BRIEF: India oil firms boost LPG infrastructure for rural households – secy
* Oil companies are boosting infrastructure to provide liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to rural areas, M. M. Kutty, Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said on Monday. * A government scheme has provided 61 million rural households with subsidised cooking gas connections, Kutty said.
Anadarko signs long-term deal with CNOOC for Mozambique gas
Anadarko Petroleum Corp said on Friday a long-term agreement had been signed with the trading division of China’s state-owned offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Mozambique. The deal will bring it one step closer to making a final investment decision for its East African LNG project, with the decision expected in the first half of this year. Mozambique LNG1 Company, the jointly-owned sales entity of the Mozambique Area 1 co-venturers, had signed a sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with CNOOC’s gas and power Singapore Trading and Marketing unit, Anadarko said. The SPA is for 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) for a period of 13 years. “This deal gives China’s largest LNG importer access to Mozambique LNG’s world-class gas resources, which are strategically located off the East Coast of Africa, and will provide China with a clean source of energy for years to come,” said Mitch Ingram, executive vice president of Anadarko’s International, Deepwater and Exploration division. The agreement demonstrates the progress the company is making towards its goal of taking a final investment decision in the first half of this year, he said, adding that the company is expected to announce further SPAs in the near future. The Anadarko-operated Mozambique LNG project will be Mozambique’s first onshore LNG development, initially consisting of two LNG trains with total capacity of 12.88 mtpa to support the development of the Golfinho/Atum fields located entirely within offshore Area 1. Anadarko Mocambique Area 1, Lda, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, operates Offshore Area 1 with a 26.5 percent interest. Other stakeholders include ENH Robuma Area Um, Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area1, ONGC Videsh, Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Ltd, BPRL Ventures Mozambique, and PTTEP Mozambique Area 1 Ltd.
Petronet in talks to use natural gas as feedstock for power
Petronet LNG Limited Saturday said talks were being held with officials of two power plants in Kerala on using natural gas as feedstock in place of diesel and naphtha. Chairman and managing director of Petronet Prabhat Singh said at a meet-the-press programme that the company has offered gas at affordable price to BSES power plant powered by diesel and to NTPC’s Rajiv Gandhi combined cycle power plant powered by naphtha to generate electricity. The company has set up south India’s first LNG receiving, regasification and re-loading terminal with nameplate capacity of 5 MMTPA (million metric ton per annum) here. The terminal area is situated in the special economic zone (SEZ) of Puthuvypeen near the entrance to the Cochin Port.
Kerala: Petronet to introduce LNG buses and trucks for state roads soon
Petronet LNG is mooting a proposal to introduce LNG buses and trucks in the country and first batch of such buses will ply in Kochi. As a pilot project, LNG buses will transport employees of Petronet LNG in Kochi in March or April. To facilitate the rolling out of LNG buses, four LNG outlet stations will be set up in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Edappally and Kannur. Speaking at a news meet in Kochi on Saturday, Petronet LNG CEO Prabhat Singh said the state government and transport department have evinced special interest in using LNG buses in Kerala. Compared to CNG, LNG has a 2.5-fold energy density (can carry 2.5-fold volume of fuel in the tank compared to CNG) and this would facilitate the running of long-distance buses and trucks on LNG. “We have imported four LNG buses. Two of them would be used in Kochi for transporting our employees,” Singh said. The remaining two would be used for transporting employees of Petronet LNG in Dahej in Gujarat. He also said that talks have already been held with the manufactures of buses and trucks in the country to bring out LNG buses and trucks. LNG is 20-22% cost effective compared to fossil fuels, he said. CNG buses are being used for operating city services and short distance services as the fuel tank can contain only less quantity of the fuel due to low energy density. If fuel tank of a vehicle can carry a maximum of 10kg of CNG, the same tank can accommodate 25kg if the fuel is LNG. On an experimental basis, Petronet LNG would convert one of the fishing boats owned by Central Marine Fisheries Institute (CIFT), Kochi to LNG-powered, Singh said.
