Japan’s Mol adds to LNG fleet for Jera
Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines (Mol) is to launch a new LNG carrier in 2026, the seventh vessel to be supplied under an unspecified time charter agreement with the country's largest power producer by capacity Jera.
The 174,000m³ membrane-type vessel is being built by South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries at its Geoje shipyard. It will be installed with a dual-fuel engine that can run on low-sulphur fuel oil or boil-off gas stored in the ship's cargo tank, Mol said.
LNG is dominant in Jera's power portfolio, with its gas-fired output accounting for 75pc of its power generation in the April 2023-March 2024 fiscal year. The company consumed around 23mn t of LNG during 2023-24, which accounted for 35pc of Japan's LNG imports of 64.9mn t.
Jera is planning to maintain its LNG handling volumes at no less than 35mn t/yr until 2035-36, so to ensure power security in Japan through more flexible operations. It is also looking to further promote LNG along with renewable electricity in Asian countries, while helping to reduce their dependence on coal- and oil-fired power generation.
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Houthis strike bulk carrier in Gulf of Aden: US Centcom
Houthis strike bulk carrier in Gulf of Aden: US Centcom
Singapore, 14 June (Argus) — Yemen-based Houthi militants struck the Ukrainian-owned and Polish-operated bulk cargo carrier Verbena in the Gulf of Aden, US Central Command (Centcom) said today, possibly the second such attack on ships this month. The Palau-flagged Verbena was first struck by two Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles on 13 June, which resulted in damage and fires. The Houthis struck it again later with an anti-ship ballistic missile. The vessel most recently docked in Malaysia and was headed to Italy carrying wood construction material, according to Centcom. This latest attack comes after a Houthi unmanned surface vessel struck the Greek-owned and operated vessel Tutor in the Red Sea on 12 June, which resulted in severe flooding and damage to the engine room. The Tutor most recently docked in Russia, according to Centcom. The bulk carrier was planned to arrive at Jordan's Aqaba port on 14 June, according to global trade analytics platform Kpler, with its last known cargo being corn. Oil prices edged down despite continuing tensions in the Red Sea. The Ice front-month August Brent contract was at $82.42/bl at 02:43 GMT, down by 0.4pc from the previous settlement. The front-month July WTI crude contract was at $78.21/bl, down by around 0.5pc. By Tng Yong Li Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Renewable natural gas not ‘major’ for climate: Chevron
Renewable natural gas not ‘major’ for climate: Chevron
New York, 13 June (Argus) — The growth of renewable natural gas (RNG) production is great news for the climate, but "to say that it is having a major impact by itself is difficult," the president of Chevron's global gas division said this week at an industry gathering. The US oil major, which has invested in RNG facilities in California , Michigan and elsewhere in recent years, has also boosted its conventional gas production on the heels of a crude-focused acquisition of a Denver-based producer. "I don't want to get called out (for) greenwashing or whatever because the volume is just very small compared to the overall portfolio," Chevron gas division president Freeman Shaheen said at the Northeast LDC Gas Forum in Boston, Massachusetts. Advocates for RNG hail the fuel, comprising methane from landfills and animal waste projects that is processed into pipeline-quality gas, as a boon for the climate. This is not only because its use displaces conventional natural gas produced in hydrocarbon drilling — so-called ‘fossil gas' — but because its production takes methane that would have been released directly into the atmosphere and burns it as fuel, releasing CO₂ — a less potent greenhouse gas — instead. But RNG today comprises just 0.5pc of the North American gas market. Even with continued policy support and technological development, Wood Mackenzie projects it will grow to just 4 Bcf/d (113mn m³/d), or 3pc of the market, by 2050. This is why some policymakers, such as Massachusetts' utilities regulatory, have rejected gas distributors' calls to decarbonize the gas system with RNG. The energy industry simply has not invested enough in RNG over the past several decades for it to reach the scale needed to play a bigger role in cutting emissions, Shaheen said. By Julian Hast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UK political parties repeat existing stances on energy
UK political parties repeat existing stances on energy
London, 13 June (Argus) — The two main UK political parties have set out their plans, including on energy and climate change, with just three weeks until the general election. Energy security and the cost to consumers is a recurring theme for both, but the manifestos present some marked differences in approach to the energy transition. Both the incumbent Conservative and opposition Labour parties doubled down on existing positions in their respective manifestos. The Conservative party said that it remains committed to the UK's 2050 net zero emissions target, but promises a "pragmatic and proportionate" route. The party's manifesto guarantees "no new green levies or charges while accelerating the rollout of renewables". The UK's net zero goal is legally-binding, and was passed with significant cross-party support under a Conservative government in 2019. The Conservatives have been in power since 2010, and fielded five prime ministers in that time. Recent polling data show a substantial lead for Labour, which performed well at local elections in May. Labour placed strong focus on the opportunity the transition offers, saying that it would place the UK at the "forefront of climate action by creating the green jobs of the future at home and driving forward the energy transition on the global stage". The party has committed to zero-carbon power by 2030, although it would "maintain a strategic reserve of