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Hong Kong LNG terminal start date slips further

  • Spanish Market: Electricity, Natural gas
  • 11/03/21

Hong Kong's planned 4mn t/yr LNG import terminal has been delayed further, with start-up now expected in 2022, project partner CLP Power said.

The project's start was delayed last year until the end of 2020 — a year later than initially planned — following a set-back to the start of construction, which began last year.

The terminal is set to use the 263,000m³ FSRU Challenger floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which is currently installed offshore Turkey under a separate charter with state-owned Botas.

FSRU owner Mitsui OSK Lines extended Botas' charter on the unit in May last year, for an additional 10 months, which is set to expire this month. But Botas' replacement FSRU for the Turkish import terminal — the 170,000m³ Ertugrul Gazi — is yet to leave the shipyard, having been delayed from a planned delivery to Botas last year.

Shell is set to supply 1.2mn t/yr to CLP and has agreed to supply fellow terminal shareholders Hong Kong Electric and Castle Peak Power (Capco) — partially-owned by CLP — with unspecified volumes of LNG upon completion of the import project.

Capco also operates the 3GW Black Point gas-fired plant in Hong Kong's New Territories, consisting of eight 313MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units and one 500MW CCGT unit that came on line last year. The firm's plan to commission a second 500MW CCGT unit by 2023 remains on track, CLP said.


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10/12/24

Norway to end new international fossil fuel financing

Norway to end new international fossil fuel financing

London, 10 December (Argus) — Norway will from January no longer provide public finance for new unabated international fossil fuel projects, in line with a commitment it made in December last year. Norway's export credit agency, Eksfin, provides most of the country's financing for overseas fossil fuel projects. Eksfin provided between 8.78bn Norwegian kroner and 10.98bn NKr ($786mn- 983mn) over July 2021-June 2023 for fossil fuel projects, civil society organisation Oil Change International found. Norway signed the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) at the UN Cop 28 climate summit in 2023. The CETP aims to shift international public finance "from the unabated fossil fuel energy sector to the clean energy transition". The CETP, which now has 41 signatories, was launched at Cop 26 in 2021, with an initial 39 signatories including most G7 nations and several development banks. Signatories commit to ending new direct public support for overseas unabated fossil fuel projects within a year of joining. Abatement, under the CETP, refers to "a high level of emissions reductions" through operational carbon capture technology or "other effective technologies". It does not count offsets or credits. Australia, which also signed the CETP at Cop 28, said last week that it would no longer finance overseas fossil fuel projects. "Norway is also working to introduce common regulations for financing fossil energy within the international main agreement for state export financing in the OECD", the Norwegian government said today. Norway's policy "helps increase momentum" for an OECD deal that could end $41bn/yr in oil and gas export financing, Oil Change said. Countries are involved in "final negotiations" on the deal today, Oil Change added. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

ExxonMobil to accelerate PNG’s P'nyang gas development


10/12/24
10/12/24

ExxonMobil to accelerate PNG’s P'nyang gas development

Sydney, 10 December (Argus) — ExxonMobil plans to expedite the next stage of its 4.4 trillion ft³ (125bn m³) P'nyang gas field in Papua New Guinea (PNG), which is considered critical to the future of the nation's two major LNG projects. Exxon, the operator of the 6.9mn t/yr PNG LNG joint venture, will bring pre-engineering works forward to April-June 2025 by accelerating the concept select phase that is presently underway. This would bring it forward "years sooner than previously envisaged," said ExxonMobil PNG's senior vice-president of commercial development, Johanna Boothey, at the PNG Resources and Energy Investment Conference in Sydney, Australia on 10 December "We expect to undertake initial ground surveys and to establish a project office in Western Province in the coming weeks," she added. PNG's government in March signed a fiscal stability agreement for the P'nyang project with PNG LNG partners. A final investment decision (FID) for the P'nyang field is targeted for 2029, following the start-up of the planned 5.6mn t/yr Papua LNG export terminal, with synchronisation between the two projects seen as guiding the investment timeline. But further delays to the Papua LNG project could cause feedstock shortages at PNG LNG, as the former project is expected to provide 2mn t/yr worth of gas to the latter. Continuing concerns about Papua LNG's FID slipping further may prompt Exxon to further advance P'nyang's development timeline. ExxonMobil holds 49pc of P'nyang, Australian independent Santos controls 38.5pc while Japanese upstream firm JX Nippon has a 12.5pc stake. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Shale M&A to pick up pace in 2025 after hitting pause


