Developers of LNG-to-Power projects are advised to secure flexible gas delivery terms through an aggregator before the market flips again and demand outstrips supply. According to Watson Farley & Williams, this is likely to happen by 2022 or 2023 as current Capex cuts delay new liquefaction projects.
Fast adoption of floating LNG technology across Asia is opening up new gas markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. According to Black & Veatch, gas-fired power projects are “attractive for emerging markets” due to advantages in price, reliability and fuel access over developing technologies such as battery storage.
Two power projects in West Africa have received MAN engines, and the German manufacturer handed over two further plants in Gambia and Guinea. Eight MAN 14V51/60 engines drive a 110 MW plant in Mali, while six 9L51/60 engines supply a cement factory with 54 MW electricity in Senegal.
California-based Bloom Energy has agreed with Idaho National Laboratory to independently test the use of nuclear energy for electrolysis. Rather than ramping down baseload nuclear power plants, the surplus energy can be used cost-effectively to produce green hydrogen.
Falling costs for lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen electrolysers have rendered both technologies ready for mass commercialization. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects the cost of 4-hour battery systems to fall to $220/kWh by 2040, so utility-scale battery deployment could reach nearly 220 GW by 2040.
Though green hydrogen, produced from variable wind and solar generation, can act as long-term energy storage – it is not economically viable yet. To get from 80,000 tonnes produced today to a required 35 million by 2035, governments will need to "heavily incentivise green hydrogen – and soon," analysts say, similar to past subsidies for renewables.
Reaching Net Zero emission means reducing fossil fuel use, but gas-burn is still forecast rise through 2040 – amid a lack of alternatives. The phase-out of coal and nuclear power in Germany requires gas generation to change from providing baseload to backup power and meeting residual loads.
India’s spike in Covid19 cases has made utility buyers sell LNG cargoes heading to the country as energy demand dropped amid calls for another nationwide lockdown. Six to seven LNG cargoes are already diverted, Kpler ship tracking data shows, and four tankers switched to floating storage.
MHI Compressor International (MCO-I) will deliver and install four compressors and two steam turbines in the second quarter of 2022 to help expand Koch Fertilizer’s ammonia production facility in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Koch freed up $140 million to modernise its Fort Dodge plant and boost ammonia production capacity by 85,000 tons per year.
Germany’s coalition government has approved a ‘climate pact’ that allocates up to €8 billion to finance initiatives from 2022. Urgent action is required in energy, industry and transport as Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed Germany will reach Net Zero emissions five years earlier than planned in 2045. The steel, chemicals and cement industry has come under intense scrutiny.
Rolls-Royce has installed and commissioned eight MTU emergency generator sets with 9.2 MWe power output at a major bank near Madrid. The four MTU 4000 DS1650 and four 2000 DS1100 units ensure continuous electricity supply to the bank’s data centre should the public power grid fail.
Pipe-laying works for Nord Stream-2 continue until the end of September for the final stretch from Bornholm Island up to the German border. The Danish maritime authority confirmed works are being carried out by the Russian-flagged Akademik Cherskiy pipe-laying vessel and fellow ship Fortuna. Sea-trials will follow to scrutinize the pipeline before start-up.
News in Brief
Growing production puts a lid on oil price
June 18 – Rising crude oil production – driven by OPEC, Russia and the United States – will limit price rises for global crude oil benchmarks Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which impacts long-term natural gas prices. In the June Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), US government analysts expect the Brent crude oil price will average $68 per barrel in the third quarter of 2021, fall to $64/bbl in the fourth quarter and decline further to average $60/bbl in 2022.
CPH2 to install 1 MW electrolyser in Belfast
June 16 – Clean Power Hydrogen (CPH2), together with B9 Energy, has won an order from Northern Ireland Water for a MFE220 1-MW membrane-free electrolyser via its main contractor LaganMEICA. Oxygen, generally regarded as a by-product of hydrogen production is used to more efficiently treat wastewater at NI Water’s Belfast plant. Due to be installed by September this year, the MFE220 electrolyser will produce up to 451 kilograms of hydrogen and up to 3609 kg of medical-grade oxygen per day.
MTU subsidiaries to bear Rolls-Royce brand name
June 15 – As of today, Rolls-Royce's Power Systems has implemented a new brand architecture for its five MTU subsidiaries. MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH, for example, will become Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH. German subsidiaries in Augsburg and Ruhstorf, as well as regional companies in America and Asia will be renamed with geographical references. All others will be rebranded by the end of September 2021.
