LNG Journal

May 18 (LNGJ) – The 261,700 cubic metres capacity LNG carrier "Lijmiliya" will deliver a cargo to the UK from Qatar on May 25 at the South Hook import terminal in Wales, port authorities said.

May 17 (LNGJ) - GasLog Ltd., the Monaco-Based and New York-listed LNG shipping company, reported first-quarter revenue of $16.6 million, EBITDA of $8.4M and profit of $2.2M. It said in its earnings statement that eight LNG newbuildings were on schedule and within budget. Its "GasLog Savannah" and "GasLog Singapore" were fully chartered in the quarter. Chairman and Chief Executive Peter G. Livanos, said: "We were satisfied that the completion of our recent offering has now provided the capital for us to implement the business plan for our committed new ships under construction. Our construction program at Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea is on time and on budget, with the first ship having been launched and undergoing outfitting on schedule for delivery in January 2013. GasLog, with its technical platform and customer relations, continues to be well placed to take advantage of the projected growth in the LNG trade."

May 17 (LNGJ) – LNG player Repsol has begun legal action against Argentina to claim compensation for the seizure of its $10.5bn stake in the former national oil company YPF. Repsol will be filing a claim with the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Andy Moody, partner at international law firm Eversheds, explained: "ICSID remains the forum of choice for international investment disputes, and Repsol may wish to exercise its rights to pursue Argentina through ICSID arbitration for alleged failure to compensate adequately for the expropriation. However, Argentina has been known not to pay out under arbitral awards made against it, which may make it difficult for Repsol to collect funds from any award in its favour. Furthermore, Argentina also has a history of applying for annulment of ICSID awards made against it, so any award in favour of Repsol could face an annulment application – further extending the process. This may become quite a protracted saga."

May 17 (LNGJ) - Arrow LNG Project, involving Royal Dutch Shell, PetroChina and Arrow Energy, has invited four parties to tender for the design and construction of the upstream coal-seam-gas to-LNG venture's gas infrastructure in the Bowen and Surat basins in Queensland. The parties have been invited to tender for the front-end engineering and design for surface infrastructure, including well-head facilities, gas compressors as well as gathering and water treatment systems, Arrow said. The contract also includes the potential to roll over into subsequent Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management services (EPcM), subject to commercial attractiveness and a positive final investment decision around the end of 2013. Arrow Energy Chief Executive Andrew Faulkner said the invitation to tender for the FEED and EPcM represented a key milestone for Arrow's LNG project. "Arrow remains in a strong position to realise the potential of our significant gas reserves and this tender is the next major step in progressing our LNG project," Faulkner said. The outcome of the FEED and EPcM tender is expected to be announced later this year, it added

May 17 (LNGJ) - The BG Group-owned LNG carrier, the 145,000 cubic metres capacity "Methane Heather Sally", will deliver a cargo to the UK on May 24 from the Bonny Island plant in Nigeria to the Dragon LNG import terminal in Wales, port authorities said.

May 16 (LNGJ) - The 10 regional electric power companies in Japan consumed 4.55 million tonnes of LNG last month compared with 3.41 million tonnes in the same month a year ago, a rise of 33 percent, according to the trade federation. Overall Japanese LNG imports are running at around 8 million tonnes per month, with the balance going to city-gas companies.

May 16 (LNGJ) - Darwin LNG, Australia's second-oldest LNG production plant in operation since 2006, is undergoing maintenance. Darwin LNG, which produces 3.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from a single Train, is operated by ConocoPhillips. Total and Australia's Santos are shareholders in the plant which receives feed-gas from the Bayu Undan offshore fields.

May 16 (LNGJ) - Inpex Corp., the developer of the Ichthys LNG project with France's Total centred on Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory, said the partners reached agreement for the transfer of an equity stake to volume buyer Chubu Electric Power Co. The micro-stake of 0.735 percent of the Ichthys LNG project includes three elements: a participating interest in WA-50-L (Ichthys gas-condensate field) and WA-51-L; a stake in WA-285-P (exploration permit adjacent to WA-50-L); and shares in Ichthys LNG Ltd., the natural gas liquefaction and LNG marketing company operating from Darwin. This leaves Inpex with 72 percent and Total with 24 percent. Other micro-stake holders comprise foundation customers Tokyo Gas (1.575 percent); Osaka Gas (1.2 percent) and Toho Gas (0.42 percent).

