The United States is likely to stay the country with the lowest cost of power production worldwide as an abundance of shale gas production will put in a ceiling at about $4/MMBtu, Andy Weissman, energy adviser at Haynes and Boone forecast.
Sept 21 - Going into the winter withdrawal season, gas storage volumes in the UK are on healthy levels on soft European demand for UK gas through the Interconnector, Deutsche Bank analysts said today.
Month-to-date Interconnector flows have averaged 9mcm/d this year versus 52mcm/d last year in early September (excluding the maintenance period), the bank said in a weekly commodity report.
Volumes in the UK are nearly equal to that seen last year, even with the large withdrawal in September, compared with a net injection last September into medium-range storage.
As Germany's power grid operators are busy negotiating with power plant operators over the amount of available cold reserves, the federal network regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNA) confirmed that Germany will need over 2,000 MW of capacity reserve to guarantee supply security in during the upcoming winter.
Alstom has entered a 12-year long-term service agreement (LTSA) with Sembcorp Cogen Pte for its "Sembcorp Cogen Power Plant" in the Sakra district of Jurong Island in Singapore.
As Singapore's power generation capacity expands, an increasing number of gas turbines are getting registered with the National Electricity Market of Singapore (NEMS). "With the latest addition the total amount of CCGT capacity registered with NEMS now stands at 7,500 MW," said a representative at Singapore's Energy Market Company (EMC), the facilitator for traded wholesale electricity markets in the city-state.
Diesel and gas generators are experiencing a sales boom across Africa and Asia as they step in to backfill unforeseen power shortages in developing countries, according to findings in GlobalData's report 'Diesel and Gas Generator, 2012'.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has completed of the development of a new 30 MW gas turbine – the Kawasaki L30A. Start-up of the first L30A package, installed at a plant in Japan, is due this October.
RWE npower has officially opened the fifth and final unit at the 2,000-megawatt Pembroke combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) following investment of £1bn by operator RWE to build one of Europe's largest and most efficient power plants.
Siemens has won a $300 million order for the turnkey supply of the Panda Sherman Power Project in Sherman, Texas, in consortium with Bechtel. Construction works are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014.
The volatility of gas prices in Europe is forecast to rise as utilities in the U.K., Germany and Spain need more flexible gas supply for dispatching power plants at short notice to counterbalance the growing share of intermittent power supply from renewables.
"We envisage gas demand from the power sector to increase across most European countries, with Great Britain set to become a wind and gas dominated system by 2030, following the closure of most coal plants," James Cox, Principal Consultant at Pöyry told Gas to Power Journal.
The outcome of the US presidential election in November is expected to have merely a limited effect on global energy markets, two Washington-based consultancies found independently.
South Korea's ministry of Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) will establish a master plan for shale gas development before the end of the year as it aims for shale gas-derived LNG imports to account for 20% of the country's LNG import capacity, a ministry official told 'Gas to Power Journal'.
Despite short term restraints in the market for gas-fired power generation, Frost & Sullivan's Energy Industry Director, Harald Thaler sees "sound medium- and long-term prospects" for the industry and forecasts global gas-fired power plant orders will total 537 GW through 2020.
Progress Energy Carolinas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, has retired the coal-fired H.F. Lee power plant on September 15 as part of the utility's fleet modernisation programme. The gap in power supply will be filled by a new 920-MW gas-fired plant, scheduled to start commercial operations in early 2013.
The First Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Varel Freeman, has completed a visit to Jordan to consider a $100 million investment in a power plant near Amman to help increase the electricity supply in the Arab country.
News in Brief
BASF enters battery market
June 14 – German chemical company BASF is using NGK Insulators’ sodium sulfur batteries as its entry point into the energy market. The Japanese manufacturer NGK is currently the only maker of the large-scale sodium sulfur (NAS) batteries, capable to store several hours of energy. A joint project in northern Germany uses NAS batteries that store energy for five hours, while a recently completed project in Abu Dhabi using 108MW / 648MWh of the systems with a full six hours storage duration.
CNPC boosts domestic gas production
June 13 – China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the largest Chinese oil and gas company, has announced plans for domestic natural gas output to reach 55% of overall domestic supply by 2025. Last year, CNPC managed to boost production by 5.9% to reach 138.02 billion cubic metres, while also increasing imports of pipeline gas and LNG.
Gazprom taps new gas deposits for Nord Stream 2
June 12 – Gazprom is fast-tracking hydrocarbon production in northwest Russia to boost reserves for export through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline (55 Bcm/y), currently being built through the Baltic Sea. At a meeting with Nord Stream shareholders, Gazprom noted that its Yuzhno-Russkoye field has yielded about 276 Bcm of natural gas, including 0.9 Bcm of hard-to-recover Turonian gas, since the start of operations. Turonian gas reserves, consisting of about 99% methane with no heavy residues, lie at a depth of 800–850 meters in reservoirs with low permeability. Commercial production at the Turonian deposit is scheduled to start in late 2019.
PG&E turns off electricity to avoid wild fires
June 11 – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has turned off electricity for some Californian communities at risk of a wildfire during the lastest heat wave. The authorized blackout started on Saturday in Napa, Solano and Yolo counties, with electricity being gradually restored over the course of Monday. Approximately 16,000 customers have been affected.