gas power stations to guarantee security of supply", it said. The Conservative manifesto reiterates the party's plans to build new gas-fired power plants. The party had previously committed to a decarbonised power grid by 2035, in line with a G7 pledge, although that is not mentioned in its manifesto. The two main parties clearly diverge on their approaches to North Sea oil and gas production. The Conservatives aim to keep the windfall tax — which effectively results in a 75pc rate — on oil and gas producers in place "until 2028-29, unless prices fall back to normal sooner". Labour confirmed plans to lift the rate to 78pc and run the tax until the end of the next parliament, which is likely to be mid-2029. Labour is also clear that it "will not revoke existing licences" in the North Sea, but it will not issue any new licences — for oil, gas or coal. The Conservatives restated the party's aim to legislate for annual North Sea licensing rounds . Both parties back nuclear energy, including small modular reactors — though those are unlikely to be operational until after 2030. And both pledge to cut planning bureaucracy and tackle grid connections. Labour's plans to "double onshore wind, triple solar power, and quadruple offshore wind by 2030" would result in installed capacity of 31GW, 48GW and 59GW, respectively, from a baseline of end-2023. The Conservatives' target to triple offshore wind by the end of the next parliament would put installed capacity at 44GW in 2029 — below the 50GW target for 2030 set in 2022 — while it said it supports solar and onshore wind in some circumstances. Finance in focus Both parties are keen to pull in private-sector investment, while Labour took up an original Conservative pledge to "make the UK the green finance capital of the world". And both pledge to address the cost of energy for consumers — Labour through local power generation projects and home insulation upgrades, and the Conservatives by ruling out any further "green levies". The latter plans to reverse London's expansion of the ultra-low emissions zone — originally planned by Conservative then-mayor and later prime minister Boris Johnson. Labour said that it would restore a phase-out date of 2030 for new internal combustion engine cars — which prime minister Rishi Sunak in September pushed back to 2035 . On an international level, both parties mention climate leadership at summits such as UN Cops. The Conservatives pledged to "ring-fence" the UK's climate finance commitments, while Labour committed to restore development spending to 0.7pc of gross national income "as soon as fiscal circumstances allow". By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
TTF front-month trades at highest since December 2023
TTF front-month trades at highest since December 2023
London, 13 June (Argus) — The Netherlands' TTF front-month gas price was trading near the highest level since last year this morning and afternoon as LNG supply outages contribute to market tightness. The price traded at €36.12/MWh ($38.88/MWh) on the Intercontinental exchange at 15:00 London time today. If the price holds around this level until the close it would be the highest front-month assessment since 8 December 2023. The contract opened at €35.43/MWh on the exchange, up from Argus' Wednesday assessment of €35.20/MWh, and climbed in the morning on the news of an extended shutdown at an Australian LNG terminal. Operations at Chevron's 8.9mn t/yr Wheatstone LNG export terminal in Australia may be disrupted for several weeks , the firm announced today. Loadings from the terminal have been halted since 10 June because of unplanned maintenance. The outage was previously expected to last until 14 June and disrupt delivery of 3-4 cargoes, but could now last until 19-26 June, according to market sources and loading schedules. Although Europe rarely imports cargoes directly from Australia, the reduction in deliveries to northeast Asia will mean prices in that region have to increase to attract more Atlantic-basin cargoes, pulling up the TTF at the same time. Quantities of US LNG on the water have risen sharply since mid-May according to Vortexa data, despite no incentive for floating storage, suggesting that more vessels are taking the longer route to deliver cargoes to northeast Asia ( see US LNG on the water graph ). The Wheatstone shutdown comes on top of a second quarter of planned and unplanned outages at other export terminals. High utilisation rates at terminals mean any downtime translates directly into lower deliveries than expected and contributes to LNG market tightness. The US' 33mn t/yr Sabine Pass terminal may be undergoing maintenance this month, based on reductions in feedgas deliveries. An unplanned outage last month cut deliveries from Australia's 15.6mn t/yr Gorgon terminal, while Peru's 4.4mn t/yr Peru LNG terminal is down for two weeks of maintenance. In addition to LNG supply disruptions, unplanned constraints at Norwegian offshore infrastructure at the beginning of this month removed supply from the European market and pushed up prices. A crack in a pipeline in an offshore hub discovered on 2 June caused a shut-in at the Nyhamna processing plant. The cut in gas production from connected fields over the five days that it took for the plant to restart was equivalent to 2-3 LNG cargoes. Although Norwegian gas production and global LNG loadings have been lower than previously expected, demand in Europe remains muted. Stocks in the EU are higher than ever for the time of year, while industrial demand remains low. Temperatures have held well below normal in much of western Europe since the beginning of the month. Heating demand has been higher than normal for the period, but the weather is already so warm that conditions much cooler than normal can only spur small increases in heating demand. Gas-fired generation was weak in May as increased renewables capacity, strong nuclear output and low aggregate demand cut into the incentive for power sector gas burn. By Rhys Talbot TTF front-month US LNG on the water, mn t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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