Natural Gas Daily: May 29th, 2020
US LNG Feedstock Gas Flows Fall to Six-Month Low
Natural gas deliveries to US liquefaction facilities fell to 5.6bn ft³/day May 24 having averaged 6.7bn ft³/d from May 1 through May 26, according to data by IHS Markit. "This was the lowest level of LNG feedgas deliveries since October 2019," said the US EIA in its weekly note May 28.
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The Big Picture:
- US wholesale prices are low, averaging around $1.75/mn Btu over the week; but after liquefying and shipping the LNG to Europe or Asia they are loss-making on a cash basis, leading to a slew of cargo cancellations.
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Twelve LNG vessels (five from Sabine Pass; two each from Cameron, Corpus Christi, and Cove Point; and one from Freeport) departed the US May 21-28, 2020, according to shipping data provided by Marine Traffic.
Electrolyser Joins Neptune's Dutch Hydrogen Plan
Belgian wind power and hydrogen producer DEME Offshore is to bring its expertise to the PosHYdon pilot, the world’s first offshore green hydrogen project, gas platform operator Neptune Energy said. DEME will transport the hydrogen unit for installation at the Q13a platform in the Dutch North Sea.
The Big Picture:
- The pilot aims to integrate three energy systems in the North Sea: offshore wind, offshore gas and offshore hydrogen.
Uniper to Restore Gas Power Early Amid Low Prices
Two units at the Irsching gas-fired power plant in southern Germany are due to return to operation this October, one year earlier than anticipated, their operator Uniper said on May 28, attributing its decision to low gas prices.
The Big Picture:
- Improved market prices – in particular lower gas prices – "should make it possible to operate the highly efficient gas power plant economically," Uniper said.
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Gas prices have plunged historic lows in Europe, weighed down by excess global LNG supply and lower demand as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns.
Petrobras Offers Third-Party Access to Gas Plants
Brazil's national oil company Petrobras has initiated procedures to allow other gas producers to use its processing capacity, it said on May 27, under an agreement reached with antitrust regulators last year.
The Big Picture:
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Brazil launched its gas market programme last year, ending Petrobras' monopoly over gas distribution and transportation in a bid to attract more investment in gas supply and infrastructure.
Engineering firm KBR has been awarded an energy efficiency opportunities study at Gladstone LNG (GLNG) by Australian Santos, it said on May 28 without disclosing the value of the contact.
The Big Picture:
- The 7.8mn metric tons/yr GLNG export plant is located in Queensland. It is a leading project in the conversion of coalbed methane into LNG.
Shell Assets Lift Pieridae Higher in Q1
A full quarter of production from assets Pieridae Energy acquired from Anglo-Dutch major Shell in October 2019 pushed the Canadian LNG developer to a second straight quarter of solid financial performance in Q1 2020, it said May 28.
The Big Picture:
- Many Canadian oil and gas companies have been hit hard in Q1 by impairment charges related to the sharp drop in global crude oil prices.
- But Pieridae has so far escaped such measures, and its C$28mn annual capital plan and C$16mn development budget for its 10mn mt/yr Goldboro LNG project in Nova Scotia remain intact, Sorensen said.
