Sonatrach (Algeria) signs 12 bcm/year gas contracts with Spain and Italy

The Algerian oil and gas company Sonatrach has announced a nine-year gas supply contract with Spain for 9 bcm/year. Algeria is intensifying commercial relations with Europe, as Gas Natural Fenosa renewed its gas supply agreement with Sonatrach until 2030 in June 2018. Sonatrach currently supplies around 9.8 bcm/year to Gas Natural Fenosa.

In addition, Sonatrach has signed a contract with the Italian oil and gas company Eni for 3 bcm/year of gas; the timeframe of the contract was not disclosed. Eni currently produces 100,000 boe/d in Algeria and operates 32 mining permits in the country.

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Tanzania plans to build gas pipeline to Uganda

The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is looking for a contractor to carry out feasibility studies in order to assess current and future gas demand, potential gas buyers and the most economically viable route for a future gas pipeline that would connect Tanzania and Uganda.

Tanzania's natural gas reserves are estimated at 57 tcf (1,610 bcm) and are mostly located in offshore fields. The proposed gas pipeline would connect Dar es Salaam, Tanga near the Indian Ocean and Mwanza on Lake Victoria; it would then cross the border to Uganda.

The project is part of a cooperation energy agreement between the countries. In 2016, the countries agreed to build an oil pipeline to transport Uganda's land-locked crude oil to offshore markets.

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Shandong province (China) plans to cut coal capacity

The Environmental Protection Bureau (SEPB) of the Shandong province of China has released a 3-year plan against pollution. Among its main objectives, the SEPB plans to reduce coal production by 10% by 2020, from 156 Mt to 140 Mt, to boost gas consumption to 15.8 bcm by 2020 by increasing LNG imports and ensure that LNG reaches an 8% share of energy consumption in the province. In addition, it plans to raise gas imports from other provinces and targets a 70% share of clean energy sources in rural areas originates by 2020.

The plan is a part of a national strategy against pollution released by China’s State Council, whose main pillars are to cut coal consumption, incite electric vehicle sales and shut outdated steel and coke facilities.

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China plans to grant private companies access to oil, gas infrastructure

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China has issued the draft rules to concede private companies access to national oil pipelines, gas pipelines, LNG terminals and gas storage infrastructures. The motion was requested by the country’s energy operators and should mark the first concrete plan to promote fair access to gas-related facilities.

China is reforming its oil and gas sector and removing state companies' monopolies and private energy companies are being encouraged to sign term contracts to utilize the national infrastructure.

The NDRC also contemplates changing standard units for measuring energy flows, from tonnes to thermal units in order to facilitate the calculation of transportation costs.

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Total acquires two 400 MW CCGT plants from KKR-Energas (France)

The French oil and gas company Total has acquired two gas-fired combined cycle power plants (CCGT) in France from the US-based private equity firm KKR-Energas.

The two plants have a total combined capacity of 825 MW (roughly 400 MW each) and are located in Toul (Meurthe-et-Moselle, France) and in Pont-sur-Sambre (Nord, France). They were previously sold by Verbund (Direct Energie) to KKR-Energas (Direct Energie) in 2014 for a total consideration of approximately €150m. The two assets experienced significant difficulties and their margins were squeezed by low power prices and high gas prices. Verbund considered mothballing the two plants but sold them to KKR-Energas instead.

With this acquisition, Total continues to integrate its activities along the gas and electricity value chain, from production to marketing. Once the acquisition is completed, it will have around 1.6 GW of gas-fired capacity in France and Belgium thanks to its 73% share in Direct Energie.

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Belgium establishes a capacity market system to offset nuclear phase-out

The Belgian government has agreed to subsidize new electricity capacity to offset the country's nuclear phase-out in 2025. A capacity remuneration mechanism (CRM) has been approved and is set to replace the strategic reserve program, which was implemented since the winter 2014-2015. A two-tier auction system should be implemented by 2021, to give enough time to project developers to build new gas-fired power plants (based on an average 4-year construction length) before the nuclear phase out of 2025. Both existing and new power plants will be able to participate in the scheme and no technology is excluded except nuclear power. According to the government, foreign capacity may also participate but under well-defined conditions.

