Weekly news roundup (18-22 September)

International

India’s GAIL has chartered an LNG carrier from Total to help ship the LNG volumes that the Indian company has contracted from US suppliers.

New offshore storage and regasification units give more options than ever to create value chains. Read more in our feature: Regas barges offer niche opportunity for small-scale LNG market.

Angola LNG and Qatargas have both concluded LNG sales contracts, the former with Glencore and the latter with Turkey’s Botas.

French energy company Engie has all but given up on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and has instead turned its sights on developing biogas to fuel redundant gas power stations.

US & Canada

US – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the installation of 10 liquefaction trains at Kinder Morgan’s Elba LNG plant.

North Atlantic Drilling will have its shares delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after parent company Seadrill filed for bankruptcy protection. 

Alberta-based Veresen is making its second attempt to clear federal regulatory hurdles by submitting its application to build its proposed 7.8 mtpa Jordan Cove LNG plant.

Five of the world’s leading oil and gas majors are being dragged to court by two US West Coast cities over their alleged contributions to climate change.

The US Department of Energy is providing USD 36 million in federal funds to support development of next-generation carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

Total has signed a deal with Chevron to “capture” 16 exploration blocks in the Gulf of Mexico.

Canada – Canada's National Energy Board (NEB) has granted the Shell-led LNG Canada project in British Columbia a five-year extension to its initial licence to end-2027.

The provincial government of Quebec has published draft oil and gas regulations governing licenses and pipeline construction.

UK-based Global Energy Ventures (GEV) is to acquire Sea NG, a Calgary-based compressed natural gas marine transport technology company.

Africa

Equatorial Guinea – Equatorial Guinea has signed an MoU to supply LNG to Burkina Faso, the landlocked west African country.

Ghana – Gazprom has signed a 12-year LNG supply deal with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), as the west African country pursues its first regas terminal.

Papua New Guinea – The government of Papua New Guinea is reportedly selling its 9.8% stake in Port Moresby-based gas and LNG company Oil Search.

Asia Pacific

Bangladesh – Petrobangla has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with trading house Gunvor regarding the supply of LNG.

China – Green Dragon Gas (GDG) has signed an MOU with China’s CNOOC to develop blocks in China’s Shanxi Province. 

Pakistan – A consortium of Pakistani companies have unveiled plans to give Pakistan yet another LNG terminal – Energas LNG – in Port Qasim.

Singapore – The Singapore Exchange has started trading futures contracts for LNG delivered to Dubai, Kuwait and India.

Europe

Denmark – AP Moller-Maersk has sold off its fleet of 161 oil tankers for USD 1.17 billion to its majority shareholder and parent company AP Moller Holding. 

France – EDF is considering selling its majority stake in the recently commissioned Dunkirk LNG terminal in a bid to raise funds to help strengthen its balance sheet.

Germany – German Uniper has rebuffed an “unsolicited” formal bid by Finnish utility Fortum to acquire E.ON’s 46.65% stake in the company.

Volkswagen Group is deploying more than 100 LNG trucks to be used on the roads of north Germany.

Lithuania – LNG operator Klaipedos Nafta began commissioning its LNG reloading station after Shell delivered the first cargo to the 5,000-cm capacity facility.

Norway – Japan’s Inpex has made its first entry into a Norwegian upstream project, buying a 40% stake in an offshore block in the Barents Sea.

Statoil says it will continue exploration drilling in the Barents Sea and actively participate in any forthcoming new acreage licence rounds.

Poland – San Leon has sold six of the eight concessions it holds in Poland through two separate deals.

Gaz-System has authorised preparatory work to expand the President Lech Kaczynski LNG terminal in Swinoujscie, Poland. 

Republic of Ireland – Domestic gas customers in Galway and Mayo have been advised to turn off their gas supply after odourless gas from the Corrib field entered the supply network. 

UK – The UK's Energy and Utility Alliance (EUA) is ramping up lobbying efforts to carve out a major role for hydrogen in the UK gas network, as the British government seeks to define a policy to decarbonise the country’s heating sector.

Latin America & Caribbean

Argentina – President Energy has acquired Chevron’s Puesto Flores and Estancia Vieja oil assets in the prolific Neuquén basin in Rio Negro province of Argentina. 

Jamaica – The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) estimates the island nation will rely on LNG to provide 45% of its energy supplies by 2019

Mexico – BP’s gas trading arm has become one of the first foreign companies to trade gas in Mexico following the liberalisation of the country’s energy sector.

Mexico’s regulators have approved a call for bids for the farm out of Pemex’s deepwater Maximino-Noblilis field. 

CNOOC is reportedly looking for partners to help fund the development of two deepwater Mexican blocks that straddle the maritime border with the US.

Peru – Pertamina is looking into a possible LNG-to-power project in Peru that could provide a convenient destination for the Indonesian NOC’s US LNG volumes.

Venezuela – Repsol and Eni are laying the groundwork for a renewed attempt to more than double gas production at Venezuela's giant Perla field.

Uruguay: The country has launched its third offshore tender, offering 17 blocks in water depths ranging from 50-4,000 meters.

Russia & CIS

Ukraine – Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz has been plunged into a state of panic after the resignation of its remaining two independent directors.

Middle East

Iraq – Rosneft is expanding its footprint in troubled Iraqi Kurdistan by pursuing a deal to finance the development of a pipeline to supply Kurdish gas to domestic and export markets.