It seems no market has been left untouched by the COVID-19 coronavirus. Not even the LNG (liquefied natural gas) market. Force majeures–cancelations of LNG contracts due to circumstances “beyond our control”–are now an almost daily occurrence. Big tankers full of LNG often leave a port without a final destination, receiving instructions along the way on where the ship will unload the LNG. A cascading number of force majeures has some of those ships sailing around, “all dressed up but nowhere to go.”
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Category: CNG/LNG
New Fortress Convinces Jamaica to Use CNG for Bus Fleet
We continue to be impressed with New Fortress Energy and its aim to own as much of the LNG supply chain as possible. The company is building an LNG (liquefied natural gas) liquefaction plant in northeast Pennsylvania (see Work Continues to Clear Site for NEPA Landlocked LNG Export Plant). They plan to truck and use rail cars to get the Marcellus LNG to a new dock facility they plan to build on the New Jersey shoreline of the Delaware River (see DRBC Reconsiders New Fortress LNG/NGL Shipping Dock on Dela. River).
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Jones Act Discussed on ‘Shale Gas News’ Radio Program
Shale Gas News is a weekly radio program that plays on three radio stations in Pennsylvania. Last weekend’s show featured a segment with Colin Grabow, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies. Grabow’s research focuses on domestic forms of trade protectionism such as the Jones Act and the U.S. sugar program. Yes, the Jones Act again! During the segment, Grabow describes what the Jones Act is and how it negatively affects U.S. shale gas exports to places like New England and Puerto Rico (see Puerto Rico Imports Russian LNG Thanks to U.S. Jones Act).
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First 5 Elba Island LNG Mini-Plants Now Online Exporting Marc Gas
Last December the very first load of Marcellus molecules liquefied at the Elba Island, Georgia LNG export facility was loaded onto a ship and headed to Pakistan (see Elba Island Finally Exported First Marcellus LNG Cargo on Friday). Elba Island is a series of 10 small liquefaction units, and December’s cargo was from one (maybe two) of those units. Since that time the first four of Elba’s “mini-trains” have come online (see KM’s Elba Island LNG Makes Rapid Progress, Units 1-4 Now Online). You can now add a fifth train to that number.
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DRBC Reopens Public Comment, New Hearing for LNG Export Dock
Last June the DRBC (Delaware River Basin Commission) approved a request by New Fortress Energy to build a $96 million 1,600-foot-long pier/dock on the Delaware River, to be used for docking and loading two ships at a time with LNG (see DRBC Approves New Fortress LNG/NGL Shipping Dock on Dela. River). After being hounded by THE Delaware Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club for months over that approval, DRBC voted in September to “reconsider” its earlier decision (see DRBC Reconsiders New Fortress LNG/NGL Shipping Dock on Dela. River). The DRBC has just announced it will hold a “trial-like” hearing on the project with both sides, New Fortress and Riverkeeper (and no one else) offering testimony.
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Banpu Ponders Entering U.S. LNG Export Market
Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company, loves American shale gas. Over the past several years Banpu has invested ~$500 million in the PA Marcellus, going as far as building a new regional office in northeastern PA (see Banpu Opens New $5M Marcellus Operations Office in NEPA). Recently the company announced a deal to buy Devon Energy’s Barnett Shale assets in Texas (see Banpu Invests Another $770M in Shale – but Not in PA Marcellus). It seems Banpu is not yet done with American shale energy.
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Despite Coronavirus Fear, U.S. LNG Exports Continue at Brisk Pace
We can’t tell you how many stories and headlines we’ve seen over the past few weeks that proclaim the coronavirus is killing the oil and natural gas markets (not to mention the stock market). The theory goes that China is scaling back the production of consumer crap that Americans buy because Chinese workers are dropping like flies. Less production equals less need to import oil and gas, resulting in, what? A worldwide economic recession? Depression? End of Days? Run for the hills! U.S. LNG exports are frequently mentioned as being negatively impacted by the coronavirus. Except…they aren’t. Here’s a contrarian view.
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US Produces Too Much LNG Right Now, but Shortage Coming in 5 Yrs
LNG (liquefied natural gas) is one of two primary new “demand centers” for the natural gas produced in the Marcellus/Utica. The other demand center is gas-fired electric power plants. Last week S&P Global held its 19th annual S&P Global Platts LNG Conference in Houston. The message was loud and clear: U.S. LNG producers are being told to either shut in some of their production (for now), or find new markets (beyond Asia and Europe). Otherwise, prices for LNG will continue to crash worldwide and new plants may not get built.
