SINGAPORE: PAVILION ENERGY AND TOTAL MARINE FUELS GLOBAL SOLUTIONS AFFIRM PARTNERSHIP IN LNG BUNKERING
Pavilion Energy Singapore1 and Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS), have signed a 10-year fully-termed agreement to jointly develop an LNG bunker supply chain in the port of Singapore. This agreement follows the Heads of Agreement inked by the two companies in June 2018. The cooperation includes the shared long-term use of the 12,000-m³ GTT Mark III Flex membrane LNG bunker vessel (LNGBV) newbuild that will allow each party to supply LNG bunker to its respective customers. “Pavilion Energy is fully committed to leading to leading the maritime industry’s energy transition with LNG as a marine fuel – beginning in Singapore, our home base,” said Frédéric H. Barnaud, Group CEO of Pavilion Energy. “We are very pleased to be working with our strategic partners such as Total, to jointly develop robust LNG bunker logistics and supplies that are readily available for customers in Singapore and beyond.” “We are very proud that the cooperation between Pavilion Energy and Total is paving the way towards the development of LNG as a marine fuel, especially in Singapore, the largest bunkering hub in the world,” said Jerôme Leprince-Ringuet, Managing Director of TMFGS. “With these agreements, we pursue our ambition to build a comprehensive network of supply for this clean marine fuel. It also underscores our commitment to offer our customers the best available and technologically proven solution to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of maritime transport.” Pavilion Energy has taken several firm steps to invest in and support Singapore’s LNG bunker readiness. In May 2019, it performed Singapore’s first commercial ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation, which comprised a reload of 2,000m3 of LNG from a small-scale tanker to a receiving heavy-lift commercial vessel. Pavilion Energy also chartered its first LNGBV newbuild from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL) in February this year, with the vessel currently undergoing construction at Sembcorp Marine’s Tuas Boulevard Yard. Total has built up a number of pioneering achievements in the development of LNG as a marine fuel. The 12,000m3 LNGBV shared with Pavilion Energy will add to the two LNGBVs already chartered by Total from MOL. The first, an 18,600m3 vessel ordered in February 2018 will be positioned in Rotterdam from 2020, and her sister ship ordered in December 2019 will be positioned in Marseilles from 2021. LNG as a marine fuel has gained positive momentum as the global shipping industry looks to adapt to stricter emissions standards. LNG bunker not only produces zero sulphur oxides, but also represents an available and competitive solution that contributes to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) long-term strategy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Traction in developing LNG bunkering infrastructure has consequently expanded with several leading ports and LNG bunker suppliers alike having established key initiatives and made significant progress in support of these developments.
Gazprom expects gas exports to drop to 198.8 bcm in 2019
Russian gas giant Gazprom sees its gas exports outside ex-Soviet Union this year at 198.8 billion cubic metres (bcm), Interfax cited company’s head Alexei Miller a saying on Thursday, down from a record-high 202 bcm in 2018. Miller also said, according to Interfax, the company is expected to produce 500 bcm of natural gas, up from 497,6 bcm in 2018.
Chennai: Green nod for IOC’s gas supply pipeline project
In a step towards ensuring piped natural gas supply to residents and industries in and around Chennai, the Union government’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) has approved Indian Oil Corporation’s Ennore-Kancheepuram underground pipeline project. The 120km pipeline will act as a feeder line for the upcoming city gas grid distribution (CGD) project, which aims at replacing LPG cylinders with piped natural gas (CNG) supply. Till GCD becomes a reality, bulk supply to industries, which depend on natural gas, will be the primary role of IOC pipelines. As more and more industries are shifting to natural gas from conventional sources like coal, demand for piped supply is witnessing a spike. Earlier this year, IOC started operations along Ennore-Manali pipeline project. Industries like Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Madras Fertilizers Limited and Tamil Nadu Petroproducts Limited have started receiving gas through these pipes, said an IOC official. “The nod for Chennai-Kancheepuram project, costing Rs 8.49 billion, indicates that adequate supply will soon be ensured to similar industries surrounding Chennai,” he said. According to the project design, 30 inch pipelines will be laid from Ennore LNG Terminal situated inside Kamarajar Port Limited, Ennore, to Salavakkam Village in Kancheepuram via Ponneri and Uthukottai. Natural gas imported at the terminal will be transported to gas consumers along this route, including Hyundai Motors and Saint Gobain near Sriperumbudur. As a portion of the proposed project (1.25 km) crosses the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), IOC had submitted a proposal for EAC’s clearance. In its proposal, IOC said that though the pipeline is crossing the Kosasthalaiar river, horizontal drilling method (a trenchless technology) will be used to prevent ecological damage. It has assured that depth of pipeline in CRZ area will be 10-15m below the scour depth of the water body. Based on deliberations held in the meeting on November 29, EAC recommended CRZ clearance for the project given that IOC doesn’t extract groundwater from the project site and no excavated material during construction was dumped in adjacent water bodies. The project needs maximum of five kilo litres per day (KLD) of water and officials have decided to bring it through water tankers or public utility system.