May 15 (LNGJ) - Cheniere Energy Partners, holding company of the Sabine Pass liquefaction plant for US natural gas exports from the Gulf coast of Louisiana, entered into a unit purchase agreement with investment funds managed by Blackstone Energy Partners and Blackstone Capital Partners. Under the agreement, Blackstone will buy $1.5 billion of newly issued CQP Class B units from Cheniere Partners in a private placement. Cheniere Energy has also agreed to buy $500 million newly issued Class B Units pursuant to a separate unit purchase agreement. Proceeds from the financings will be used to fund the equity portion of the costs of developing, constructing and placing into service the Sabine Pass project, to purchase the Creole Trail Pipeline from Cheniere Energy, and to fund modifications to the Creole Trail Pipeline.

May 15 (LNGJ) - South Korean LNG imports rose 17 percent to 2.7 million tonnes last month compared with 2.3 million tonnes imported in the same month a year ago, according to customs data. The leading suppliers were Qatar and Indonesia.

May 15 (LNGJ) - Malaysian energy company Petronas said it expected to award contracts by September for the Lahad Datu LNG regasification facility in Sabah state. Petronas said its initial budget for the facility was the equivalent of $200 million.

May 15 (LNGJ) - David Knox , Chief Executive of Australia's Santos, said a third liquefaction Train for the Exxon-led Papua New Guinea LNG project was likely because the feed-gas position had improved. The feed-gas for the project in which Santos has a stake will be transported by pipeline from the PNG Highlands to a liquefaction plant being constructed 25 kilometres north-west of the capital Port Moresby and will have a capacity of 6.6 million tonnes per annum from two Trains. An additional Train would take production to about 10 MTPA.

May 15 (LNGJ) – Wartsila-Hamworthy, the LNG and fuel handling systems makers formed by Finland's Wartsila taking over the UK-listed company, won a contract to supply its Flare Gas Recovery packages to four floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units under construction for Petrobras of Brazil. The units, each of which will be able to handle 150,000 barrels per day, are to be deployed on the pre-salt Santos fields, offshore Brazil. Three of the FPSOs will be utilised for Block BM-S-11 Lula (Tupi) and one will go to Block BM-S-9 Guara. "We have developed a strong position in the growing market for flare-gas recovery as offshore operators seek greater efficiency over increasing environmental concerns due to flaring," said Hamilton Santos, Project Manager, Gas Recovery Business Unit, Hamworthy Oil & Gas Systems.

May 14 (LNGJ) - The Arrow LNG Project, comprising Royal Dutch Shell, PetroChina and Australia's Arrow Energy, is making slower progress than the three other coal-seam-gas-to-LNG ventures being developed around the eastern Australian port of Gladstone. However, this week the Arrow LNG project Environmental Impact Statement will be discussed at community meetings organized throughout the Gladstone region, Arrow said. Arrow Chief Executive Andrew Faulkner said the sessions were being held to describe the company's proposed LNG plant and its potential environmental, economic and social impacts and benefits. "Extensive, independent technical studies have been undertaken for this EIS, including an ecological impact assessment and an examination of coastal processes and marine water quality, potential socio-economic impacts and much more," Faulkner said.

May 14 (LNGJ) - BG Group subsidiary QGC, developer of the Queensland Curtis LNG Project, has awarded a A$70 million (US$70M) pipe supply contract to Tyco Water, a wholly-owned unit of Tyco International.Tyco is supplying carbon steel, concrete-lined trunklines and pipe fittings to support water gathering in QGC's gas fields in the Surat Basin of southern Queensland.

May 11 (LNGJ) - East Asian spot LNG cargo prices for June or July delivery have risen to around $18 per million British thermal units, their highest for two years, traders said. Japan is now importing more than 8 million tonnes per month of LNG as its gas-fired power industry is working at full capacity to replace lost nuclear power generation.

May 11 (LNGJ) - The Canadian province of British Columbia, location of three or possibly more LNG production projects, is sending a delegation to Japan and other Asian countries for a week-long tour to stir investment and purchasing interest in BC's LNG and unconventional natural gas developments.

May 10 (LNGJ) - Taiwan's two LNG import terminals, Yung-An and Tai-Chung, received a combined 1.1 million tonnes of LNG last month, an almost 10 rise on the same month a year ago, trade statistics showed. China recently overtook Taiwan as an LNG importer.

May 10 (LNGJ) - The 173,600 cubic metres capacity LNG carrier "Castillo de Santisteban" has left the Peru LNG plant in South America to deliver a cargo later this month to Thailand's Map Ta Phut import terminal, owned by state energy company PTT, port authorities said.

May 10 (LNGJ) – Spanish LNG player said operating income in the first-quarter for its LNG activities amounted to 158 million euros ($205M) compared with 115M euros in the same year-ago period. "Earnings growth in first quarter 2012 was mainly the result of wider LNG commercialization margins," Repsol said in its earnings statement. Repsol's LNG assets include the Canaport import terminal in Canada and a stake in the Peru LNG production plant.

