Page 18 - GLNG Week 41

GLNG ASIA GLNG

PipeChina reveals LNG regasification

tariffs, spare capacity

PROJECTS & STATE-OWNED China Oil and Gas Pipeline National Council for Social Security Fund,
COMPANIES Network (PipeChina) has reportedly revealed China Insurance Investment Fund, CIC Inter-
both regasification tariffs and November-De- national and Silk Road Fund.
cember spare capacity for six of its LNG Argus reported that PetroChina affiliate Kun-
terminals. lun Energy was expected to transfer two LNG
The utility intends to charge CNY0.18-0.312 terminals, one of which is operational and the
($0.027-0.046) per cubic metre for regasification other still under construction, to PipeChina. It
services at the Beihai, Diefu, Tianjin, Fangcheng- is not clear when the transfer will be finalised,
gang, Yuedong and Hainan terminals, Argus however.
Media reported on October 15. Of the eight ter- PipeChina was born out of a government
minals PipeChina currently owns, two facilities desire to unify the country’s midstream assets
remain under construction. under a single operator, boosting third-party
PipeChina is also understood to be offering access (TPA) to both oil and gas infrastructure.
1.09mn tonnes of spare receiving capacity in This was intended to boost access to import
November and 1.05mn tonnes in December infrastructure, while also making it easier for
across the six terminals. private upstream players to establish themselves.
The news follows PipeChina’s launch on China launched a five-year TPA trial scheme
October 1, following the company’s signing of in 2014, under which operators of pipelines and
asset transfer agreements with its nine share- associated facilities were expected to provide
holders on September 30. access to networks’ “surplus capacity”. Service
The deeds handed over control of oil and contracts were to be awarded on a non-discrim-
gas pipelines, storage facilities and personnel inatory “first come, first served” basis.
from PetroChina, Sinopec and China National But TPA failed to gain much traction during
Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), which now own the trail, owing to issues such as the fact that “sur-
29.9%, 14% and 2.9% of the midstream operator plus capacity” was not clearly defined and there
respectively. The Big Three agreed in July to sell was no official agency to provide an interpreta-
their midstream assets, with the facilities valued tion. As such, the government announced plans
at the time at CNY391.4bn ($58.17bn). in March 2019 to launch an independent mid-
Other PipeChina shareholders include China stream operator, before unveiling PipeChina in
Chengtong Holdings, China Reform Holdings, December 2019.™

EUROPE

France to phase out oil, gas export guarantees

POLICY THE French government is looking to rein in the end-date in the future.
state export guarantees for fossil fuel production The government has provided guarantees for
projects, its finance ministry said in a proposal to some €4.5bn ($5.3bn) of fossil fuel-related pro-
Parliament on October 13. jects over the past 10 years, of which 60% is still
Guarantees, which reduce risks for French outstanding.
companies and commercial banks in export French oil giant Total is a major investor
transactions, will no longer be provided for the in global gas. In a strategy presented earlier
dirtiest forms of oil, including heavy oil, shale this month, the company said it would seek to
oil and bitumen oil sands, starting next year, the double its LNG sales within a decade to 70mn
ministry said. France stopped issuing guaran- tonnes per year (tpy) by 2030. It is involved
tees for projects that use hydraulic fracturing or in three sanctioned liquefaction projects due
flaring this year, and earlier called time on coal online in 2023-2024 – the Novatek-operated
as well. Arctic LNG-2 in Russia, its own Mozambique
Gas projects will be safe for now, with guar- LNG venture and a seventh train at Nigeria
antees continuing to be offered until 2035. The LNG.
ministry justified this delay by saying the fuel The company is looking to liquefy additional
would help coal-reliant economies scale down gas in Mozambique, in the US and Papua New
their emissions. But it said it might bring forward Guinea.™

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 41 16•October•2020