Accusing the Kremlin to “weaponize fossil fuels”, Germany’s economy minister Robert Habeck said the country could cope with a halt in Russian gas deliveries by winter 2022/23. In retaliation for Berlin seizing Gazprom Germania, Russia lowered gas deliveries by 3% but Habeck is convinced new floating LNG terminals will bring in sufficient alternative supply.
South Korea’s state power firm Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has reported an all-time operating loss for the January-March period of 7.78 trillion won ($6.06 billion). Soaring fuel costs for imported natural gas and coal contrasted with a freeze of domestic electricity rates as the government in Seoul sought to reduce the burden on consumers and contain inflation.
Ansaldo Energia has opened a new diagnostic centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The integrated plant support team in the UAE works closely with an equal centre in Genoa, Italy, using digital systems and cybersecurity to monitor and manage 106 gas turbines, 42 steam turbines and 132 generators, with a total of over 33 GW worldwide.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has achieved a 21.9% jump in order intake for the fiscal year ending March 31, supported by its gas turbine combined-cycle business where revenues increased 15% year-on-year. Strong customer demand for the JAC turbine model, as well as for nuclear power and thermal & drive systems also contributed to MHI’s solid results.
JERA, Japan’s largest LNG importer and power producer, has announced it will strive for flexible fuel procurement in the face of soaring gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To ensure supply security, JERA replaced some LNG-fuelled power plants with coal power units while others are being converted to co-fire hydrogen.
Siemens Energy has warned sales and margins in 2022 will come in at the low end of its forecast range due to mounting problems at its Spanish wind turbine division. “Disappointing again is the performance of Siemens Gamesa which is weighing heavily on the group,” Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said, promising swift steps to tackle the issue.
US government analysts forecast LNG exports will stay on record high levels throughout the quieter summer season from May to August despite high Henry Hub prices. Lower demand from power generators in Europe and parts of Asia will be overcompensated by rising gas use from the industrial sector as the world economy is fast recovering.
Industrial gas demand in China’s Jiangsu province, north of Shanghai, plunged 43% in April from a year earlier as regional lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus disrupt manufacturing. China’s Zero Covid approach weighs heavy on energy consumption, Morgan Stanley said, pointing at last month’s 6% in countrywide drop in gas demand as power generators turn to coal.
Industrial coal-to-gas switching and construction of new gas-fired power stations will increase the overall gas use of China’s Guangdong province by about 65% over the next five years. The provincial regulator expects Guangdong’s gas consumption to rise from 29 Bcm in 2020 to 48 Bcm by 2025, with additional volumes sourced via a new LNG regas terminal.
Fuel switching helps US power producers stabilise supply and save costs, with nearly 200 GW or 18% of the country’s 1,116 GW of utility-scale generators capable to do so. The most common mode of fuel switching is from natural gas to petroleum liquids, at almost 132 GW capacity, followed by coal to gas switching, at around 21 GW.
South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor has decided to build an LNG-fuelled cogeneration plant at its automotive manufacturing site in Ulsan. Hyundai said it aims to source over 70% of its annual electricity demand from the new 184 MW heat and power plant, replacing three-fourth of the electricity it used to purchase from Korea Electric Power Corp.
The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to further reduce Russian oil, gas and coal imports by increasing the dispatch of nuclear power plants and adding renewables. Japan suspended all nuclear power units after the 2011 Fukushima crisis, but the PM said an accelerated restart will not only lower fossil fuel imports but also curb emissions.