May 9 (LNGJ) - Europe re-exported a record number of LNG cargoes last month, according to shipping consultancy Waterborne. The consultants estimated that 458,000 tonnes of LNG was re-exported from European terminals to higher-priced Asian destinations.

May 9 (LNGJ) - Aker Solutions, the engineer for LNG offshore feed-gas supplies, posted operating revenues in the first quarter of 2012 of 9.8 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.6Bln), a 15.7 per cent increase from the first quarter of 2011. Order intake in the quarter was 11.3Bln crowns, bringing the order backlog to 42.9Bln crowns at the end of March 2012. "Our performance in the fourth quarter showed that we are on the right track. With a 15.7 per cent year-on-year increase in first quarter revenues and continuous growth in profit margins, it is encouraging to see that we are continuing along this track," said Oyvind Eriksen, Executive Chairman. "The start of the second quarter has also been inspiring. We have signed a number of new contracts and we have confirmed significant investments in new capacity," Eriksen added. Aker was recently awarded a contract with Woodside for the project for life-span extension of Australia oldest LNG plant, the 23-year-old North West Shelf venture. Aker is also carrying out offshore engineering for the Ichthys LNG project in Australia.

May 9 (LNGJ) - The 216,200 cubic metres capacity Q-Flex LNG carrier "Al Mafyar" will deliver a cargo to the UK from Qatar on May 15 at the South Hook LNG import terminal at Milford Haven in Wales, port authorities said.

May 9 (LNGJ) - Fluxys, owner of the Zeebrugge LNG terminal, has formally changed its name to Fluxys Belgium. Parent company Fluxys G has also changed its name to just Fluxys. An extraordinary general meeting of the company also decided to split the shares to make them more tradeable. Every Fluxys Belgium share, except the golden share held by the Belgian state, will be converted into 100 new shares from May 9 2012. "This will increase the accessibility and liquidity of the share," the company said. In the first quarter of 2012, Fluxys Belgium invoiced its customers 192 million euros ($250M) for all services, compared with 186M euros for the same period in 2011. The increase is mainly triggered by the extra slots sold at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal and the increase in the number of loadings at the LNG terminal. At the Zeebrugge LNG terminal work has been ongoing since the autumn of 2010 to build an open rack vaporiser that uses the heat from seawater to regasify LNG. Fluxys is also working with French transmission system operator GRTgaz to link the Dunkirk and Zeebrugge LNG terminals by pipeline, coinciding with the commissioning of the Dunkirk LNG import facility in late 2015.

May 8 (LNGJ) - Statoil, the LNG player with investments in Norway, the US and Russia, said first quarter 2012 net operating income was 57.9 billion Norwegian crowns ($10Bln), a 14 percent increase compared to 50.8Bln crowns in the first quarter last year. "Statoil grew production by 11 percent and realised high oil and gas prices in the first quarter," said Chief Executive Helge Lund. "We continued to start up new fields and ramp up production, delivering record international production. On the Norwegian continental shelf, we increased gas production in line with our strategy of gas optimisation," Lund said.

May 7 (LNGJ) - The 266,000 cubic metres capacity Q-Max LNG carrier "Mekaines" will deliver a cargo to the UK from Qatar on May 12 at the South Hook LNG import terminal at Milford Haven in Wales, port authorities said.

May 4 (LNGJ) - The cost of Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina's Arrow LNG joint venture may rise as much as 50 per cent from initial estimates, which could force the companies to delay development. The Arrow LNG coal-seam-gas-to-LNG is already behind the other three projects being developed, Gladstone LNG, Queensland Curtis LNG and Australia Pacific LNG. According to the "Sydney Morning Herald" newspaper, citing a company source, the investment estimate for Arrow LNG has already risen 30-40 per cent because of the rising price of labour, the strong Australian dollar and the cost of meeting tough environmental regulations.

May 4 (LNGJ) - Gazprom hosted a delegation of Japanese members of parliament to discuss LNG supplies and a possible future Russian natural gas pipeline to Japan. "The parties touched upon the successful partnership of Gazprom, Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. under the Sakhalin II LNG," Gazprom said. "The meeting addressed the prospects for exporting more natural gas from Russia to Japan in view of the LNG plant expansion in Sakhalin and the LNG project construction in Vladivostok," the Russian company added. "In addition, the parties considered possible examination of a project for the pipeline gas deliveries from Russia to Japan."