IGL gives green boost to inter-state service with long-haul CNG bus
Delhi’s wheezing lungs can look forward to some relief soon when buses plying to and from cities in neighbouring states — identified as a key source of vehicular pollution in the NCR — will run on clean-burning CNG. Indraprastha Gas Ltd, NCR’s sole supplier of natural gas as automotive and kitchen fuel, on Tuesday unveiled a long-haul CNG bus with a range of 1,000 kms, boosting the Centre’s efforts to create a green corridor along the highways connecting the Capital. The long-haul bus will enable buses plying between Delhi and cities in a radius of 400 kms or so such as Chandigarh, Dehradun, Agra and Jaipur to run on CNG. Buses running on CNG are forced to stay within the NCR due to limitations of their fuel tank capacity. For the same reason, inter-state buses, often with emission standard of BS-II or III vintage, run on diesel and have been identified as a major contributor to pollution in Delhi. The long-haul CNG buses are being run on pilot basis and be scaled up to commercial level. The new bus type will have longer range, thanks to fuel tanks made of composite material developed jointly in collaboration with Mahindra & Mahindra. These tanks are lighter than those made of steel, and so, can be made in larger sizes to give buses longer range. The neighbouring cities are part of Delhi’s airshed and CNG operated buses will help reduce overall pollution. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan described the venture as a milestone in ease of living for the people. “Delhi has witnessed revolution in shift towards cleaner, gas-based fuels. Over 500 CNG stations are operating in Delhi NCR today and about 12 lakh piped natural gas connections have been provided. Over 1,000 PNG connections are being provided daily in the NCR. Long haul CNG buses originating from Delhi to other locations will further drive this shift towards cleaner fuels. This will improve overall ease of living of people by mitigating the problem of air pollution, ensuring a cleaner environment and reducing waiting time at CNG stations,” he said after unveiling the bus. Pradhan had on December 21 last year said the Centre was creating a CNG ‘green corridor’ connecting Delhi with its neighbouring states and “Haridwar, Agra, Jaipur and Chandigarh routes will be powered by buses running on CNG by February 2019,” he had said at an IGL function. TOI had first reported on July 13, 2015 that the Centre was developing these green CNG road corridors over next two years, to the neighbouring destinations that are part of Delhi’s airshed and see heavy bus traffic, with a view to cleaning up the NCR air. This will be made possible by fitting the buses with new Type-IV cylinders that are made of polymer material, lighter than steel cylinders and pack a punch to allow a range of 500 kms.
Government sets up expert panel to resolve oil and gas disputes
With overhang of disputes choking investments in the oil and gas sector, the government has constituted an expert committee for time-bound resolution of exploration and production disputes without having to resort to tardy judicial process. The ‘Committee of External Eminent Persons/Experts’ for dispute resolution will comprise former oil secretary G C Chaturvedi, Oil India former head Bikash C Bora and Hindalco Industries managing director Satish Pai, according to an official notification. The panel will have a tenure of three years and the resolution will be attempted to be arrived at within 3 months. India’s oil and gas sector has been plagued by disputes from cost recovery to production targets, and companies as well as the government have resorted to lengthy and costly arbitration followed by judicial review — a process that takes years to resolve differences. The notification said the committee will arbitrate on a dispute between partners in a contract or with the government over commercial or production issues for oil and gas. “Any dispute or difference arising out of a contract relating to exploration blocks/ fields of India can be referred to the committee, if both parties to the contract agree in writing for conciliation or mediation and further agree to not invoke arbitration proceedings thereafter,” it said. Once a resolution has been referred to panel, the parties cannot resort to arbitration or court case to resolve it. “The committee shall exercise all powers and discharge all functions necessary for carrying out conciliation and mediation proceedings for resolution of the disputes between the parties as per the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and endeavour that the parties arrive at a settlement agreement within three months from the date of the first meeting of the committee,” it said.