China’s LNG imports reach another record amid high stocks
China’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose to another monthly record in January, even as the country grapples with high gas inventories amid a warmer-than-usual winter, according to shipping data and industry sources. The world’s second-largest LNG importer took 6.55 million tonnes of LNG in January, beating the previous record hit in December by nearly 2 percent, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data. China’s imports last year surged 41 percent from 2017 after gas shortages the previous winter prompted Chinese companies to stock up on supplies and pre-order cargoes, with Beijing continuing to push millions of households to switch to gas from coal for heating. But the import growth is not wholly due to a rise in demand, said an industry source familiar with the Chinese market. “When people see these numbers, they think Chinese demand is up … but actually it is causing a headache (for importers) as (they) have overbought and can’t find demand to absorb the cargoes,” the source said, declining to be identified as he was not authorised to speak with media. China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) resold at least one LNG cargo in January and possibly another, an unusual move during what is typically a peak demand period and highlighting this year’s warmer weather, industry sources said. Chinese traders are offering LNG cargoes to international buyers or selling into their domestic market at lower-than-expected prices, the first source said. The Lunar New Year holiday has also made the situation worse because factories are shutdown for a least a week, he said. Wholesale LNG from small, land-based liquefaction plants fell to 3,500-3,950 yuan ($519-$586) a tonne on Feb. 2, less than half levels of last year, according to Chinese gas-price monitoring agency yeslng.com. Quotes at receiving terminals in East China’s Shandong and North China’s Tianjin last stood at 4,500 yuan ($667) a tonne, down 17 percent and 5 percent, respectively, from late November, shortly after heating season started. China’s gas demand growth should decelerate from the past two years, said James Taverner of energy consultancy IHS Markit. “Coal-to-gas switching mandates are moderating due to … security of supply concerns, and weakening economic growth,” Taverner said. There is also limited capacity in North China for further LNG ramp-up after big increases the past two years, he said. Trade tensions between the United States and China have also tightened financial conditions, dragging China’s growth last year to its weakest in 28 years.
ONGC refuses to share documents about buried pipelines at Surat airport
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has refused to share documents relating to sour gas pipelines passing beneath the Surat airport’s surface under section 8 (1)(d) of Right to Information (RTI) Act. Replying to an application filed under RTI by an activist for inspection of the documents relating to sour gas pipelines’ shifting, culverting or encasing to enable Airports Authority of India (AAI) to extend the runway at Surat airport, the ONGC authorities stated that they cannot be revealed. Last year, a meeting was held by district administration with officials of pipeline division of ONGC Hazira to discuss critical issue of the sour gas pipelines beneath Surat airport surface following state government and AAI’s decision to take ONGC on-board to work out a solution for rerouting them. ONGC had invited expression of interest (EoI) for safe operation of the buried pipelines six months ago, but things are moving at a snail’s pace. There are two 36 inches and 42 inches diameter South Bassein Hazira Trunk (SBHT) pipelines passing beneath the airport surface. These pipelines were laid in the year 1985 and 1996, respectively to transport sour dry natural gas from Bassein Platform A (BPA) and Bassein Platform B (BPB) offshore process platforms to onshore gas processing plant located at Hazira in Surat. As on date, the volume of gas being transported is around 36 million metric standard cubic meter per day (MMSCMD) and 3000 cubic metres per day (m3/day) of condensate at an operating pressure of 60-80 kilograms per square centimetre (kg/cm2). ONGC raised concerns over the safe operation of both the pipelines due to proximity of the runway of Surat airport located at Magdalla, which has undergone extension from 1,400 metres to 2,250 metres towards route of 42 inches diameter pipeline in south east direction in 2007 and from 2,250 metres to 2,905 metres towards route of 36 inches diameter pipeline in north west direction in the year 2015-16. At present, the 36 inches diameter pipeline is 250 metres away from the runway and 42 inches pipeline 350 metres away. Further, the proposed extension from 2,905 metres to 3,705 metres towards route of 36 inches diameter pipeline will cross it and create safety issues. The existing runway of 2,905 metres has permissible usage length of 2,290 metres-615 metres of the runway portion from Vesu side of the airport has been displaced due to building height obstructing flight path. The existing runway is capable of handling only Airbus (AB-321) type aircraft only. A senior officer in district collector’s office said, “The buried gas pipelines of ONGC could pose a danger to airport operations. The extension of the runway has been halted due to the underground pipelines. The ONGC has been asked to carry out survey of the pipelines and suggest solution for rerouting or covering them.”
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation appoints new CEOs for subsidiaries
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation appointed Walid Khalid al-Badr on Sunday as the new chief executive for its subsidiary Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) and Emad Mahmoud Sultan as chief executive of subsidiary Kuwait Oil Company. The two executives were named to the board of directors to replace members whose terms had expired. Other new directors include Sheikh Nwaf Saud Al-Sabah, assigned as the managing CEO for the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, and Abd al-Nasser Youssef AL-Faleej as the managing director for international marketing for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.