May 4 (LNGJ) - The Australian Pacific LNG project, a coal-seam-gas-to-LNG venture led by ConocoPhillips and including China's Sinopec, did not expect said any cost overruns. The US$14 billion APLNG venture is scheduled to produce 7.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from two Trains when it comes on stream in 2015 on Curtis Island, near the port of Gladstone.

May 3 (LNGJ) - The 261,700 Q-Max LNG carrier "AL Ghuwairiya" will deliver an LNG cargo from Qatar to the UK on May 10 at the South Hook import terminal in Milford Haven, Wales, port authorities said.

May 3 (LNGJ) - Noble Energy, which has East Mediterranean LNG development plans, said the Leviathan deep well offshore Israel has reached a depth of around 21,400 feet, the deepest known penetration in the Levant Basin. "High well pressure and the mechanical limits of the wellbore design resulted in the suspension of drilling operations before the primary objective was reached," Noble said. "Over the course of deepening the Leviathan No. 1 well, the company and its partners have obtained valuable geologic and engineering data about the basin. At around 21,000 feet, the well encountered a zone where natural gas was detected. The composition of the natural gas was heavier than discovered in the shallower intervals and suggests a thermogenic source. Additionally, at total depth of 21,400 feet, higher pressure was encountered indicating the possibility of an overlying seal," it added.

May 3 (LNGJ) - BG Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Cosan S.A. Industria e Comércio for the sale of its 60 percent holding in Comgas, Brazil's largest gas distribution company, for around $1.8 billion as it concentrates its investment in LNG development, production and supply. BG Chief Executive Frank Chapman said: "This memorandum of understanding is another important step in our ongoing portfolio rationalisation and funding diversification programmes, underpinning delivery of the wealth of opportunities we have across our global portfolio. We look forward to concluding this deal as part of our plans to release some $5 billion of capital in the next two years through strategic divestments," he said.

May 2 (LNGJ) - Petronet LNG of India said it would develop a land-based terminal at Gangavaram Port in Andhra Pradesh on the Indian east coast with capacity for 5 million tonnes per annum. Petronet already operates the west coast terminal of Dahej, north of Mumbai, and will commission a second terminal at Kochi in the southwest state of Kerala by the end of the year.

May 2 (LNGJ) - Marathon Oil Corp. said its integrated gas segment income was $4 million in the first quarter of 2012 compared to $20 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. This decline was primarily due to weaker Henry Hub gas prices and lower LNG sales volumes due to a planned maintenance of the Equatorial Guinea LNG plant it operates in West Africa.

May 1 (LNGJ) - Golar LNG Partners, the corporate Golar LNG unit listed on the US Nasdaq, said its board of directors declared a first-quarter cash distribution of $0.43 per unit. This is the same level of cash distribution paid for the previous quarter, Golar said.

May 1 (LNGJ) - The 266,000 cubic metres capacity Q-Max carrier "Mozah" will deliver an LNG cargo from Qatar to the UK on May 6 at the South Hook import terminal in Milford Haven, Wales, port authorities said.

May 1 (LNGJ) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp., operator of the planned Mozambique LNG project in southeast Africa, said first-quarter 2012 net income attributable to common stockholders was $2.1 billion, or $4.28 per share. "Anadarko delivered record operating results, generated more than $130 million of free cash flow and successfully appraised discoveries in Mozambique, the Gulf of Mexico and Ghana during the first quarter of 2012," said Anadarko Chairman and CEO Jim Hackett. In addition, Anadarko resolved its Algerian tax dispute. This results in a $1.8Bln benefit in the first quarter, the company said.

April 30 (LNGJ) - Excelerate Energy Chief Executive Rob Bryngelson said his Floating LNG import facility company is considering a location on the Texas Gulf coast for a floating liquefaction plant to produce LNG from US surplus natural gas for export to the Caribbean. Excelerate's planned Energy Bridge Liquefaction Vessel (EBLV) would operate with the Black and Veatch PRICO liquefaction process, according to the company's development plans.

April 30 (LNGJ) - A first Qatari Q-Flex carrier, the 210,100 cubic metres capacity "Al Aamriya", has been received by Brazil at the Guanabara Bay import terminal, where it unloaded a cargo from RasGas. While RasGas has sold LNG cargoes to Brazil in the past, this latest shipment is the first delivered using a fully loaded Q-Flex vessel, the company said.

April 27 (LNGJ) - The French Atlantic coast LNG import terminal at Montoir-de-Bretagne reached an impressive mark this month milestone with the successful unloading of the "Stena Clear Sky" carrier, which is the 100th different LNG carrier to berth at the terminal since its start-up in 1980. This represents around 25 pecent of the LNG carrier's world-wide fleet, said Elengy, the GDF-Suez subsidiary which operates the facility.