09/12/24
09/12/24

Shale M&A to pick up pace in 2025 after hitting pause

New York, 9 December (Argus) — A slowdown in shale deals in recent months is set to be reversed next year, helped in part by speculation that oil and gas mergers will have an easier time getting anti-trust approval under president-elect Donald Trump. The $12bn in upstream deals recorded in the third quarter was the lowest tally since the first three months of 2023, just before a record-breaking streak that reshaped the shale landscape and was dominated by blockbuster transactions involving ExxonMobil and Chevron. While buyers have been focused on winning approval from a zealous regulator and pushing deals over the finish line, attention is turning to the billions of dollars of unwanted assets they are likely to want to offload, with companies from ExxonMobil to Occidental Petroleum already active on this front. "You do one of these mega-mergers and now you have to pay for it," law firm Hogan Lovells partner Niki Roberts says. "You pay for it by selling off all the stuff you didn't really want to begin with." One potential upside from the Trump administration may be less attention from the Federal Trade Commission, which has paid closer scrutiny to oil deals in recent months as it cracks down on anti-competitive behaviour. Tie-ups have been delayed while the regulator has sought more details, and two high-profile oil executives were barred from the boards of their acquirers as a condition of approving deals. "The antitrust regulators have been viewed by particularly the traditional oil and gas industry of late as not being friendly to that industry," law firm Sidley global leader of energy, transport and infrastructure Cliff Vrielink says. "You're going to see less resistance to consolidation and you're going to see more people pursuing those opportunities." Oil market volatility has hampered mergers and acquisitions in the past, but observers say price swings are less of a factor these days. And more deals are needed to help companies boost their inventory of drilling locations for as long as cash flow remains king and growing through the drillbit is challenged. Lower interest rates, controlled inflation and regulatory reforms all point to a "robust" M&A market, Sidley partner Stephen Boone says. The majority of deal-making has been focused on oil in recent years, but natural gas is "having a bit of a moment", aided by the surge in demand from a boom in energy-hungry US data centres that are developing and supporting artificial intelligence, Boone says. Privates on parade Private equity is also making a gradual comeback, with teams looking to deploy fresh capital in oil and gas. Quantum Capital Group raised over $10bn in October and EnCap Investments has reloaded with about $6.4bn. "We are just now getting back to pre-pandemic levels of commitment," Boone says. "That bodes towards probably more private equity involvement in the oil and gas space." Fierce competition to get a foothold in the prized Permian basin of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico has sent valuations soaring, and prompted some would-be buyers to look further afield to plays such as the Uinta in Utah and North Dakota's Bakken. "The Permian stays of interest to many because of its consistent returns, but the Permian is a crowded place right now, and so I do think we'll see development of other basins," Roberts says. "But it's all going to depend on price." Close to $300bn in upstream deals were signed in the US over the past two years and this has whittled down the list of remaining targets. But the largest producers may not be done when it comes to seeking out potential acquisitions. "We don't stop looking," ConocoPhillips vice-president and treasurer Konnie Haynes-Welsh told the Rice Energy Finance Summit on 15 November. "We're always looking to be opportunistic." By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia’s QPM to buy Moranbah gas-fired power station