The first auction should be organized in 2021. Besides, the government will also organize yearly auctions to adjust fluctuating needs for capacity. This scheme will enable the government to subsidize capacity in a bid to guarantee security of supply. By 2025, the scheme is estimated to cost Belgian consumers an annual €345m. According to a study unveiled by the domestic grid operator Elia, 3.6 GW of new thermal capacity will be needed to offset the closure of the country’s nuclear plants.

More energy news: https://goo.gl/JX6nho

AEMO expects Australia to phase out coal power in the next 20 years

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has unveiled the new Integrated System Plan for the National Electricity Market, which forecasts the likely changes that will be occurring over the next 20 years across the domestic power market. Despite the anticipated electrification of the transport sector over the next 20 years, electricity grid demand will flatten, due to the growth of solar rooftop PV installations and energy storage coupled with energy efficiency efforts.

Existing coal-fired power plants that generate around 70 TWh/year - one third of the NEM's demand - will continue operating until the end of their operational life (by 2040 at the latest) as it would be uneconomical to retire them before the end of their operational lifespan. Replacing them later on with renewables - whose costs are falling -, gas-fired capacity, distributed generation capacity and energy storage systems (including pumped-storage) would be more cost efficient.

The domestic power grid will shift to a more decentralised system model: 28 GW of solar, 10.5 GW of wind, 17 GW of storage and 500 MW of flexible gas-fired generation will be set up along with a significant upgrade of the domestic power transmission system.

More energy news: https://goo.gl/JX6nho
For more detailed analysis and energy data on Australia and over 100 countries worldwide, try our Global Energy Research service: https://goo.gl/ViGPaJ

Russia's Novatek ships first LNG cargo from Yamal LNG to China

The Russian independent gas producer Novatek has shipped its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from the Yamal LNG project to China via the Northern Sea Route. This represents a new milestone and the number of such shipments are expected to increase in the future to meet the growing natural gas demands of the Asian-Pacific markets. Novatek already started to ship natural gas via the Northern Sea route in 2010 and currently uses a fleet of 15 Arc7 ice-class LNG carriers with cargo capacity over 170,000 cm.

The Yamal LNG project will consists of three liquefaction trains of 5.5 Mt/year each of LNG and up to 1 Mt/year of gas condensate. The first unit was commissioned in December 2017 while the second and third trains are expected in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Yamal LNG's main shareholders are Novatek with 50%, Total with 20%, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) with 20%, and the Chinese Silk Road Fund (10%, to be sold shortly by Novatek for the provision of a US$792m, 15-year loan to finance the project). Yamal LNG has already secured contracts for more than 90% of the total capacity with Gas Natural Fenosa (2.5 Mt/year), CNPC (3 Mt/year), Total (4 Mt/year), Novatek Gas & Power (2.9 Mt/year) and Gazprom (3 Mt/year).

More energy news: https://goo.gl/JX6nho

Gazprom gas production up by 8.5% in 1st semester 2018 (Russia)

According to the state-run company Gazprom, exports of Russian gas to non-CIS (Community of Independent States) countries went up by 5.8% between January and June 2018 to reach 108.9 bcm. The largest hikes were reported in Germany (+12.2% or + 3.5 bcm), Austria (+52.3% or + 2.1 bcm), the Netherlands (+61.9% or +1.4 bcm), France (+12.5% or 0.8 bcm), Croatia (+45%, +0.6 bcm) and Poland (+6.7%).

Meanwhile, Gazprom's gas production increased by 8.5% over the time period and averaged 270.1 bcm. Its gas sales on the Russian domestic market also went up by 5.3% (7 bcm) since the beginning of the year. The company's total gas output in 2017 averages 471 bcm, which is 12.4% more than in 2016. For the end of 2018, Gazprom hopes to reach 476 bcm (+1%) but the forecast could still be adjusted and reviewed.

More energy news : https://goo.gl/JX6nho

China's CNOOC will invest US$3bn in Nigerian oil and gas operations

The state-run company China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) plans to invest US$3bn in its Nigerian oil and gas operations, which are jointly run through joint ventures (JVs) with its state-held counterpart Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). So far, the Chinese firm has spent roughly US$14bn in the country, which is looking forward to boost its crude oil production and reserves through partnerships with major oil ans gas players such as CNOOC, ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron.

In November 2017, NNPC signed a US$1.7bn financing agreement with Chevron that would increase the Nigerian crude oil output by 39,000 bbl/d. The deal is expected to last until 2045 and the project will focus on oil, gas and condensate production from the Sonam and Okan fields located in leases OML 90 and 91 in the Niger Delta offshore Nigeria.

