed to boost gas exports to China by one-third, to 40 billion cubic meters per year (3.87 billion cubic feet per day), according to a cooperation deal signed late last week during Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to...

Brazil pipelay begins.
September 3, 2008... Brazil's ambition to produce natural gas from ultra-deepwaters took a major step forward earlier last month, with initial laying of a key offshore pipeline. Norwegian contractor Acergy expects to finish laying the deepwater section of the...

Tanker glut depresses rates.
September 3, 2008... The delivery and deployment of Qatar's new giant tankers is doing nothing to support declining charter rates for the rest of the world's LNG fleet. Five new, 266,000 cubic meter Q-Max carriers were named by Qatargas and state shipowner...

Korea renews hydrates quest.
September 3, 2008... A South Korean task force is set in November to submit updated reserve estimates for gas hydrates in the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea, which straddles South Korea and Japan, to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE). The task force,...

Alaska's palin runs as VP.
September 3, 2008... Last week was an eventful one, even by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's standards. On Wednesday, she signed a bill giving the state authority to award TransCanada a license to build and operate a massive pipeline to ship natural gas from the North...

Correction.(Correction notice)
September 3, 2008... In last week's article on Uruguay's LNG plans, WGI mistakenly gave Uruguay's gas import capacity via pipeline from Argentina as 6 million cubic feet per day (WGI Aug.27,p4). It should have said 6 million cubic meters per day (212 million cubic...

Progress at major projects.
September 3, 2008... Australia's North West Shelf venture said on Sep.1 that its fifth LNG processing train has begun liquefaction ahead of schedule. The new train, which cost A$2.6 billion (US$2.2 billion) to build and relied on modular construction...

Market insight: Gustav Nudges US prices.(INSIGHT)
September 3, 2008... There was only one word to describe the US natural gas market during bidweek: volatile. After a couple of weeks of slowly eroding gas prices, Hurricane Gustav came on the scene right on top of expiration of September gas futures, sending...

A new wind blows in the US, against coal generation.(CURRENT)
September 3, 2008... American Electric Power (AEP) is one of the largest US power generators and owner of the country's heftiest transmission system--not to mention one of the biggest coal burners from its Midwest base. Duke Energy is described by its own chief...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
September 3, 2008... US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning Aug. 26-Sep. 1. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Sep. 1 for day-ahead delivery Sep. 2. European power prices are from exchanges on...

Rising demand likely to help reverse dive in US gas price.(HORIZON)
September 3, 2008... The roughly 40% crash in North American gas prices since mid-July has left benchmark front-month Henry Hub near $8 per million Btu. With previously skimpy US gas inventories now growing rapidly, even more downside potential exists, some traders...

Faster Russia-China game.
September 10, 2008... The pace of action looks to be picking up in the long-running struggle to determine the terms and conditions under which Russian and Central Asian gas will flow to the potentially enormous Chinese market. Gazprom could at last take control of...

Expensive coal sees Spanish gas use soar.
September 10, 2008... Surging coal prices combined with nuclear outages to bring a striking rise in Spanish gas use and resulting LNG imports this summer that has done much to reinforce strong Asian demand in tightening global spot markets (p6). Spanish gas...

Winners, losers in Origin CBM battle.
September 10, 2008... Origin Energy emerged the obvious winner from the scramble for Australian coalbed methane-based LNG prospects that culminated this week in BG's withdrawal of a hostile bid for the Australian domestic gas producer and diversified utility in the...

Eni to open Algerian gas for development.
September 10, 2008... By paving the way for development of up to 4 trillion cubic feet (113 billion cubic meters) of proved, probable and possible gas reserves in Algeria's Berkine Basin Block 405b, Eni's purchase of Canada's First Calgary Petroleum (FCP) for C$923...