09/12/24
09/12/24

Australia’s QPM to buy Moranbah gas-fired power station

Sydney, 9 December (Argus) — Australian independent QPM Energy will buy the 12.8MW gas-fired Moranbah power station (MPS) as the firm pivots from battery materials to being a central Queensland-focused gas developer. Carbon Logica signed an agreement to acquire the power plant from Sustainable Energy Infrastructure, owned by infrastructure management firm Whitehelm Capital, for A$10.5mn ($6.7mn), QPM said on 9 December. QPM will then lease the facility from Australian mining services firm Carbon Logica, before it takes ownership of the plant. The sale will settle over a four-year period, with operations and maintenance to be conducted by QPM, which will also receive all MPS' electricity sales. QPM also owns the 64 TJ/d (1.74mn m³/d) Moranbah gas project. QPM renamed itself from Queensland Pacific Metals last month, and in April announced it would cut spending on its Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub project which aims to produce 16,000 t/yr of nickel and 1,750 t/yr of cobalt sulphates from imported laterite ore, citing the slumping global nickel price. The company is seeking to increase waste gas production from the Bowen basin's coal mines to 35 TJ/d by late 2024, up from October-December 2023's 28 TJ/d. Coal mines captured under Australia's greenhouse emissions reduction laws must reduce methane gas flaring under stricter laws to be imposed from 1 July 2025. QPM signed a revenue-sharing deal for excess power generated from Thai-owned Ratch Australia's Townsville Power Station (TPS) on 4 December. The 10-year agreement begins on 1 July next year and will cover revenue from the plant above QPM gas supply levels of 12 TJ/d, with operating costs for TPS and the 108 TJ/d North Queensland gas pipeline to be recovered first. Gas peaking plants can generate significant profits as Australia's electricity markets transition supply from thermal to renewable generators, particularly during the evening peak when wholesale spot electricity market prices can soar above A$1,000/MWh. QPM wants to develop 300MW of new gas-fired power generation at its Moranbah project, because of the state government's policy for an additional 3GW of new gas-fired generation as it retires coal-fired plants in the coming years. Only 2.2GW of the presently installed 2.9GW of capacity is being dispatched, mainly owing to a lack of domestic gas supply, QPM said on 14 November. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Atlantic LNG: US fob prices edge lower


06/12/24
06/12/24

Atlantic LNG: US fob prices edge lower

London, 6 December (Argus) — Fob LNG prices for loadings in the US Gulf coast slipped on Friday, adding to losses posted over Wednesday-Thursday to end the week lower. The Argus Gulf Coast (AGC) January fob price fell to $13.81/mn Btu, from $13.90/mn Btu a day earlier, and $14.16/mn Btu at the end of last week, following similar losses in European delivered markets. But the price continued to track European des prices, as the inter-basin arbitrage for US January loadings held shut with European markets holding at a discount to Asia that was too tight to cover the additional spot freight costs — which have been buoyed by a recent small rise in prompt spot charter rates over this week. The ARV3 prompt rate for US-northeast Asia by tri-fuel diesel-electric (TFDE) carriers was assessed at $14,000/d on Friday, up from $12,000/d a week earlier, while the corresponding ARV6 two-stroke rate rose to $28,500/d on Friday from $24,000/d. US LNG production this week has been steady at six of the country's operational liquefaction terminals. But Texas' 17.3mn t/yr Freeport LNG export terminal experienced a trip at its first of three liquefaction trains on 4 December, because of an unspecified issue at a compressor system, according to a state regulatory filing by the facility. That said, the terminal's feedgas receipts quickly rebounded a day later to reach 2.02bn ft³ over the day — the most received by the terminal since 13 November. Freeport was nominated to take 2.12bn ft³ on Friday, though the terminal has historically taken less at times than it has initially nominated to receive. Even with one day of downtime at a single train this week, Freeport's gas receipts were still greater than during the previous week, when deliveries over the opening three days of the week were also at levels suggesting one train of off line. Deliveries to the planned 27.2mn t/yr Plaquemines terminal — set to be the US' eighth liquefaction terminal — have held at low levels, suggesting that the facility may still be only receiving enough gas to meet its on-site needs rather than fully starting liquefaction operations. The 174,000m³ Venture Bayou remained at the facility on Friday, where it has been since mid-November. Plaquemines received a cool-down cargo in late September, for which it has regulatory approval to re-export, as well as a further two cool-down cargoes that have not been delivered to the facility. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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