KBC adopts BakerHughes AI simulation
June 11 – Yokogawa Electric subsidiary KBC will deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technology from the BakerHughesC3.ai (BHC3) alliance to better simulate its oil and gas processes. The AI solution will continuously update physics-based simulations through a flexible modelling, scalable to any industry. KBP anticipates customers’ improved will yield more than $0.65 per barrel.
OneSubsea selects Siemens sensors for deepwater project in Brazil
June 10 – Houston-based OneSubsea has selected Siemens Energy to provide pressure and temperature sensors for the subsea production system for the Bacalhau oil and gas condensate field in Brazil’s Santos basin. The sensors will provide monitoring data for the production system on the seabed at a water depth of 6,726 feet. Installation and commissioning of the equipment is slated for 2022 and 2024.
Wärtsilä to service Malta power plant
June 9 – Wärtsilä has signed a second long-term service agreement renewal for the Delimara Power Plant 3 (D3) in Malta. The accord covers four 50DF dual-fuel engines and four 50SG gas engines. The flexible Delimara plant is vital to ensure stability of power supply for Malta’s island grid.
BV launches digital simulation tool
June 8 – Classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) has launched Opera, its new digital simulation tool for testing and certifying floating power units. The integrated modelling can inspect all components, e.g. those of a floating wind turbine, from mooring systems to blades.
Linde selected to build Russian GPP
June 7 – Linde and Renaissance Heavy Industries have been contracted by Gazprom to carry out the design works, equipment supplies, construction, and commissioning of gas processing plant (GPP) and off-site facilities at the Gas Processing Complex near Ust-Luga. The consortium intends to start construction this June.
Start-up of Tema LNG delayed
June 4 – Ghana sees LNG as a “relatively quick and inexpensive way” to meet growing gas demand for power generation but country’s aspirations to become sub-Saharan Africa's first LNG importer is being delayed to later in June. The commissioning cargo was meant to arrive at Ghana’s new Tema LNG terminal by the end of May, but our data indicates the FSU Torman II is still at Singapore’s Sembawang shipyard.
ACWA sources biofuel to power tourism
June 3 – Saudi developer, investor and operator ACWA Power has teamed up with the Gulf’s largest biofuel producer Neutral Fuels to supply green energy for Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project on the Red Sea coast.
CNE sets up Houston offices
June 2 – Carbon Neutral Energy (CNE) is setting up in Houston due to the huge demand for mobile energy storage systems to mitigate the risk of emergencies like the Texas blackout earlier this year. CNE raised $420 million funding in the UK and is now seeking to strengthen its foothold in the US.
AEG equips Swedish hydrogen plant
June 1 – Amsterdam-based AEG Power Solutions has supplied components for a high-pressure electrolysis process at a pilot plant, built by Hydrogen Pro on behalf of the metal research institute Swerim. The electrolysis process selected by Swerim is an alkaline electrolyser with a high level of dynamics driven by Thyrobox DC2, industrial DC power supply.
Li-ion batteries lose their lead
May 31 – Li-ion batteries have dominated the energy storage field, but are expected to lose their leading role in stationary applications. According to IDTechEx findings, Redox flow batteries are gaining traction and likely to overtake the installed Li-ion battery energy capacity before the end of 2030.
Kuwait Petroleum supports Jenbacher S engine oil
May 21 – The Austrian engine maker INNIO and Q8Oils, part of Kuwait Petroleum, have launched the Jenbacher S Oil 40 gas engine oil designed to lubricate engines that run on biogas and landfill gas. The new product is based on INNIO’s high-performing oil for stationary gas engines and provides very long drain intervals, reduces oil consumption and extends oil filter life.
J320 engine powers pasta factory
May 19 – Clarke Energy and INNIO have commissioned a Jenbacher gas engine to power a new Pasta factory in Cameroon. The gas-fuelled J320 engine installed is now delivering a resilient on-site power supply to the manufacturing facility, situated in the town of Douala.
Magma delivers composite riser pipe to HWCG
May 17 – Houston-based Magma Global has delivered the world’s first high-pressure composite riser pipe to HWCG’s gas storage location on the U.S Gulf Coast. HWCG is one of two deepwater oil and gas emergency response consortiums, set up after the Macondo blowout in 2010. It provides a capping stack within 7-14 days and the restart of contingent hydrocarbon flow and capture operations within 18 days of an incident
SynCraft orders J412 engines for biomass plant
May 14 – INNIO Jenbacher has received orders to supply two J412 gas engines, with 500 kW electrical output, for SynCraft biomass power plants in Austria. Each year the two units will process 6,000 metric tons of residual wood into 7,000,000 kWh of renewable power and 10,000,000 kWh of process heat.