Zeebrugge ownership spat settled.
September 10, 2008... GDF Suez has resolved a dispute over control of Belgian gas network operator Fluxys and its Zeebrugge LNG terminal subsidiary. The upshot is that Belgian public holding Publigaz, until now the second-largest shareholder in Fluxys, will...

High price has Korea rethinking dereg.
September 10, 2008... The high average price South Korea pays for LNG relative to that obtained by Japanese utilities could prove costly for Korea Gas (Kogas) on more than one level, as Seoul is again actively reconsidering deregulating its domestic gas wholesale...

Libya's Brega delays.
September 10, 2008... Libya's drive to modernize and expand its LNG sector continues at a snail's pace. The deadline for bids for an engineering, procurement and construction contract to rejuvenate the country's ailing Marsa el-Brega LNG plant, now producing just...

Gas-to-gasoline for Exxon in Nigeria.
September 10, 2008... After months of little or no comment, Exxon Mobil confirmed last week that it has signed a heads of agreement (HOA) with state Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) for development of a new type of natural gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, one...

Market insight: oil drag on spot LNG.(INSIGHT)
September 10, 2008... It may take a major oil price recovery to rescue traders that reportedly bought Trinidadian cargoes for August and September loading at an f.o.b. price of around $18 per million Btu (WGI Sep.3,p1). Japanese and South Korean buyers insist that...

Mideast Gulf countries Mull coal, nuclear in energy mix.(CURRENT)
September 10, 2008... Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE are all facing double-digit annual electricity growth rates and all of these Mideast Gulf economies except gas-rich Qatar face severe electricity shortfalls, with rolling blackouts gaining...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
September 10, 2008... US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning Sep. 2-8. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Sep. 8 for day-ahead delivery Sep. 9. European power prices are from exchanges on Sep. 8...

Italy: new players, pipes, upgrades, but same LNG delays.(HORIZON)
September 10, 2008... Change is coming, however belatedly, to Italy's change-resistant energy market. More players are in evidence, and progress is discernible on subsea gas pipelines and electricity interconnectors. However, the pace of LNG development remains...

Sonatrach's LNG arb.
September 17, 2008... Algerian state Sonatrach continues to sell spot cargoes to high-paying Asian buyers, even while cutting deliveries to long-term customers under a force majeure, disgruntled traders contend. "It is a matter of money," says one. Spain, in...

Chinese gas imports herald price reform.
September 17, 2008... With more foreign supply arriving in a Chinese gas market that is witnessing leaps in demand, Beijing looks set to accelerate pricing reform. Various possibilities under study by the government include linking domestic gas prices to...

US Anti-Russia efforts may backfire.
September 17, 2008... US diplomatic efforts to stimulate energy diversification in Europe may backfire, as they have irritated Berlin, even while appearing puny in the context of Russia's economic influence over the region, its military presence in Georgia, and this...

Iran's gas export ambitions undaunted.
September 17, 2008... When it comes to selling gas, Iran is not short on ambition: It plans to increase gas exports to Turkey, kick-start deliveries to Europe, supply fellow Gulf countries Oman and the UAE, and possibly flow pipeline gas to Pakistan and India (WGI...

Gazprom pipe policy comes under attack.
September 17, 2008... Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is leading an apparently concerted drive, with a degree of backing from inside the government, to push Gazprom to provide oil companies and other independent producers with greater access to its...

Thailand's bullish LNG supply strategy.
September 17, 2008... While one potential new LNG market, Hong Kong, disappeared last week, Thailand's project spearheaded by state PTT is progressing at an accelerating clip (p5). Faced with historically high oil prices and growing gas demand, PTT is depending on a...

Exxon dips toe into China gas market.
September 17, 2008... Exxon Mobil looks set to make its first foray into the mainland Chinese gas market with a feasibility study for an LNG receiving terminal in Guangdong province. The study will be spearheaded by Hong Kong utility CLP, which said last week that...

