Page 6 - AfrOil Week 38

AfrOil NEWSBASE’S ROUNDUP GLOBAL (NRG) AfrOil

NRG: Steps being taken

in several directions

Prices and environmental pressures are driving some of the activity

in the industry, but exploration work continues in multiple regions

COMMENTARY WELCOME to the latest edition of NewsBase’s to 5.84mn tonnes, cheaper supplies of the fuel
Roundup Global (NRG), in which our team of prevented a steeper decline. The country paid
international editors provide you with a snap- JPY190.9bn ($1.83bn) for its LNG deliveries last
shot of some of the key issues affecting their month, which was 44% less than in August 2019.
regional beats. Get the NRG Oil & Gas Editor’s August volumes were also down 3.3% from
Picks to your inbox every week for free. Just sign the 6.04mn tonnes imported in July. Deliveries
up here. in the first eight months of the year amounted to
In this week’s NRG our editors highlight vari- 48.2mn tonnes, around JPY2.3 trillion ($22.01bn).
ous steps which are being considered or taken in While industrial gas demand remains subdued
response to price or environmental pressures. Car- in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan-
bon-neutral LNG and CNG (compressed natural demic, demand from the power sector picked up
gas) may well be a sign of the future, although in as the economics of LNG over coal-fired genera-
Japan’s case they compete with the restart of nuclear tion improved. Japanese thermal coal shipments
production. An overhaul to Russia’s oil tax regime contracted by 12% y/y in August to 7.9mn tonnes,
will also be one to watch. Meanwhile, exploration according to provisional Finance Ministry data.
moves in Alaska and the Middle East feature, as The uptick in last month’s power demand, owing
does deal-making in the North Sea, the potential to a summer heat wave, is not expected to translate
of modular refineries in Nigeria and a twist in the into lasting support for LNG purchases, however.
situation in Venezuela.. Japanese power and gas utilities’ high commit-
ment to long-term volumes is likely to stifle buyer
Asia: Japan’s LNG imports shrink interest for additional volumes even if winter tem-
While Japan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) peratures are colder than expected, Platts quoted
imports shrank by 4.1% year on year in August unnamed market sources as saying in late August.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 38 23•September•2020