Gazprom to build power plants in Serbia
June 10 – Gazprom Energoholding has signed an Agreement of Intent (AoI) to build an upgrade several gas-fired power plants in Serbia. Together with Novi Sad, Gazprom Energoholding is already building a CCGT with some 200 MW capacity near a refinery in the Serbian town of Pancevo.
U.S. fund splashes out $4bn to buy El Paso Electric
June 7 – Infrastructure Investment Fund (IIF), a private investment vehicle within J.P. Morgan Inc., has agreed to acquire the U.S. utility El Paso Electric Co for $68.25 per share in a cash transaction. The enterprise value on the transaction is estimated at $4.3 billion. El Paso Electric customers will receive a total $21 million in bill credits over three years.
Caterpillar gensets back up Finnish data center
June 6 – The Swedish telecom giant Telia has ordered 12 Caterpillar gensets to provide standby emergency power to back up operations at its new data center in Helsinki. The Cat dealer Witraktor figured a system which includes eight Cat 3516B and four 3516E generator sets. The Telia Helsinki Data Center is the largest such facility in Finland, and its primary electric power supply comes from a combination of wind, hydroelectric and biomass.
Capstone wins orders in Iraq
June 5 – Micro-turbine producer Capstone has secured an order for two C600 Signature Series microturbines to provide 1.2 MW of energy to power a triethylene glycol (TEG) dehydration facility near Basra, in southern Iraq. The contract also includes Capstone’s new self-cleaning pulse filtration system, allowing the turbines to better withstand hot and sandy conditions with minimal maintenance.
Gas to supply record 43% of US power needs
June 4 – This summer, natural gas is forecast to cover between 40% and 43% of 2019 peak electricity demand in all U.S. states except Texas, according to projections by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gas demand soared to nearly 10,700 billion cubic feet (Bcf) last summer, a 16% rise from 2017 levels. Should there be another heat wave this year, that record may well be broken. Capacity wise, natural gas is on course to top its 45% share in the U.S. power mix.
Lukoil to upgrade CHP at Krasnodar
June 3 – Russia’s oil and gas company Lukoil has received government approval to modernize and expand three combined heat and power units in Krasnodar. The gas-fired CHP units have more than 400,000 hours and ran an average 74% utilization rate, the operator said. The upgrade will add 150 MW of power generation capacity and Lukoil said it expects the revamped power plant to be ready for commissioning as early as 2022.
GE commissions Al-Qudus CCGT in Iraq
May 31 – GE Power has installed and commissioned a new 9E gas turbine at the Al-Qudus combined-cycle gas power plant, run by the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity’s (MoE). The CCGT was previously capable of generating up to 1,125 MW and the turbine upgrade adds another 125 MW of capacity.
Groundbreaking takes place for Ohio CCGT project
May 30 – This Thursday morning, groundbreaking will take place for the $500 million Long Ridge Energy Generation Project in Hannibal, Ohio. Long Ridge, a 485 MW combined-cycle power project, is being developed by Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors (FTAI). It will create up to 350 construction jobs and some 25 permanent jobs. The CCGT is expected to open in 2021.
Asia to spend more on renewables than oil & gas by 2020
May 29 – Utilities in Asia-Pacific region will invest more in renewables than on oil and gas exploration by 2020. Total capital expenditure in renewables will rise above $30 billion in the region by 2020, according to forecast of the consultancy Rystad Energy. India, Australia, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea will led the way in Asia’s green energy transition.
Ichthys LNG looses court claim against power sub-contractor
May 28 – JKC Australia LNG consortium, developer of the US$34 billion Inpex-built Ichthys LNG plant near Darwin, has lost a US$1.9 billion court case claim against a power station sub-contractor. Construction of the power station was subcontracted to UGL-led group which CIMIC took over in 2016 and subsequently cancelled the Ichthys power contract. The Western Australian Supreme Court in Perth now dismissed an application by JKC Australia LNG for upfront payment of damages. The power plant’s five gas turbines have already been handed over to Inpex, and KBR aims for the plant to be ready for commissioning this autumn.
San Miguel Energy claims $6.19bn subsidy for Ilijan plant
May 24 – South Premier Power Corp. (SPPC), San Miguel Energy’s development vehicle for the 1,200-MW Ilijan gas power project, has claimed that it already paid $6.19 billion in subsidies to state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM) for its financial obligations as independent administrator. The build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for the Ilijan plant will expire in 2022; and by that time, SPPC will get ownership of the plant.
Evolve approved as energy storage for VPPs
May 23 – Eguana Technologies’ new Evolve system has been officially approved as an energy storage system for Simply Energy’s Simply Extra VPP (virtual power plant) offer in South Australia. Customers who purchase an Evolve system can sign up for the Simply Extra VPP offer and receive up to $5,100 in VPP Access Credits. These credits will be calculated on a daily basis at $3.49 per day to a maximum of A$5,100, credited over a five year period.
EIA launches State Energy Portal
May 22 – The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released a new State Energy Portal, providing interactive energy data and customizable views of more than 150 charts, tables, and maps. The new portal gives users access to more than 1,700 state- and regional-level data series from more than 50 data sources.
