Page 10 - Euroil Week 45 2019

EurOil INVESTMENT EurOil
Finland’s Gasum builds up LNG footprint
FINLAND
Gasum is moving into LNG bunkering in the Nordic region.
FINLAND’S Gasum has taken a further step in growing its international LNG business, agree- ing to acquire the LNG and marine bunkering business of Germany’s Linde in Norway and Sweden.
The assets Gasum is buying include an LNG liquefaction plant, two LNG terminals, two LNG bunkering vessels, and 48 gas filling sta- tions, which it said would generate EUR100mn ($110mn) in annual revenues.
Gasum said the purchase would help it build up its operations in the Nordic gas mar- ket, expanding its product range for industrial, maritime and road transport customers that are looking to use LNG as a cleaner alternative to heavier carbon fuels.
“The acquisition of AGA’s Clean Energy and Nauticor’s Marine Bunerking businesses is an integral part of our growth strategy, Gasum CEO Johanna Lamminen said. “[It] enables Gasum to supply and to ensure the availability of a compet- itive, low-emission form of energy to meet the
demands of industrial, maritime and road trans- port customers in the Nordic countries.”
Gasum is set to relinquish control of Finland’s gas transmission system next year through an unbundling process mandated by the EU. It is looking to bolster its international presence to offset the loss of this business.
LNG marine bunkering is a particular focus for Gasum. The company currently operates two bunkering vessels, and over the summer, it commissioned with Finnish partners a new LNG import terminal in Tornio equipped with LNG refuelling stations – a project which it said was a response to growing demand for LNG in the Nordic region.
The use of LNG in marine bunkering is on the rise, as shipowners look to reduce their emis- sions because of tougher International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standards coming into force next year, as well as pressure from their cli- ents. The Nordic region has the most developed LNG bunkering infrastructure in the world. ™
PERFORMANCE
Romanian fuel, energy imports up in 2019
ROMANIA
Romanian imports
of oil, gas, coal and electricity were all up this year.
ROMANIA has seen its dependency on fuel and energy imports creep up this year, according to preliminary data published by its national statis- tics agency on November 13.
Imports of natural gas soared 83.8% in Janu- ary through September to 1.431mn tonnes of oil equivalent, or 1.66bn cubic metres, the agency said. While demand climbed 7.3% to 7.484mn toe, production dipped 2.3% to 6.052mn toe.
Romania enforced a cap on how much domestic producers could charge for this gas last year, while compelling them to supply more of their output to households and small busi- nesses. This led to some operators scaling back on unprofitable production.
The government is now looking to revoke some of this legislation, following criticism from the gas industry. Austrian-Romanian group OMV Petrom and its US partner ExxonMobil have delayed taking a final investment decision (FID) on their offshore Neptun Deep gas field, citing the market controls. Neptun Deep is to
play a central role in Romania becoming a net exporter of gas in the 2020s.Crude oil imports also rose 3.7% to 6.367mn toe, as consump- tion increased 2.3% to 8.862mn toe and output dropped 1.2% to 2.495mn toe. Similarly, coal deliveries from abroad rose by 19.3% to 512,100 toe, despite a 2.1% dip in demand to 3.317mn toe, as output declined 5.2% to 2.805mn toe.
Romanian electricity consumption fell 3.9% to 48.05 TWh, while generation dropped 7.2% to 44.7 TWh. This led to a surge in imports of 83.1% to 3.35 TWh, while exports shrank 40.7% to 2.58 TWh.
Wind and solar output in Romania in the nine-month period was up 4.2% at 4.89 TWh and up 3.1% at 3.35 TWh respectively. But thermal power plants – the country’s largest source of electricity – saw output slide 9.1% to 17.2 TWh. Romania’s sole nuclear power plant (NPP) at Cernavoda also scaled back generation by 1.4% to 8.21 TWh, while hydroelectric output declined 12.7% to 12.93 TWh.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 45 14•November•2019