Ghana Sees First LNG Imports Landing in Early 2017

Ghana expects to start importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) early next year, the acting chief executive of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) said on Monday, adding that it was in discussion with a range of traders.

Alex Mould said GNPC is in the market for between 250 million and 500 million standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas per day to be used to help generate power in the West African country.

"GNPC will be buying the LNG from traders, mostly on a short-term basis because there is an abundance of LNG. We are talking to Qatargas, BP, Shell, Woodside, the usual suspects, to enter into some sort of agreement with them," Mould told Reuters at an oil and gas conference in Cape Town.

Two import terminal projects are planned in Ghana.

Norwegian shipping company Golar LNG has already supplied a floating terminal to the Atlantic coast port of Tema but sources said there are logistical issues causing uncertainty over when it will start up.

Imported LNG is to be regasified using a dedicated floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) moored off shore.

"First gas imports are estimated at end of first quarter of next year," Mould said.

He said officials would be viewing the FSRU, built by South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries, in September with "hook-up" plans already in place to help ensure ship-to-ship LNG transfers.

The Ghanaian subsidiary of Quantum Pacific, the industrial investment group owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer, also plans to install a second terminal at Tema.

That terminal was initially due to arrive at the end of 2016, but now looks set to slip into 2017 or 2018 given it still has not secured access to a terminal, industry sources said.

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US Company to Spend More Than $200m to Construct LNG Terminal in Jamaica

American company, New Fortress Energy LLC, will invest more than $200 million to construct a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Jamaica.

The facility is expected to generate more than 200,000 metric tonnes of LNG annually, which will initially be supplied to the domestic market.

There are also plans to expand output for delivery to other Caribbean countries, thereby positioning Jamaica as a regional hub for the supply of LNG.

New Fortress was selected from a list of six entities which submitted bids to supply LNG to power the national energy grid, primarily through the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Old Harbour 190-megawatt gas fired power plant.

Chairman of the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team (ESET) Dr Vincent Lawrence noted that New Fortress was chosen as the developer of Jamaica’s LNG project, as the entity was the most competitive for JPS’ requirements.

“New Fortress was not only the lowest evaluated price for the volumes required by JPS, it clearly demonstrated its commitment and capability to supply gas as scheduled by the detailed engineering studies they had undertaken,” he said.

Lawrence said the terminal, which is to be built, owned and operated by New Fortress, is expected to be completed for commissioning by 2017/2018.

In the meantime, the ESET Chairman further informed that Cabinet, at its meeting on Monday, endorsed the selection of New Fortress for the supply of LNG and the installation of facilities to receive, store and re-gasify the fuel for use at the new Old Harbour plant.

New Fortress Energy supplies energy, logistical services, and financing to end-users seeking to convert their operating assets from diesel or heavy fuel oil to natural gas fuel use, in order to reduce operating costs, increase equipment availability, and enhance their environmental stewardship.

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Russian Port of Ust-Luga Loads 100 Million Tons of Oil Since 2011

The Russian port of Ust-Luga has loaded the 100 millionth ton of oil since the terminal opened in 2011, owner and oil pipeline operator Transneft said.

The thousandth oil tanker was loaded at the terminal this week, when the Greece-flagged crude tanker Delta Victory loaded 100,000 tons of oil, Transneft said in a statement June 6. The Baltic Sea terminal is also the outlet for refined oil products including jet fuel and naphtha and also for the crude that flows through the Baltic Pipeline system BPS-2.

Russia will suspend oil loadings from the ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga due to a storm, Transneft was quoted as saying today.

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DNV GL tests drones and addresses cyber security

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Class society DNV GL recently completed the first production surveys using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone, on board the 2003-built, 24,000 dwt Carl Büttner managed chemical tanker ‘Apollo’ in Bremerhaven.

 

Two DNV GL surveyors used the drone to inspect 14 tanks over a period of two and a half days.

“The advantage of using a drone over conventional staging inside the tank is absolutely clear,” said Jochen Huhn, marine superintendent and chief security officer, Carl Büttner Shipmanagement. “Eliminating the risk of damage to the coating from staging means the drone survey is worth it, even before we factor in the time saved by this method. We were also all very impressed by the quality of the video and the details the drone was able to obtain in the inspection. We would certainly be interested in using this method more in the future and I am interested to see how the technology develops over the next few years.”

“The success of the first drone production survey performed by a classification society shows how our investment in developing modern class solutions to benefit our customers is paying off,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO DNV GL – Maritime. “Over the next few years, we will continue to work on expanding the ways the drones can be used and the number of stations where we can offer this service. This is a very promising beginning and one that is already showing a significant benefit in terms of time and costs saved.”

DNV GL has now carried out several tests using drones for the inspection of cargo tanks or holds in a large oil tanker, a chemical tanker and a bulk carrier, both in Europe and in China.

In another initiative announced at Posidonia, Tsakos has selected DNV GL to assist in preparing a cyber security management system for its fleet and onshore facilities – the first such management system developed by a shipping company in co-operation with DNV GL’s Advisory Services.

The Greek shipping organisation will implement a comprehensive system of safeguards and procedures to protect their assets from cyber risks.

