Page 9 - GLNG Week 02 2022

GLNG ASIA GLNG

Japex buys into Vietnamese LNG project

INVESTMENT JAPAN Petroleum Exploration (Japex) will par- The initial phase of the project will include
ticipate in an LNG project in Northern Vietnam construction of a 50,000 cubic metre LNG stor-
after signing a share purchase agreement with age tank and associated jetty facilities capable of
Iteco, the project’s promoter, in late December. handling throughput volumes of up to 650,000
The Japanese company said on January 11 tonnes per year (tpy) of the super-chilled fuel.
that it would now proceed with the share acquisi- A subsequent expansion will see an additional
tion process for the project, which will be located 30,000 cubic metre storage tank built in the sec-
in the Nam Dinh Vu Industrial Park in Hai ond half of this decade.
Phong City. The LNG import facility that will be Japex operates the main LNG import in
Vietnam is set to begin built as part of the scheme will be known as the Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture and the partners
importing LNG later this Northern Vietnam LNG terminal. The project hope that its LNG expertise can help ensure the
year. was approved by the Vietnamese government success of the Northern Vietnam LNG termi-
for addition to its Gas Industry Development nal. The company stated that it would respond
Master Plan in February 2020. to demand for natural gas and LNG, as energy
A final investment decision (FID) on the sources with a lower environmental impact, both
terminal has yet to be reached, and Japex said in Japan and abroad, harnessing its capabilities in
the project partners were working to achieve it areas such as LNG terminal operations and gas
in the second half of 2022. If this takes place as supply chain establishment.
scheduled, the facility would then be anticipated Vietnam is set to begin importing LNG later
to enter service in 2025. According to Japex, Iteco this year, and has several proposed terminals at
is “currently moving forward” with discussions various stages of development, though not all
on LNG procurement, offtake and distribution. will be built.™

EUROPE

European gas prices ease

back from record highs

PERFORMANCE EUROPEAN gas prices have remained volatile In recent days, major European capitals such
in January so far, but they have eased back from as London, Berlin and Paris have enjoyed spring-
record highs in late December as relatively mild like weather. Bloomberg estimates that on New
weather sweeping the continent has alleviated Year’s Eve, the mean temperature in north-west
fears of shortages. Europe was almost 12 degrees Celsius, about 9
Spot prices at the Dutch TTF hub soared degrees above the 30-year average. Some cities
on December 21 following the flow reversal of were even warmer, with Zurich and Frankfurt
the Yamal-Europe pipeline that normally sends registering a temperature of 13 degrees Celsius.
Russian gas westwards to Europe and the arrival Prices have also fallen recently as US LNG
of colder weather. But temperatures have since exports have risen to a record high. The US
warmed, however, and Europe has begun rein- replaced Qatar as the world’s top LNG exporter
jecting gas back into storage. for the very first time in December, and expec-
The February gas delivery contract at the TTF tations are that it will retain the top spot over
hub ended on January 7 at €83.4 ($95) per MWh, the coming years, at least until Qatar brings on
which though still uncomfortably high for gas stream the next phase of its giant North Field
buyers reliant on stock volumes, was down from LNG development.
€180 per MWh on December 21. Gas is once Certainly, the European gas market is in a far
again being taken out of storage, but at a slower more stable state than it was a few weeks ago. But
rate than during much of December. Data pub- it is not out of the woods just yet. Temperatures
lished by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows are expected to drop to typical seasonal levels in
that EU and UK gas storage facilities were 55% the coming days, which could trigger a rebound
full on January 7. Again, this is less than the usual in gas prices depending on supply levels. Mean-
amount for this time of year, but more than dire while, Russian deliveries remain constrained, for
predictions had suggested. unknown reasons.™

Week 02 14•January•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9