Daily Digest: February 25th, 2020

US CHENIERE REPORTS RECORD Q4 NET INCOME

US LNG developer Cheniere Energy said it had record net income in Q4 2019 of $939mn, up from $67mn in the comparable year-earlier period, while pre-tax earnings (Ebitda) rose to $987mn from $634mn.

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The Big Picture:

• During the fourth quarter, the company exported 130 LNG cargoes, representing 462 TBtu, up from 80 cargoes (285 TBtu) in the comparable 2018 period. Nine cargoes were in-transit at the end of the year.

• Highlights for the year, [CEO Jack Fusco] said, included the positive final investment decision on Train 6 at Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, achieving major commercial and regulatory milestones for the Corpus Christi Stage 3 project in Texas and placing three liquefaction trains into service within budget and, on average, more than nine months ahead of schedule.

KOSMOS AIMS AT CLEANER OUTPUT OF CLEANER FUEL: CEO

Independent oil and gas producer Kosmos is going to make its Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas liquefaction project offshore west Africa as clean as possible, CEO Andrew Inglis told the IP Week conference in London.

The Big Picture:

• In an interview with Steve Holliday of the Energy Institute and former boss of UK National Grid, he said that the company would use renewable energy for the liquefaction trains, to make the carbon footprint as small as possible. 

• He also said smaller companies such as his could help developing countries leapfrog the conventional route to clean energy, by going straight to renewable energy supplies and gas.

EQUINOR DROPS OZ BIGHT PLANS

Norway's Equinor has dropped plans to drill for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight, it said, after concluding that the offshore project was "not commercially competitive."

The Big Picture:

• Equinor secured shares in four licences in the Bight in 2013, partnering with BP.

• Environmental groups have lobbied intensively against exploration of the Bight, citing the potential damage to marine life.

• Other explorers such as ConocoPhillips and Australia-based Karoon Gas have similarly obtained licences in the region over the years only to withdraw before reaching the drilling phase.

 UKRAINE SHEDS LIGHT ON OFFSHORE AUCTION PLANS

Ukraine plans to offer two separate production-sharing agreements (PSAs) for offshore oil and gas acreage, the head of its state geological service Roman Opimakh told a conference in Kyiv on February 24, according to local press.

The Big Picture:

• Ukraine wants to encourage exploration in order to become self-sufficient in gas. It offered a total of 43 onshore blocks to investors last year, leading to 28 awards.

• Opimakh told NGW in December that a further 23 PSAs and concessions covering 25,000 km2 would be offered up in 2020.

DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR GREEK FSRU CAPACITY BIDS

Greece's Gastrade has given bidders more time to submit offers for the import capacity of an LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) it wants to position off the coast of Alexandroupolis, the company said in a statement on February 24.

The Big Picture:

• The deadline for bids, initially February 24, has now been extended to March 10, Gastrade said.

• A final investment decision on the Alexandroupolis FSRU is expected to be taken in the third quarter of 2020, with operations scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2022.

• Greece currently has one LNG import terminal in Revithoussa, in operation since 2000. The Alexandroupolis facility will provide gas not only for the Greek market but also the wider region, via projects such as the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, due to start up later this year.

GAZPROM NEFT RAMPS UP GAS OUTPUT IN 2019

 Russia's Gazprom Neft produced 9.8% more gas last year than it had in 2018, logging 1.442 trillion ft3 (40.8bn m3), the company said.

The Big Picture:

• Gazprom Neft attributed its higher gas output to the commissioning of a second gas processing train in late 2018 at the Novoportovskoye field in the Russian Arctic; increased contributions from its Arcticgas venture with Novatek; and the launch of a gas compressor station in the Orenburg region, in southern Russia.