Natural Gas News

Ships carrying Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia are returning to the longer routes around Africa's Cape of Good Hope rather than those along the Arctic shore as the winter season begins, LSEG data showed on Thursday.Russia's new Arctic LNG 2 project also lacks enough ice-class gas carriers to continue navigation along the Northern Sea Route, although some such tankers still sail it.According to LSEG data, the conventional gas tanker LNG Megrez loaded at Yamal LNG plant on Oct. 2 and started its voyage around Africa to Asia with arrival set for Nov.

Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia at the Netherlands' main terminal in Rotterdam have risen in recent months, underlining the need for further sanctions, the Dutch government said on Monday.Imports of Russian LNG at the GATE terminal in Europe's largest sea port have increased in the third quarter, as the average number of Russian carriers that arrived there doubled to two per month, the government said.This increase could be an effect of new sanctions that came into effect this summer…

A new design for a 268-meter floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility from Wison New Energies received approval in principle (AIP) from classification society ABS.The unit is designed to perform offshore and at-shore with an expected production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). ABS completed design reviews based on class and statutory requirements.“ABS offers world-class engineering services and is proud to be able to support innovative designs from pioneering clients like Wison.

Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast have begun scaling back operations and evacuating some production sites as Tropical Storm Francine swept through the energy-rich region, and was poised to strengthen into a hurricane later Tuesday.Francine was advancing toward the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, set to become the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season, which concludes on November 30. Francine could intensify into a Category 2 hurricane, ahead of its expected landfall along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.Offshore production in the U.S.

A backlog of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers is waiting to load at Malaysia's Bintulu terminal this week after outages and maintenance work disrupted production, according to industry sources and shiptracking data.The Bintulu facility in Sarawak, controlled by state-owned Petronas, consists of nine LNG production trains run by four different operators with total capacity of nearly 30 million metric tons per year, making it the largest LNG-exporting complex in Asia.Petronas' MLNG joint venture completed planned maintenance on its train 7 in August…

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas was on track to return to service on Thursday after shutting on Wednesday, LSEG data showed.Freeport is one of the most-watched U.S. LNG export plants in the world because it has a history of swaying global gas prices when it shuts and restarts.Energy traders, however, noted that gas prices around the world were little changed on Wednesday because Freeport said it was "actively working towards reestablishing operations." That convinced the market the outage would be brief…

Italy's gas grid group Snam SRG.MI said on Friday it expected a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to become operational by March 2025, allowing the country to diversify further its energy supplies.The floating terminal in the Adriatic sea will have an annual regasification potential of 5 billion cubic metres (bcm), bringing Italy's total capacity to 28 bcm a year, or 45% of the country's gas demand in 2023.The set up of the regasification unit dubbed BW Singapore, which envisages the building of both a platform offshore the costal city of Ravenna and a breakwater, is part of Italy's eff

European Union countries agreed on a 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, diplomats said on Thursday, including their first restrictions on Russian gas.The package bans re-exports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in EU waters but stops short of banning imports as the bloc did in 2022 for Russian seaborne oil. Some EU countries still import pipeline gas from Russia via Ukraine.However, gas market experts say the measure will have little impact…

Extreme temperatures across Asia are driving up liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand in the region as importers seek cargoes ahead of summer, with imports in South Asia hitting records.This could tighten available supply and further lift Asian spot prices that have already gained a third since April, with heatwaves across South and Southeast Asia boosting air-conditioner use and other cooling demand. Prices are now at a near six-month peak at $12 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) and are expected to remain elevated."Spot prices are now driven by Asian demand.

Russia's Gazprom is using a replacement vessel for ship-to-ship loadings (STS) of liquefied natural gas from its Portovaya LNG plant on the Baltic Sea while another ship is repaired, LSEG data showed on Monday.The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Marshal Vasilevskiy is designed to supply Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, between Lithuania and Poland, and ensure its gas security in case of disruption to pipeline supplies from neighboring countries.According to LSEG data, the FSRU Marshal Vasilevskiy was on Monday loading LNG ship-to-ship near Kaliningrad onto the Cool Rover vessel, m

Qatar's planned expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production could see it control nearly 25% share of the global market by 2030 and squeeze out rival projects including in the United States where President Biden paused new export approvals, market experts say.Qatar, one of the world's top LNG exporters, plans an 85% expansion in LNG output from its North Field's current 77 million metric tons per year (mtpa) to 142 mtpa by 2030, from previously expected 126 mtpa.Some market experts said that the move will have an impact on global projects in the United States…

Germany's emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Elbe river port of Stade expects its floating regasification vessel (FSRU) to arrive in February, allowing seaborne gas cargoes to be fed into local pipeline grids, its management said on Wednesday.The move is part of Germany's quest to increase LNG import capacity so it can end reliance on Russian pipeline gas, which Europe has heavily depended on prior to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year."The Transgas Force (the designated ship) is anticipated to arrive in February and will remain for three years, ahead of the commissioning

