Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 50

AsiaElec GAS-FIRED GENERATION AsiaElec
Report: Singapore’s LNG imports to more than triple by 2028
SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE’S imports of LNG are forecast to more than triple by 2028, according to a new report by Fitch Solutions. Imports of the super- chilled fuel are also set to displace pipeline gas imports by 2026, the report said.
This comes as Singapore’s government pro- motes the use of LNG for both power generation and shipping, as part of a broader push for the use of natural gas to meet the country’s goals for emissions cuts and decarbonisation.
Indeed, Singapore’s power sector has already increased gas-fired generation capacity to account for 97% of its overall generation mix. The sector is predominantly anticipated to source its gas from LNG imports.
Meanwhile, the shipping industry is prepar- ing for the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) 2020 rules to be implemented on January 1, 2020.
These rules are seeking to cut sulphur emis- sions from fuel used by the shipping sector to 0.5%, from 3.5% permitted currently. While
there are several obstacles to converting ves- sels to burn LNG instead of fuel oil, the loom- ing implementation of the new regulations has nonetheless encouraged many in the shipping industry to turn to LNG.
“Amongst Asia’s net LNG importers, Sin- gapore’s LNG uptake growth will be the most robust, surpassing the likes of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan,” the Fitch report stated.
Singapore is planning to build a new floating regasification plant in the next 10 years as it pre- pares to accommodate its rising imports of LNG. It is one of a number of Asian countries turning increasingly to floating infrastructure.
According to data from Singapore’s Energy Market Authority, the country imported 9.96mn tonnes of oil equivalent of natural gas in 2018, of which 71.4% was pipeline gas from Indone- sia and Malaysia, while 28.6% was LNG. This already marks an increase, as the share of LNG in Singapore’s gas demand was at around 11% in 2013.TM™
GRID
China’s State Grid acquires
49% of Oman Power
Network
State Grid Corp. of China, the largest utility company in the world and the country’s main power distributor, agreed to buy 49% of Oman Electricity Transmission Co., a state-owned power transmission company in the Middle Eastern country.
State Grid and Electricity Holding Co., which is also known as Nama Holding and owner of Oman Electricity Transmission, signed an agreement on the deal Sunday.
State Grid did not disclose the value of the transaction, but a statement posted by Electricity Holding on Twitter said the deal was worth around $1bn.
State Grid is among a number of Chinese power companies that have recently stepped up efforts to expand their business presence abroad. Earlier this month, a consortium of
NEWS IN BRIEF
Chinese companies led by China Huadian Corp. was reportedly in talks to acquire
a controlling stake in Argentine power generator Stoneway Group LP.
The deal is the single biggest investment in Oman by a Chinese company. It is also the first major privatization by the Middle East’s largest non-OPEC oil producer.
“Through this privatization program, Nama Holding will support the government’s objectives of attracting foreign direct investments into the country and promoting private-sector participation as part of the wider nation-building process,” Electricity Holding said on Twitter.
The investment also marked another State Grid foray into a foreign market, following deals in Italy, Portugal, Greece, Australia
and Brazil, among others. The company recently concluded an acquisition of some of the Chilean businesses of US-based Sempra Energy, valued at more than $2bn.
In September, Sempra said it would sell its Peruvian businesses to a unit of China Yangtze Power Co for $3.6bn, Reuters reported.
COAL-FIRED GENERATION
Oracle Power forges joint
development agreement for
Pakistan project
Oracle Power said it had signed a joint development agreement for a coal-fired power project in Pakistan with the private office of HH Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Juma Al Maktoum and China National Coal Development Company.
The signing came after the company’s announcement in November detailing
that its flagship project had been included in a proposed new initiative between the governments of Pakistan and China, with respect to gasification of coal into fertiliser.
The project was also enshrined within the intra-government initiatives under the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The new initiative ran in parallel to Oracle Power’s remaining long-term plan to construct and operate a mine-mouth power
Week 50 18•December•2019
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
P9