Natural Gas Daily: September 18th, 2020

Arctic LNG-2 Lines up $9.5bn in International Funding: Press

The Arctic LNG-2 project in Russia has lined up $9.5bn in financial support from a group of international lenders, Reuters reported citing a document it had seen. Russian state entities are to provide additional funding.

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• A final investment decision on the $21bn Arctic export project led by Russia's Novatek and France's Total was taken in September last year.

PowerChina Eyes Role in Argentine Vaca Muerta Railway: Press

Chinese energy firm PowerChina is in talks to build a railway to deliver oil and gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale formation to the port of Bahia Blanca, its country president Tu Shuiping told Reuters on September 17.

• Argentina is also in talks with Brazil on the construction of a $4.9bn pipeline to pump gas from Vaca Muerta to Brazil.

• The remote shale formation needs greater investment in exploration and production, as well as infrastructure to bring its oil and gas to markets, in order for output to continue growing.

Ukraine, European Storage Slows Down

Gas storage injections in Europe and Ukraine continued rising mid-September, but the rate is slowing, according to data published by Gas Infrastructure Europe. The latest figures from September 16 show Europe at 93.7% full and about 3 TWh less than at the same date last year, and Ukraine at 88% full, or about 78 TWh more than at the same date last year.

• Ukraine has benefited this year from the temporary easing of restrictions on reverse flow at the much larger Velke Kapuszany interconnection on the border with Slovakia.

Petrobras Completes Tests for LNG Expansion

Brazil's Petrobras said on September 17 it had completed operational tests to enable a 50% expansion in the regasification capacity of the Rio de Janeiro LNG import terminal to 30mn m³/day.

• Gas consumption in Brazil is rising and is likely to continue to outstrip domestic supply as more gas-fired power capacity is built.

Naturgy Mulls Sale of LNG Unit: Press

Spanish utility Naturgy is considering the sale of its LNG unit, Bloomberg reported on September 16 citing sources.

• Naturgy's LNG business comprises a fleet of LNG tankers, purchase deals with Nigeria, Qatar, Russia and the US, liquefaction capacity in Egypt – which it failed to sell this year to Italian Eni, its partner in Union Fenosa Gas – and regasification capacity at terminals in Europe.

Xodus Prices Dutch CCUS Scheme at $60/mt

UK energy consultancy Xodus Group has put a price of about €50 ($60)/metric ton on the cost of capturing, transporting and storing CO₂ under the North Sea at the Dutch Porthos project, it said.

• The CO₂ that Porthos will transport and store will be captured from a variety of companies, with Anglo-Dutch Shell, US ExxonMobil, Air Liquide and Air Products already signing joint development agreements.

• CCS capacity in Europe is set to grow 3mn mt/yr between 2021 and 2025 and then increase by 7mn mt/yr until 2030, according to Rystad Energy.