French engineering firm GTT announced it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese shipbuilding group China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC).The agreement provides for cooperation between GTT and 12 subsidiaries of the CSSC conglomerate, notably in ship design and construction, cryogenic containment technologies for liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping, LNG as fuel and smart shipping solutions.As part of this agreement, GTT and CSSC aim to develop and market competitive LNG tank solutions with GTT technologies…

A storage vessel for Mexico's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant departed U.S. waters on Monday for Altamira, Mexico, according to ship tracking data, putting the offshore project on track to soon inaugurate exports.LNG developer New Fortress Energy last week said its 1.4-million-metric-tons-per-year Altamira floating LNG project had begun processing gas. The company earlier this year had postponed the inauguration amid delays in receiving the infrastructure."We're excited to announce that we've achieved first gas for our Fast LNG 1 unit…

Snam has finalized the 400 million euro acquisition of a new floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal that will be located offshore from the city of Ravenna, the Italian gas grid operator said on Monday.The new ship dubbed BW Singapore has a storage capacity of about 170,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas and a regasification capacity of about 5 billion cubic meters per year and will help Italy to diversify its energy supplies.The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is expected to start operations in 2025.That will follow the conclusion of the related permitting and reg

Shell has almost finished extensive maintenance at its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility off Australia and is set to resume exports next month, according to industry sources and shipping data.The timing of the giant floating facility's return to operations is likely to coincide with peak consumption in major markets, including China and Europe, as winter in the northern hemisphere drives demand, although high inventories have limited buying so far this year.In a sign that the work…

Australia will still need substantial gas production 26 years from now to ensure reliable and affordable energy in 2050, even under a net zero scenario, according to The future role of natural gas in Australia and the region.EY was commissioned by Australian Energy Producers to provide an independent assessment of the future role of natural gas in Australia and the region to inform Australia’s Future Gas Strategy. EY examined around 350 net zero pathways around the world and has…

Damage to a Baltic Sea gas pipeline earlier this month is believed to have been caused by a ship dragging a large anchor along the seabed, but it was too early to tell if this was an accident or a deliberate act, Finnish police said on Tuesday.Investigators said they had now retrieved a lost anchor from the seabed location where the pipeline ruptured on Oct. 8, and were investigating whether it belonged to a Chinese container vessel.Police have previously said damage to the Balticconnector…

The Biden administration's five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing will not include any sales in 2024 and will feature the lowest number of auctions in the history of the program in the four years to follow, according to three sources familiar with the matter.The schedule for leasing in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska for 2024-2028 is due on Friday following several delays and months of battling between environmentalists and drilling advocates over what the policy should…

A new LNG floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) arrived in western France on Monday morning, a TotalEnergies' spokesperson said, as activist group Greenpeace tried to prevent it from entering port.Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Europe has grown in the wake of the war in Ukraine, with France relying on its four LNG terminals to replace Russian gas imports and help supply neighbors like Germany.The Cape Ann FSRU arrived at Le Havre port on Monday morning, LSEG ship tracking data showed.However, environmental group Greenpeace blocked the tanker's course in protest at what they sa

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from Russia's Gazprom being sent via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for the first time is destined for the Chinese port of Jingtang, Refinitiv ship tracking data shows.The Velikiy Novgorod tanker was loaded at the Portovaya LNG plant on the Baltic Sea on Aug. 14, according to the data.As of Wednesday, it was moving in the Kara Sea in the Arctic with the data showing an estimated arrival at Jingtang on Sept. 12.Earlier this month, Russia also shipped a rare naphtha cargo via the North Sea route, according to traders and Refinitiv data.(Reuters - Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jason Neely)

Threatened strikes by workers at Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) providers would need to last more than a month to significantly push up global prices, analysts said this week.The Woodside Energy and Chevron operations supply about 10% of global LNG output and worries of a walkout have lifted prices of European gas benchmark TTF forward curve 5%-7% higher over the September-to-April period than just before the news of a potential strike.The three Australian plants facing possible strikes risk losing 4 to 5 billion cubic meters of production per month if they go offline…

Classification society ABS announced it has granted approval In principle (AIP) to Wison Offshore and Marine’s (WOM) Extended FEED on its standardized 3.5 MTPA floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) design.WOM has said the standardized design reduces CO2 emissions and results in a shortened engineering schedule by about 40%.Jiang Hao, WOM General Manager, FLNG Division, said, “WOM continues to optimize and standardize FLNG design, which would significantly improve the production efficiency and effectively reduce the carbon emissions in the production process. . .