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Enerdata's free online applications: EnerOutlook and Yearbook

EnerOutlook

EnerOutlook fossil fuel prices up to 2040

EnerOutlook is a free online interactive data software which enables you to browse data through intuitive maps and graphs, for a visual analysis of the expected long-term trends in the energy industry.

These can be viewed globally and by world region. The interface provides robust forecasts on energy supply and demand as well as information on fossil fuel prices, renewable energies and CO2 emissions.

This application is an excerpt of the complete EnerFuture global forecast service based on the POLES model.

Global Energy Statistical Yearbook 

Global Energy Statistical Yearbook interactive map

The Global Energy Statistical Yearbook is Enerdata's free online application that displays global energy statistics through an interactive interface with maps and graphs. Browse the latest data (last update: 2018) by region, energy and year; compare and benchmark countries; and download data series to integrate to your model. 

The Yearbook provides statistics on : 

• production, consumption and trade of oil, gas, coal, power and renewables;
• CO2 emissions from fuel combustion;
• covering 60 countries and regions throughout the world;
• including updated data until 2017.

Tahiland's gas Conundrum , the latest enerdata analyst brief .

Thailand’s gas conundrum 

June 19^th, 2014

Natural gas has been dominating Thailand’s power mix for about three decades. While indigenous gas production in forecasted to deplete in the 2020’s decade, Thailand is relying more and more on gas imports, with a particular increase in LNG imports. Although natural gas offers a better carbon footprint than other fossil fuels, its cost has been rising as a consequence of the increasing share of LNG in the gas imports causing electricity prices rise.


Share of energies in Thailand’s power mix



Read the  Thailand's gas conundrum analyst briefs.

Exclusive Gas Foresight Report

Inside a flat gas demand in Europe, the contribution of the power sector will keep growing

In its latest World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency announced an upcoming golden age for natural gas with the strong growth of gas demand expected in the coming years, especially in Asia and with the development of shale gas resources.
But the picture varies by region; in Europe, while gas consumption increased over the last 20 years, it has been stagnating since 2005, limited by a sluggish economic growth and stringent regulations promoting energy efficiency. We have seen during the last 5 years a real re-definition of sectoral demand for gas, with growing inputs in the power sector. Between 2000 and 2011, 100 GW of gas-fired capacities were installed in Europe; this trend will certainly continue with the expected commissioning of 50 GW of additional gas-fired plants by 2020 in our central scenario (Balance). However, the current high competitiveness of gas plants is more and more under threat. A weakening of CO₂ policies in Europe would strengthen the position of coal as a fuel of choice in the power sector. In the same time, a strong commitment to a climate target would make necessary the development of very stringent energy efficiency policies and very strong CO₂ taxation that would therefore lower gas demand over the long-term.

Interested in our exclusive Gas Forecast Report report?

As gas promises to gain ground in Europe in the next couple of decades, our newly published report analyses the current environment as well as emerging issues and uncertainties about the pace at which this will happen, with focus on:

• Expected growth of gas demand in the power sector, compared to a flat trend in other sectors
• Booming LNG infrastructures easing access to natural gas at a competitive price and shifting the origin of gas imports
• Important opportunities for shale gas although geologically uncertain and subject to very contrasted legislations between member states

Our insightful analysis is based on outputs from the globally recognised POLES model.

> Read More

Upcoming Oil & Gas Industry Event

OSEA Conference & Exhibition in Singapore

Enerdata, a global leader in energy research, solutions and forecasting models, will be holding a stand (Hall D, no. BG4-08) at the upcoming internal oil & gas industry event in Marina Bay Sands from the 27^th to the 30^th of November 2012.

The Offshore South East Asia Conference & Exhibition (OSEA 2012) saw over 25,000 attendees in 2010 alone and this year's promises to be just as popular. Use this opportunity to meet and greet industry professionals from more than 1000 companies worldwide. Attendance is free, you can pre-register here.

To make the most of your time there, book a meeting slot with Enerdata, to discuss how we support your oil & gas business and strategic planning. With 25 years of experience in the energy sector, Enerdata specialising in the analysis of market drivers, trends, players and assets as well as supply & demand forecasting (see Oil & Gas Perspectives Report). Enerdata will be present in Hall D, stand BG4-08.

It is with pleasure that we look forward to meeting you at our stand. Save the date!