Gas Matters Today | news roundup | w/c 29 August 2022

North America

US – Cheniere is looking to launch two midscale liquefaction trains at its Corpus Christi LNG plant in the second half of 2031, the US’ largest LNG exporter revealed in a filing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The trains form part of Cheniere’s proposed fourth stage expansion of its LNG plant in Texas, with the firm having penned three supply deals for the project.

Europe

The European Commission will soon table a proposal on emergency reforms for the wholesale electricity market as a response to rocketing gas prices and the negative impact on consumers, EC President Ursula von der Leyen announced last weekend. The proposal for reforms may be announced before the extraordinary meeting of EU energy ministers on 9 September, although this has not been confirmed.

France – Gazprom notified Engie last Tuesday that starting 30 August, it will be reducing gas supplies, the French company confirmed in an email to Gas Matters Today. The news comes shortly after French Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne urged companies to implement personalised energy-saving measures which will reduce consumption by 10% in a bid to help avoid winter energy rationing.

Norway – Equinor and Wintershall have announced plans to develop a 900 km pipeline for CO2 transportation which would connect the German North Sea coast with potential storage sites in offshore Norway. The announcement comes only weeks after Equinor and Fluxys revealed plans for CO2 transportation from Belgium to Norway.

Germany – German TSO Gascade has been selected to build a pipeline to connect Deutsche ReGas’ proposed 4.5 Bcm floating LNG terminal in Lubmin – the exit point of both Nord Stream 1 (NS1) and NS2 pipelines – to the German gas grid. Cascade expects to fast-track the construction as the Deutsche ReGas has set an ambitious target of having its terminal online by 1 December – however the TSO admits the proposed timeline will be “very challenging”.

The German government has secured a fifth floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), with the regas vessel set to be the second stationed at the port of Wilhelmshaven. Excelerate will provide the FSRU under a five-year charter with Engie – as part of consortium with E.ON and hydrogen player Tree Energy Solutions (TES) – with the FSRU only expected to operate at Wilhelmshaven for a just over a year as TES is set to transform the site for hydrogen imports. 

Denmark – The EU states bordering the Baltic Sea have agreed to strengthen political cooperation in a bid to increase the region’s wind power capacity sevenfold by 2030. The move is in line with the EU’s wider goal of ending Russian energy imports by the end of the decade, with the Baltic eight also agreeing to collaborate on LNG imports in order to reduce Russian energy imports over the short-term.

Hungary – Hungary has reached an agreement with Gazprom for the Russian company to supply up to 5.8 MMcm/day of additional gas volumes starting 1 September, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has announced. It appears that the deal, which comes amid a sharp reduction of Russian supplies to other EU nations, covers much greater daily volumes than the extra gas received from Gazprom in August and this could help boost storage levels in Hungary which are below the EU average.

International

Shell has bagged a 10-year marine LNG sales and purchase agreement with Israeli shipping company ZIM, with the European energy major set to supply the fuel to the world's first LNG-fuelled Very Large Container Ship (VLCS) fleet operating on the Asia-North America shipping route.

Russia & CIS Region

Russia – The Russian government has approved Mitsui’s application to take an stake in the newly established operator of the Sakhalin 2 project, Sakhalin Energy LLC, the Japanese firm announced last Wednesday. The announcement from Mitsui, which held a 10% stake in the previous operating company, comes only days after the CEO of Sakhalin Energy Roman Dashkov said the project is “actively searching” for new markets and expanding its customer portfolio.

Central & South America

Argentina – Argentina could at last become a major LNG exporter as state-controlled YPF is reportedly teaming up with Petronas to build what could be one of the largest LNG plants in the world. The project will require a level of investment never seen before in the South American nation, according to a recent study conducted by think tanks – which warn that federal government must ensure stable regulatory and fiscal policies to ensure Argentina can return to the LNG exporters club.

YPF and Petronas have agreed to conduct a feasibility study for an integrated LNG project with a capacity of up to 25 mtpa, which the pair suggest will “unleash the full potential” of the Vaca Muerta shale play.

Asia Pacific

Japan – The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) may be required to step in and purchase LNG this winter if prices spike to levels unaffordable for Japanese utilities, according to local media reports. Under plans drafted by The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), households and industries may also be forced to ration gas consumption to prevent shortages, according to the report.

Africa

South Africa – Shell’s bid to unlock South Africa’s oil and gas riches has been dealt a blow after a judge ruled that the firm’s right to conduct offshore seismic surveys was granted unlawfully. The verdict raises questions over the future of South Africa’s nascent oil and gas sector – which could help wean the nation off coal and address chronic power shortages.

Middle East 

Qatar – Two affiliates of QatarEnergy, QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO), are joining forces to develop what they say will be the world’s largest blue ammonia project with a production capacity of 1.2 mtpa. The project, which will be located in Mesaieed Industrial City (MIC) about 40 km south of Doha, targets production start–up in the first quarter of 2026.