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Shell Annual Outlook Says LNG Demand to Double by 2040
Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world’s supermajors (oil and gas driller), is, in fact, one of (perhaps THE) largest producer of LNG, or liquefied natural gas, in the world. The company has just released its fourth annual LNG Outlook 2020 (full copy below) which highlights key trends in 2019 and hauls out the crystal ball to predict where things are heading over the next 20 years. Shell says global demand for LNG is expected to double to 700 million tonnes by 2040. Why? Because natgas emits less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than other alternatives.
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New Fortress to Build Marcellus-Powered Elec Plant in Nicaragua
New Fortress Energy announced yesterday that it has signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with Distribuidora de Electricidad del Norte, S.A. and Distribuidora de Electricidad del Sur, S.A., Nicaragua’s electricity distribution companies. New Fortress will construct a 300-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant near Puerto Sandino to supply power to Nicaragua’s national electric grid. It is the first natural gas-fired electric plant to get built in the country. New Fortress will provide approximately 700,000 gallons (60,000 MMBtu) per day of LNG to power the plant. Guess where most, if not all, of the LNG will come from?
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Dela. Riverkeeper Tries to Scare Neighbors of NJ LNG Loading Dock
New Fortress Energy plans to build a $96 million, 1,600-foot-long pier and storage facility on the Delaware River (Gloucester County, NJ) to be used for docking and loading two ships at a time with LNG. The LNG will be manufactured at a plant in landlocked Bradford County, PA and shipped to the NJ facility via rail (see U.S. Gov’t Grants New Fortress Permit to Ship NEPA LNG by Rail!). From the start when the project was announced, THE Delaware Riverkeeper has tried to whip up opposition to the project, without much success (see Enviro Leftists Keep Up Attack on LNG Export Dock on Dela. River).
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EDGE Expands Op to Convert Stranded Marcellus Gas to LNG in NEPA
Last June MDN brought you the news that Edge Gathering Virtual Pipelines 2 LLC (EDGE) had successfully deployed a special LNG unit to a remote Marcellus well in PA, converting gas from the well into LNG, selling that gas to a utility in New England (see Stranded PA Marcellus Gas Converted to LNG, Trucked to New England). EDGE’s “virtual pipeline” solution aims to solve the problem of flaring, lack of pipelines, and (frankly) lack of good local markets into which to sell the gas. Great news! EDGE is expanding its service in the Marcellus, converting gas into LNG from a “large producer” located in Tioga County, PA.
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Florida Ports an Important New Customer for M-U Natural Gas
For some time, we’ve had our eye on Jacksonville, Florida, concerning LNG. In July 2018 Eagle LNG opened its Maxville facility which liquefies natural gas into LNG for loading onto ships that use it as fuel (see Marc/Utica Gas Trucked to Jacksonville, FL for Use in LNG Ship). Eagle LNG is also working on a full-blown (smallish) LNG export plant near Jacksonville too (see Eagle Hires Matrix to Build Jacksonville, FL LNG Export Plant). In May 2019 we told you about another small-scale LNG facility in Jacksonville, the JAX LNG facility (see First US “Small-Scale” LNG Facility Launches in Jacksonville, FL). But Jacksonville isn’t the only port that wants LNG. Far from it!
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NTSB Urges Changes to PHMSA LNG-by-Rail Regs
Yesterday MDN told you that 16 highly partisan, far-left Democrat attorneys general had filed comments opposing President Trump’s plan to allow LNG (liquefied natural gas) to be transported by special rail cars (see 16 Democrat State AGs Oppose Trump Plan to Ship LNG via Rail). Just coming to light are comments filed by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also opposing the new LNG-by-rail regs, as written. However, there’s a big difference between the 16 Dem AGs and NTSB objections…
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Eagle Hires Matrix to Build Jacksonville, FL LNG Export Plant
A small LNG export facility project at a site on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida first appeared on our radar in November 2018 when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted it a favorable environmental impact statement. Since that time the Eagle LNG export project has received tax incentives from the City of Jacksonville, and last September FERC gave the project final approval to proceed (see FERC Grants Final Approval to Jacksonville, FL LNG Export Plant). The project is now getting real. Eagle just announced they’ve hired Matrix Service to build the facility.
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KM’s Elba Island LNG Asks FERC for OK to Start Up Unit 2
A slight tweak and correction to a story we ran last week in which we speculated that the first four mini-trains at Kinder Morgan’s Elba Island LNG export facility are now up and running (see KM’s Elba Island LNG Makes Rapid Progress, Units 1-4 Now Online). We told you we could not find evidence in the FERC dockets that Unit #2 was in fact up and running, but we assumed it was. It was not. On Monday KM asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to start up Unit #2, saying it would be ready to rock-n-roll beginning tomorrow, Jan. 16. Our timing was just a tad off.
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