Page 9 - GLNG Week 06

GLNG EUROPE GLNG
Montenegro considers LNG hub status
INVESTMENT
Caption Caption Caption Caption Caption Caption Caption Caption
THE Montenegrin port of Bar is interested in building a terminal to import US LNG, its direc- tor, Vladan Vucelic, told local press on February 12, after energy officials from Washington visited the site earlier this month for talks.
The US Department of Energy’s (DoE) assis- tant secretary for fossil fuels, Steven Winberg, toured the Adriatic port on February 6 to dis- cuss US LNG imports, Vucelic said, according to a media interview shared on the port’s website.
“That port is ideally positioned to accept LNG and would be a hub from which to trans- port liquefied gas to other countries; it is a deep- water port and can accommodate ships coming from the United States,” Winberg said in a video uploaded by Montenegrin public broadcaster RTCG on February 10. “Whenever you have a new energy source, it creates energy stability and security.”
Montenegro lacks a gas grid, relying instead on coal and hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) to cover its electricity and heating needs. The proposed Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) is due to run through the country, however, providing itwithaccesstoAzerigasfromtheSouthernGas
Corridor (SGC), and LNG imported at a termi- nal being built in Croatia.
IAP has been under discussion for more than a decade and it still has not been sanctioned. Similarly, there is no firm plan in place for Mon- tenegro’s regasification. The country cannot become a hub for LNG imports unless these projects materialise.
The US expanded LNG exports to Europe to a record 18.3bn cubic metres last year, up from 3.7 bcm in 2018. Washington now wants to establish a beachhead for US gas in South-East Europe – a region heavily dependence on supplies from Russia.
Croatia and Greece are also advancing new LNG projects. The US wants to work with these two countries, Montenegro and others in Eastern Europe to develop the region’s gas infrastructure. In late January, the United States Energy Associ- ation (USEA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a memorandum with 10 Eastern European coun- tries on this initiative, which has the objective of “facilitating the creation of a regional gas market withpotentialforUSdeliveries.”™
Construction of first Arctic LNG-2 carriers clear to begin
PIPELINES & TRANSPORT
CONSTRUCTION of the first four LNG carri- ers needed for Novatek’s Arctic LNG-2 project is now clear to begin, after a long-awaited financ- ing deal was reached last week.
SMART LNG, a joint venture between Novatek and Russian shipping group Sovcom- flot, has signed a lease financing agreement for the vessels with state development bank VEB.RF, Sovcomflot reported on February 7.
VEB.RF placed an order for the ships in November last year at the Zvezda shipyard in the Far East, managed by a joint venture between Rosneft and Gazprombank. The bank confirmed in its own statement it had transferred the first tranche of payment for the vessels to Zvezda. SMART LNG has also signed long-term con- tracts to lease out the vessels to the Arctic LNG-2 operating company.
Arctic LNG-2 is Novatek’s next major LNG export project, following the launch of Yamal LNG in December 2017. It is slated to start up in 2023 and produce up to 19.8mn tonnes per
year (tpy) of LNG at peak capacity. Novatek’s partners in the venture are France’s Total, Chi- na’s CNPC and CNOOC Ltd., and Japan’s Mitsui and JOGMEC.
The terminal will require a fleet of 15 Arc7- class LNG carriers, capable of breaking through ice along Russia’s Northern Sea Route to deliver its super-chilled gas to Asian and European
Week 06 13•February•2020 w w w. N E W S B A S E . c o m P9