Market insight: Europe still rising.(INSIGHT)
September 17, 2008... Even though oil prices drifted below the $100 per barrel support level last week, most gas customers in mainland Europe will have to wait a while longer for relief from rising prices. Long-term Russian gas at the German border climbed above $14...

Energy East positions Iberdrola for major US wind expansion.(CURRENT)
September 17, 2008... Spain's Iberdrola pulled the value of its US asset base above the $20 billion mark by agreeing to conditions imposed by the New York Public Services Commission as part of the last regulatory approval needed for its purchase of US utility group...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
September 17, 2008... US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning Sep. 9-15. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Sep. 15 for day-ahead delivery Sep. 16. European power prices are from exchanges on Sep....

Full fuel cycle of LNG could emit as much CO2 as coal.(HORIZON)
September 17, 2008... While natural gas is widely promoted as part of the solution to global warming because gas-fired power plants emit less carbon dioxide (CO2) than coal-fired power plants, a study from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania suggests that...

Gazprom, Banker's choice.
September 24, 2008... Despite global capital markets crises, reports of Western capital flight from Moscow, and this week's dollar weakness and oil price volatility, international banks remain content to lend to the "right" gas infrastructure and supply projects,...

Canada cautiously eyes LNG exports.
September 24, 2008... With LNG prices in Asia holding at roughly twice US gas price levels and the Henry Hub North American gas benchmark struggling to top $8 per million Btu, the Kitimat LNG import project planned for British Columbia on Canada's west coast has...

Shell wins now, may lose later in Iraq.
September 24, 2008... The heads of agreement (HOA) Royal Dutch Shell signed this week to gather and market associated gas from southern Iraqi oil fields that is currently flared, as well as any future incremental associated or nonassociated gas production in that...

Egyptian, Iraqi gas maneuvers.
September 24, 2008... Recent Egyptian government meetings with fellow Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP) partners Jordan, Syria and Lebanon on extending the line from Syria to Turkey, with the aim of linking it with the European gas grid, are not expected to lead to much. The...

Bolivia crisis boosts LNG appeal in Brazil.
September 24, 2008... As political tensions mount in Bolivia, Brazil's plans to import LNG are becoming ever more crucial to meet growing gas demand. Bolivian gas flows to Brazil were temporarily interrupted on Sep. 11, when antigovernment demonstrators attacked...

India: less cheap gas, more gas overall.
September 24, 2008... Even as India's Reliance Industries grabbed center stage this week by announcing first oil output and pending--albeit slightly delayed--gas production from its giant Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin finds, state explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp....

Gazprom goes Latin.
September 24, 2008... Gazprom signed accords last week in both Bolivia and Venezuela aimed at strengthening its ties with South America. But the Russian state giant has a long way to go to persuade skeptics that the deals are anything more than politics, with little...

Market insight: LNG comfort zone.(INSIGHT)
September 24, 2008... With US gas prices hovering in the $7.50-$8 per million Btu range amid extreme oil market volatility, and Asian buyers reportedly tank-top and balking at paying over $20/MMBtu even for winter cargoes, Northwest Europe appears to be gaining some...

Constellation and the smooth functioning of power markets.(CURRENT)
September 24, 2008... Although participants on both sides of the Atlantic insist that power trading continues largely unabated in the face of mayhem on Wall Street--albeit with a preference for regulated exchanges, at least in Europe--the fire sale of Maryland-based...

Gas and power prices for major US and European hubs.(CURRENT)
September 24, 2008... US prices are the weighted average of assessments by Natural Gas Weekfor five trading days, spanning Sep. 16-22. European gas prices are WGI assessments on Sep. 22 for day-ahead delivery Sep. 23. European power prices are from exchanges on Sep....

Likely LNG effects from Australia's emissions trading plan.(HORIZON)
September 24, 2008... Woodside and some fellow LNG producers in Australia have hit out at the federal government's plan to introduce a cap-and-trade carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions trading scheme (ETS), charging that it could as much as double operating costs and...