Illegal Russian LNG Tanker Delayed, but Still Coming to Boston
We previously told you about an illegal shipment of Russian LNG coming to Boston, for use in New England to alleviate a natural gas shortage (see Confirmed: LNG Coming to Boston on Jan 22 is Illegal Russian Gas). The U.S. slapped the Russian Yamal LNG plant, located in the Arctic, with sanctions following Russia’s moves against the Ukraine several years ago. Those sanctions make it illegal to receive gas produced from that plant. So shippers “whitewashed” the gas by unloading it in the UK, and a few days later, reloading it on a different ship–the Gaselys. The Gaselys was, at last check, heading at full speed for Boston. Then the ship suddenly stopped and turned around in the middle of ocean, with new instructions to go to Spain. Then it turned around again, to head back to Boston. The people who own the shipment said the U-turn was to avoid foul weather–that the shipment will still go on to Boston. As near as we can tell, the Gaselys has not yet landed. We just wanted to keep this story alive because it is so outrageous. Vladimir Putin is laughing at us right now. We have enormous amounts of fracked Marcellus Shale gas that could/should be going to New England, instead of buying LNG from a sanctioned Russian facility located in the Arctic…
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Last week MDN brought you news that Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export facility along the shore of Maryland has delayed its official start-up until perhaps as late as April (see 
This story continues to grate on our nerves–the fact that mainstream media is covering up a MAJOR scandal. What scandal? The scandal of Russian LNG banned from the U.S. coming to the U.S. (to Boston) because it was offloaded in the UK and reloaded on a different ship, to “whitewash” the gas (see 
1/24/18 Note: We have edited this post to be less incendiary and more respectful of the opposing viewpoint. 
We’ve been waiting, with bated breath, for an announcement from Dominion Energy that their $4 billion LNG export terminal is finally (finally!) up and running and shipping out condensed Marcellus/Utica Shale gas as LNG, heading to Japan and India. In April of last year, Dominion said the plant would be up and running, shipping LNG to India beginning this month (see 
We now have confirmation from the Russians themselves that the natural gas shipment on its way to Boston we alerted you to a few days ago is, indeed, Russian gas from the Yamal LNG plant, located in the Russian Arctic (see 
This is so wrong on so many levels. Our blood pressure went through the roof when we spotted a story that a shipload of Russian-produced LNG (liquefied natural gas) is almost certainly coming to Boston and will be delivered on Jan. 22nd. We suspect it may be an illegal shipment. Here’s what happened. The LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie loaded a shipment of LNG at Russia’s Yamal LNG plant–in the Russian Arctic–delivering it to the UK at the Isle of Grain terminal in Kent. The LNG was offloaded and stored, but not pumped into the UK grid. Instead, officials said the LNG would be resold to a higher paying customer. A few days later the tanker Gaselys loaded LNG from the same terminal in Kent. While those who own the shipment won’t say, it’s almost certain the LNG they loaded was the very same LNG unloaded a few days prior–from Russia. Gaselys is coming to America–to unload the Russian LNG in Boston, because New England is natural gas starved at the moment due to the ongoing cold snap. Why not just bypass the unloading/reloading process and ship direct to the U.S.? Because the U.S. slapped the Yamal LNG plant with sanctions following Russia’s moves against the Ukraine. It’s illegal to receive gas produced from that plant. So the people involved “whitewashed” the gas by unloading in Kent, and then pretending they’ve reloaded different gas molecules from the same facility. It’s a farce. Fake. Fraud. The gas coming to Boston is Russian gas. The reason New England needs gas so bad is because of their elected leaders, like Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren–both of whom adamantly oppose new natural gas pipeline projects in their state that would deliver cheap Marcellus/Utica gas to the region. Massachusetts residents should rise up against Healey and Warren for their actions which now mean New England is paying our ENEMIES for natural gas. How screwed up is that?…
For months Dominion’s top brass has signaled that the country’s newest LNG export facility, Cove Point (situated along the coast of Maryland), would begin full commercial operations “by the end of this year” (see 