“We wanted to assure our charterers and customers that our systems would be adequately protected from cyber risks by implementing the highest standards of cyber security on board our vessels and on shore. DNV GL’s proactive attitude in addressing such newly arising industry challenges, its clear vision and commitment to the highest standards assists us in achieving this,” said Sokratis Dimakopoulos, deputy managing director of Tsakos Columbia Shipmanagement (TCM), the ship management arm of the Tsakos Group.

Recently published guidelines on marine cyber security by the round table of international shipping associations had called upon shipping companies to further enhance the security of their IT systems.

One of their key recommendations was for shipping companies to develop a cyber security management system to ensure that they not only have a broad overview of the cyber and information security risks which may occur during their assets’ lifecycles, but also maintain sustainable and resilient procedures to protect vessels and their systems against cyber threats.

Tsakos has been working with DNV GL to create an information security management system, which will provide a comprehensive framework for assessing cyber vulnerabilities and implementing the necessary measures for mitigating risks and responding to potential system breaches. “We follow a pragmatic approach based on a thorough risk and gap analysis. The resilience of the resulting procedures and management system will then be verified through penetration testing carried out by the DNV GL Group company Marine Cybernetics,” explained Nikolaos Kakalis, manager of DNV GL Maritime R&D and Advisory in Greece.

“To further enhance the preparedness of our company for dealing with potential cyber security threats effectively, we are planning to take the next step and apply for certification to the information security management systems (ISO 27001) standard,” added Nikolaos Palaiologos, TCM’s IT manager. 

Largest tanker company formed

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What is claimed to be the world’s largest tanker company was officially inaugurated in Shanghai on 6th June.

 

COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation has a total of 105 tankers, including nine LNGCs, amounting to 17.04 mill dwt. The asset value of the new company accounts for 11% of parent COSCO Shipping’s total assets.

COSCO Shipping chairman Xu Lirong said that the establishment of the new company was a practical way to achieve business scale and synergies particularly in the sectors of energy shipping and logistics, in order to better compete with other established global rivals.

“This move is also part of ongoing restructuring of state-owned enterprises,” Xu said at the inaugural meeting in Shanghai.“The group will use this new setup to strengthen its capabilities in shipping oil, gas and other energy resources to ensure China’s energy security.”

The new company was formed out of China Shipping Development Co and COSCO Dalian Ocean Shipping Co.

“COSCO Shipping’s new step will transform its businesses into a more diversified operation model that can take full advantage of the opportunities likely to come from the Belt and Road initiative and the development of the Yangtze River economic belt,” said Wang Mingzhi, deputy director-general of the waterborne transport bureau at China’s Ministry of Transport.

COSCO Shipping also launched COSCO Shipping Financial Holding in Hong Kong last week to diversify the group’s businesses in the financial services, including vessel leasing, investments, finance management and insurance.

Ghana To See Sankofa Flows Next Year

 

http://www.petroleumafrica.com/ghana-to-see-sankofa-flows-next-year/

Head of Ghana’s GNPC, Alex Mould, told attendees at an industry event that the country will see first oil production from the Sankofa field in H2 2017. The field, being developed by ENI and Vitol will achieve first gas in early 2018. 

Ghana is expecting to see its total oil production capacity reach over 350,000 bpd by the end of 2018 with the addition of the Sankofa field. Gas production was seen averaging more than 300 million standard cubic feet of gas a day at the end of 2018, Mould, told the audience.

Oil holds gains as US crude inventories fall by 3.2M barrels

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U.S. crude jumped to the highest level in more than 10 months on Wednesday, rising for the third consecutive session, buoyed by ongoing supply disruptions in Nigeria and strong Chinese oil demand data. 

Crude futures held gains after U.S. government data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week, while output rose for the first time in three months.

U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels to a total of 532.5 in the week through June 3, according the Energy Information Administration.

Industry data had also shown a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories on Tuesday, indicating an easing of the supply glut, and a weak dollar, which hit a five-week trough against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, also boosted prices.

Gasoline inventories increased by 1 million barrels in the previous week, while distillate fuel stocks were up 1.8 million barrels, EIA reported. 

U.S. crude production ticked up 100,000 barrels per day to 8,745,000 bpd from the previous week, reversing a 15-week trend of declining output.

"The market sentiment is positive; the trend and the momentum points to further gains," said Carsten Fritsch, commodities analyst at Commerzbank.

U.S. crude futures climbed 84 cents to $51.20 a barrel by 10:36 a.m. ET (1436 GMT), having hit the highest level since July earlier in the session.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures rose by 96 cents at $52.40 a barrel, after striking a high going back to Oct. 12.

Supply disruptions caused by a string of attacks by the Niger Delta Avengers militant group in Nigeria have brought the oil exporter's production to the lowest in 20 years.

The group said on Wednesday it had attacked another oil well owned by U.S. oil group Chevron, adding to assaults on oil infrastructure owned by Shell and ENI.

Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said output had dropped to between 1.5-1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 2.2 million bpd at the start of the year. 

At the same time, Chinese trade data showed on Wednesday that its May crude oil imports made the biggest year-on-year jump in more than six years, adding to hopes that the economy of the world's second-largest oil user may be stabilizing. 

"Overall, China's economic activity is not slowing down as much as expected, which is a support to the market," said Kaname Gokon at brokerage Okato Shoji. 

The dollar fell to the lowest level in five weeks against a basket of currencies, hurt by waning expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates anytime soon.