Page 8 - GLNG Week 25

GLNG asia GLNG
Hong Kong power utilities lock in long-term LNG supply
PRojECts & CoMPaniEs
HoNG Kong Electric (HK Electric) and Castle Peak Power Co. (CAPCo) have signed two deals covering both long-term supplies for their Hong Kong o shore LNG terminal project as well as its regasi cation infrastructure.
e two Hong Kong-based power utilities said on June 21 that they had signed a long-term supply agreement with Royal dutch Shell. Shell Eastern Trading will deliver the supplies to the Hong Kong o shore LNG terminal once it has been completed.
While the LNG supplies will come from Shell’s global portfolio, no further details were provided. Reuters suggested that the super-ma- jor might supply 1.2m tonnes per year (t/y) for 10 years from 2020, referring to unnamed indus- try reports cited in one of its own reports from March 2018.
e power companies, meanwhile, said in a separate statement that they had reached a long- term charter agreement with Japan’s Mitsui oSK Lines (MoL) for the Challenger oating storage and regasi cation unit (FSRU). e FSRU, which can store up to 263,000 cubic metres of LNG, will supply natural gas to HK Electric and CAPCo’s
thermal power plants (TPPs) via two separate subsea pipelines. MoL will operate and main- tain both the FSRU and a jetty and will provide port services.
CAPCo is a joint venture of CLP Power Hong Kong and China Southern Power Grid Interna- tional), which is in turn a wholly owned subsidi- ary of China Southern Power Grid.
Following the lead of mainland China’s cen- tral government, Hong Kong is pushing for greater use of gas in its primary energy mix. e city government wants to li gas’ share of the power mix from 22% as of 2012 to about 50% by 2020. Hong Kong’s current power plants use coal or gas imported from the international market or from the mainland.
“ e FSRU vessel, together with the jetty and submarine pipelines, will enable us to have access to diverse gas sources for cost-competitive LNG supplies,” HK Electric managing director Wan Chi-tin said. “ e new LNG terminal project will provide HK Electric with greater exibility and a new channel for Lamma Power Station to obtain natural gas, easing the pressing need to enhance the security of gas supply.”™
LNG import volumes to Asia fall in first five months
PERfoRManCE
ASIA’S top three importers, Japan, China and South Korea, imported 12.97mn tonnes of LNG in May, data from the three states show. is is down marginally from the 13.33mn tonnes imported in the same month of 2018. e total imported over the rst ve months of the year by the three countries reached 74.04mn tonnes, down from 75.41mn tonnes in the same period of 2018.
The cost of imports in May was $6.16bn, down from $6.55bn year on year. e total cost over the January to May period was $39.9bn, up from $35.78bn.
Japan imported 5.57mn tonnes in May, down from 6.41mn tonnes in 2018. e coun- try’s customs data reveal that 131,000 tonnes came from the US, 1.37mn tonnes came from Asian states, 793,000 tonnes from the Mid- dle East and 534,000 tonnes from Russia.
Asian, US and Middle Eastern supplies were down from the previous month, while Russia increased volumes.
Volumes from the Middle East made a sig- nificant decrease from May 2018, when sup- plies were 1.44mn tonnes. during the rst ve months of 2018, this area provided 7.94mn tonnes to Japan, but had fallen to 6.09mn in the same period of 2019.
China imported 4.43mn tonnes in May, according to its customs data, released this week. is is an increase from 2018, when it received 4.15mn tonnes in May, and from 2017, when it received 2.91mn tonnes.
Every month this year has seen China import more LNG than it did in the respective month in 2018. e total volume in 2019, thus far, reached 23.96mn tonnes, from 19.96mn tonnes in 2018.
South Korea imported 2.97mn tonnes in
P8
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 25 27•June•2019