Natural Gas NEWS

The CEOs of Saudi Aramco and ADNOC have signed a strategic framework agreement on Monday for creating opportunities of cooperation in natural gas and LNG sector. Under this, both the companies will function together to assess investment opportunities in these sectors, and exchange knowledge in the growth markets. ADNOC’s CEO said “Increased cooperation between ADNOC and Saudi Aramco will ensure greater energy security and long-term economic prosperity for both nations,”

On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) informed that by 2030, natural gas might become the second largest energy source overtaking coal. The reasons behind this huge change would be an urge to bring down the air pollution and rise in the use of LNG. The organization also mentioned in its World Energy Outlook 2018 that the energy demand will jump more than a quarter between 2017 and 2040.

According to the source, SOCAR Turkey, the state oil company of Azerbaijan, is planning an acquisition in natural gas distribution in 2019. For this, the company has made an offer to EWE, the German energy company. Feasibility assessment has been completed by SOCAR in order to invest in the second petrochemical facility, informed the Chief External Affairs Officer, Murat LeCompte.

India’s biggest city gas retailer, Indraprastha gas Limited (IGL) is planning to set-up over 60 CNG stations across the country. IGL MD said that the firm has adopted a dealer-franchise model to rapidly expand the network. IGL currently runs 452 CNG stations in different cities of India. The government is insistent on increasing the stakes of natural gas in the country's energy basket to 15%.

The newly established government of Pakistan yesterday elevated natural gas prices by 20%. Regarding it as a tough decision, Petroleum Minister Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar stated that the decision will enable Pakistan to bridge a 152 billion rupee deficit for the two main suppliers - Sui Northern and Sui Southern. The minister held the previous government of now-jailed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accountable for the huge deficit.

After Vedanta announced its discovery of natural gas block in Krishna Godavari basin, the shares of the natural resource giant of the nation increased by 4% on Friday. There was a 4.3% hike in stock which went on to hit a high of Rs 233.40 on the BSE. Vedanta informed about the discovery of gas in its KG-OSN-2009-3 block in which it has 100% participatory interest.

India's natural resources giant, Vedanta Ltd., announced a gas discovery in its block KG-OSN-2009-3, in the Krishna Godavari basin. Vedanta said that the authorities, oil ministry and Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, have been provided all the information regarding this discovery. The company has 100% participatory interest on the block. Earlier this month, ONGC also informed about its discoveries in MP and West Bengal.

After BP, oil giant ExxonMobil has now entered into an agreement with the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. for the Alaska North Slope natural gas sale. The sale will be to a state-sanctioned corporation who wants to build a LNG project worth $34 billion, including 800-mile pipeline. Currently, Alaska Gasline is negotiating with ConocoPhillips for the same. These three oil majors are intended to be a part of this project.

Total signed an agreement with Iran in 2017 for the development of phase II of the South Pars natural gas field. But Total decided to leave the project midway after not being able to obtain waiver from restored US sanctions. Oil Minister of Iran commented that the money invested by Total will be reimbursed only after the phase II of the multibillion-dollar project will become functional.

CEO of Poland’s gas company, PGNiG, informed that the company will spend over $2 billion on distribution network by 2022. The decision of shareholders to invest in dividends has influenced this plan of expansion, he said. The company has decided to invest half of the profits of 2017 on dividends. PGNiG in the recent quarter reported a 41% hike in its net profit compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Gazprom, gas giant of Russia announced its Q2 report. The company’s profit surged and jumped to $3.8 billion. The numbers of the company beat all the expectations of the analysts. Gazprom gained profits from the increasing fuel prices. The shares of gas major increased by 1.1%. Gazprom has shipped over 101 billion cubic meters of natural gas to EU and accounted for 34% share in the gas market of Europe.

In its last attempt to save the company from splitting, GAIL India will launch its new portal tomorrow allowing anyone to hire its pipeline network for natural gas transportation. The Oil Ministry in January considered dividing the company, one for transportation and other for marketing in order to avoid any internal conflicts. According to the sources, GAIL has been accused of denying access to its 11,000-kilometer pipeline network.

The latest monthly statistical report coming from American Petroleum Institute (API) showed record 4.4 MMbpd productions of natural gas liquids (NGL) in US, last month. US also leveled the previously set record for crude oil production at 10.7 MMbpd. Solid economic activities in July drove the demand for US petroleum to 20.6 MMbpd, which is its highest level in 11 years.

Norwegian state-owned Gassco has entered into an agreement deploy eVision’s proprietary solutions software across its North Sea assets. eVision’s software solutions, Permit Vision and ShiftVision, are designed to enable smooth integration into Gassco’s digital ecosystem. This will enable the natural gas pipeline operator to have an updated overview of operations across the six assets.

In an attempt to expand the energy cooperation, Tanzania is seeking to build a pipeline to pump natural gas to the neighboring country, Uganda. The pipeline will start from Tanzanian capital and will pass through Mwanza before crossing Uganda border, informed TPDC. The Tanzanian state-run firm is also considering hiring a contractor for the study of natural gas demand and that will help in establishing an economical pipeline route.

The Egyptian Cabinet decided last week to elevate the price of natural gas by 75% in August. The gas consumption between 30-60 cubic meters has been increased by 42.8% and consumption of more than 60 cubic meters has gone up by 33.3%. The surge in prices has raised concerns as LPG cylinders and natural gas is the main source of fuel for 75% of the Egyptian households.

A joint venture between Petrofac and Turkish Standard Institutions (TSE) bagged a multi-million dollar Project Management Consultancy (PMC) contract, for a period of three years. The contract pertains to support the BOTAS North Marmara Underground Gas Storage Expansion Project in Turkey. The scope of the contract includes detailed design, engineering, procurement, construction, drilling and decommissioning, along with commissioning and start-up activities.

Canadian energy major, TransCanada, yesterday, kick-started a 560-km long Topolobampo natural gas pipeline in Northern Mexico. The $1.2 bn-pipeline will facilitate in upstream interconnection with the Mazatlan pipeline of TransCanada. The supply capacity of the Topolobampo pipeline will be of 670 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.