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FSU: Nord Stream 2 movement LNG: Haiphong project approved
The Akademik Cherskiy, a Russian pipelaying Authorities representing the Vietnamese port
vessel that Gazprom is widely expected to use city of Haiphong have approved an LNG import
to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Ger- terminal that has been proposed by ExxonMobil
many, is on the move after remaining moored at to serve as part of a $5.1bn gas-to-power project.
the German port of Mukran for months. On the same day, the Haiphong People’s Com-
The vessel has moved into open waters in mittee also gave the green light to another LNG-
the Baltic Sea, ship-tracking data from Marine to-power project that is estimated to carry a price
Traffic and Vesselfinder show, but its current tag of $1.9bn.
destination is not disclosed. Its current speed The approvals come as a growing number of
is minimal. Fortuna, another Russian-flagged Asian countries are building new LNG import
vessel anticipated to provide Cherskiy with sup- capacity in order to meet rising demand for nat-
port, moved from the German ports of Rostock ural gas and lessen their dependence on more
to Wismar on September 29-30. polluting fuel such as coal. Indeed, the Institute
Work on Nord Stream 2, which will carry of Energy of Vietnam is in the process of draft-
up to 55bn cubic metres per year of Russian gas ing a new master power development plan. It has
to northern Germany, was halted in December compiled a list of 22 potential LNG-to-power
2019 after the US imposed sanctions on the projects with a combined capacity of up to 108.5
project. This forced Swiss contractor Allseas to GW, the first of which is anticipated to enter ser- The EC strategy’s
abandon pipelaying, leaving just 6% of Nord vice by 2023. priority is the
Stream 2’s offshore section uncompleted. The ExxonMobil project would begin gener-
The Russian authorities have said they will ating power by 2026-27, with an initial capacity large-scale
use their own pipelaying ships to finish the job, of 2.25 GW that would be expanded to 4.5 GW
although they have not identified specific vessels. by 2029-30. The Vietnamese government said deplloyment
Cherskiy’s departure from Mukran comes earlier this year that LNG for the project could
after the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) on Octo- be imported from the US. Indeed, ExxonMobil of carbon-free
ber 1 issued a permit to the Gazprom-owned is currently building the Golden Pass LNG ter- green hydrogen,
Nord Stream 2 company to operate the pipeline. minal on the US Gulf Coast in partnership with
The DEA awarded a construction permit around Qatar Petroleum (QP). produced from
a year ago, after a lengthy delay. The developer of the other project that was
Russian oil and condensate production approved last week has not been identified. The water using
was up 0.6% month on month in September at Haiphong committee said, however, that the renewable power
9.93mn barrels per day (bpd), preliminary data project would have a capacity of 1.6 GW, and that
from the country’s energy ministry shows. Rus- its first phase would be operational from 2025.
sia’s compliance with its OPEC+ quota is difficult The entire project is then due to be in service
to determine, as that quota only covers oil, but from 2028.
the ministry does not provide a breakdown for
crude and condensate. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Between August and year-end, though, Rus- Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
sia is required to produce no more than 8.993mn NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor .
bpd of oil. Gas extraction was up 7.9% m/m in
September, and condensate flow typically rises Latin America: Golar stumbles in Brazil
and falls depending on output levels. Bermuda-registered Golar Power is already a
player in Brazil’s LNG sector, and it has been
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping trying to expand its footprint in that country by
the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then bidding for the right to operate an underutilised
please click here for NewsBase’s FSU Monitor. LNG import terminal in Bahia State.

Week 40 07•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11