Natural Gas Daily: September 7th, 2020

Oz NWS Project to See 7mn mt/yr Spare Capacity: WoodMac

Woodside-operated North West Shelf (NWS) LNG project could have up to 7mn metric tons/year of spare capacity available by 2027, according to a Wood Mackenzie note. This equates to 40% of the project's nominal capacity.

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• The Scarborough and Browse developments, both operated by Woodside, are the most likely backfill options due to their size, WoodMac said, adding that other possible candidates, such as Clio-Acme, or excess gas from Greater Gorgon field development, now look unlikely. 

Sinopec Awards 10-Year LNG Tender to Qatargas: Press

China's Sinopec has selected Qatari LNG exporter Qatargas as the winner of a tender for 1mn mt/yr of LNG supply over a 10-year period starting in 2023, Reuters reported on September 4 citing sources.

• Qatar touts itself as the world's lowest-cost LNG exporter, giving it greater room to outbid its competitors.

• It is looking to drive home its advantage by expanding its liquefaction capacity from 77mn mt/yr at present to 110mn mt/yr by 2025 and 126mn mt/yr by the late 2020s.

Chinese Gas Imports up 3% in Jan-Aug

Chinese gas imports via pipeline and in the form of LNG were up 3.3% yr/yr in the first eight months of the year, marking a significant slowdown in growth as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on demand.

• In contrast, Chinese gas imports surged 10.3% yr/yr in the first eight months of 2019.

Oz East Coast LNG Exports in Aug Down 7%

LNG exports from projects located on the Australian east coast stood at 1.67mn metric tons in August, down 7.2% yr/yr, according to data published by Gladstone Ports Corporation. Exports were unchanged month on month.

• The three LNG export projects – the ConocoPhillips-Origin Energy Australia Pacific LNG, Shell’s Queensland Curtis LNG, and the Santos-led Gladstone LNG – shipped 1.23mn mt of LNG to China last month compared with 1.44mn mt in the same month of last year. 

Europe to See $35bn in CCS Spending Till 2035: Rystad

The development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has reached the point where large-scale projects make financial sense and this could trigger up to $35bn in development spending between now and 2035, Oslo-based Rystad Energy said in a report.

• "For CCS to have a significant future, it’s therefore important that Northern Lights and Acorn run through their pilot stages to show that this can be a proven technology," Rystad's head of energy service research, Audun Martinsen, said.

GE & Partner to Supply 6.5 GW of Gas Gen in Taiwan

General Electric (GE) and Taiwanese contractor CTCI Corp have won a contract to provide five combined-cycle gas-fired power generating units with a combined capacity of 6,500 GW for two power plants in Taiwan.

• The new units are due to come online in phases from 2024, helping Taiwan reach its goal of expanding the share of gas in its power mix to 50% by 2025.