We have to confess, the LNG (liquefied natural gas) world is sometimes confusing for us. The overall theory is pretty simple. Huge plants super-cool natural gas into a liquid state (called liquefaction) and load it onto tankers. The tankers (typically ships, sometimes rail) convey the LNG to a distant port somewhere and it’s unloaded. At the receiving end, the gas is then reheated back into a gaseous state (called regasification). However, the technology that both cools and reheats the gas is complex. Dominion began working on the Cove Point LNG export plant in October 2014 (see 
The GECF (Gas Exporting Countries Forum) has just released its latest annual report, titled “2017 Global Gas Outlook” (full copy below). The report is remarkable for its prediction that by 2040 demand for natural gas across the globe will increase 53% from what it is today. Staggering! What’s even more remarkable is that the GECF is largely made up of oil producing/exporting countries–including Algeria, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. For oil countries to say gas is on fire and going through the roof–now that’s news! Even though these countries secretly hate the U.S. and its abundant shale reserves, they put on a good public face. GECF’s secretary general, Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli, said this about American shale gas: “The growth of shale is good because more gas will contribute to the penetration of gas worldwide.” Er, right. Whatever you say, Seyed. Here’s an overview of the report, followed by a copy of the full report…
Last week MDN’s favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, posted an article about the increase in LNG exports from the United States. The article highlighted the one existing and five forthcoming LNG export facilities that are changing the world energy picture by exporting (literally) boatloads American natural gas. The existing, going-full-bore LNG export plant is Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass plant, located on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Two of the five forthcoming plants (Cove Point and Elba Island) are located on the East Coast–Maryland and Georgia respectively. Cove Point is due to begin exports this month (see 
Dominion announced yesterday it has introduced “feed gas” into it’s new $4 billion LNG export plant in Cove Point, Maryland. Feed gas is used for testing purposes and is the final step before the plant goes online into full production later this month. Dominion said the feed gas will come from Shell, and Shell will take delivery of the LNG that results. Following the test, Marcellus/Utica gas will begin flowing to the plant and the LNG produced will begin shipping to Japan and India. We are on the cusp of something we’ve waited for, cheered for, and agonized over for more than three years. Think of the Shell’s feed gas as the dress rehearsal the night before a play opens…
Earlier this year Xpress Natural Gas (XNG) spent $18.6 million to build a “virtual pipeline” facility in Susquehanna County, PA that employs ~90 people and loads up to 100 compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker trucks each day with PA Marcellus gas, for deliveries to customers across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states (see 
Black & Veatch, a leading engineering, consulting and construction company, released their “2017 Strategic Directions: Natural Gas Industry Report” earlier this week (full copy below). In the report, B&V examines how organizations are planning for long-term, sustainable operations that can handle rising supplies and deliver those supplies to markets eager to use natural gas as a cheaper and cleaner power generation source. The report finds that LNG (liquefied natural gas) is key in shifting oversupply from countries like the U.S. to growing demand centers in Asia, Latin America, India and Sub-Saharan Africa. The report emphasizes calls from the industry to fund infrastructure investments to enable increased LNG imports and exports, including floating LNG (FLNG) and natural gas-based power generating plants. There is no doubt, according to the report, that the U.S. is now in the driver’s seat with respect to LNG. Below is a summary of the key points, followed by the full report…
Yesterday a three-judge panel from the US District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out the Sierra Club’s petitions challenging Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization of three LNG export projects: Dominion Energy’s Cove Point LNG in Maryland, Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG in Louisiana, and Cheniere’s Corpus Christi LNG in Texas. As we said in a post on Oct. 3rd: “The Sierra Club lawsuit against all three projects challenges FERC’s approval of them, arguing the plants negatively affect the environment and will make Mom Earth sick. While no one expects these lawsuits to go anywhere, you never know, which is why it’s important to keep an eye on it” (see