China extends Russian gas import pipeline: Update
Adds details on November deliveries
China has started operations at the second section of a gas pipeline link to Russia, boosting its supplies through the Power of Siberia 1 (PoS 1) pipeline, state-owned operator PipeChina said.
Construction of the 1,110km section of the pipeline started in July 2019. It was originally scheduled to be completed in October, but the timeline was pushed back to the end of this year because of Covid-19.
The second, mid-section of the pipeline starts from Changling in north China's Jilin province and crosses Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Hebei provinces to end in the northeast port city of Tianjin. It will take Russian gas to the existing Shaanxi-Beijing pipeline network in northeast and northern China and connect to LNG terminals at Dalian and Tangshan.
The new section will increase the pipeline's transmission capacity to 27mn m³/d, increasing gas supply and peak emergency capacity in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, PipeChina said. It did not give a figure for previous transmission capacity.
China imported 3.1bn m³ of natural gas through PoS 1 in January-October, customs data show. Deliveries in January-April were pressured by weak demand during the Covid-19 pandemic and competition with lower-priced LNG imports. But pipeline flows have risen since May and exceeded 12mn m³/d in August-September to meet demand from China's recovering economy.
Average daily deliveries through the line were 16.2pc higher on the month in November, Russia's state-controlled Gazprom said today without giving an outright figure. This suggests volumes were around 11.2mn m³/d last month, with deliveries at 9.6mn m³/d in October Chinese customs data show (see table). Deliveries were also 13.6pc higher than contracted on average in November and as much as 25pc higher on 12 November, Gazprom said.
Chinese state-owned energy firm CNPC has a take-or-pay contract with Gazprom for a minimum of 4.25bn m³ this year. Deliveries are scheduled to rise to 10bn m³/yr in January 2021, then ramp up to 38bn m³/yr capacity for 20 years from 2025.
The Chinese portion of the gas pipeline is divided into three sections. The first, northern section of the pipeline, which was commissioned in December 2019, connects to PoS 1 at the border city of Heihe in Heilongjiang Province and runs to Changling.
The final stretch of the pipeline will run southwards from Yongqing in Hebei province to Shanghai. Work on this section started in late July, with completion expected in June 2025.
PipeChina took control of the pipeline of this pipeline when it began operations on 1 October as part of an asset transfer deal with PetroChina, the state-controlled arm of CNPC.
| China's imports through Russia-China pipeline ('mn m³/d) | ||
| Jan-Feb average | 11.2 | |
| March | 8.8 | |
| April | 5.0 | |
| May | 9.2 | |
| June | 9.9 | |
| July | 10.4 | |
| August | 12.8 | |
| September | 13.3 | |
| October | 9.6 | |
| Source: China customs | ||
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Hurricane Helene shuts in 29pc of US Gulf oil
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New York, 25 September (Argus) — Hurricane Helene, which is forecast to intensify as it heads for a late Thursday landfall in Florida, has shut in about 29pc of US Gulf of Mexico oil output. Around 511,000 b/d of US offshore oil output was off line as of 12:30pm ET, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), while 313mn cf/d of natural gas production, or 17pc of the region's output, was also off line. Operators have so far evacuated workers from 17 offshore platforms. Helene was last about 110 miles north-northeast of Cozumel, Mexico, according to a 2pm ET advisory from the US National Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. Helene is expected to be a major hurricane, with winds of at least 111mph, when it reaches the eastern Florida coast on Thursday evening. "A turn toward the north and north-northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected later today through Thursday, bringing the center of Helene across the eastern Gulf of Mexico and to the Florida Big Bend coast by Thursday evening," the center said. Shell restarting some production Although the hurricane will largely pass to the east of most offshore oil and gas production areas, companies have taken precautionary measures. Given a shift in the forecast track, Shell said late Tuesday that it had started to ramp up production at the Appomattox platform to normal levels, and was in the process of restoring output at the Stones facility, both off the coast of Louisiana. It paused some drilling operations. Chevron said earlier it was shutting in production at company-operated facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, and evacuating all workers. Equinor said it was shutting down the Titan oil platform. BP had earlier this week started to shut in production at its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, southeast of New Orleans, and was curtailing output from its Argos and Atlantis facilities, as well as removing non-essential staff. US offshore production was disrupted earlier this month when Hurricane Francine made landfall, with up to 42pc of production was offline at one point. The offshore Gulf of Mexico accounts for around 15pc of total US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
LNG glut coming and may catch many by surprise: Orsted
LNG glut coming and may catch many by surprise: Orsted
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Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update 2
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update 2
Adds daily spot market crude pricing information. New York, 24 September (Argus) — Tropical storm Helene, which is expected to develop into a hurricane on Wednesday before coming ashore in Florida Thursday, has shut in about 16pc of US Gulf of Mexico oil output. Around 284,000 b/d of US offshore oil output was off line as of 12:30pm ET, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), while 208mn cf/d of natural gas production, or 11pc of the region's output, was also off line. Operators have so far evacuated workers from four offshore production platforms. Helene was last about 175 miles east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, according to a 2pm ET advisory from the US National Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. The current forecast has the center of Helene entering the eastern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning and moving north-northeast toward a possible landfall near the Florida panhandle region late Thursday. By then it will have strengthened into a major hurricane, with winds of at least 111mph, according to forecasts. While the storm will largely pass to the east of most offshore oil and gas production areas, companies started suspended some operations on Sunday. Chevron began evacuating workers and shutting in its Blind Faith and Petronius platforms. "While we are also transporting nonessential personnel from our four other Chevron-operated Gulf of Mexico platforms, production there remains at normal levels," the company said. Shell said Monday it had shut in output from its Stones facility and curtailed production from the Appomattox platform, both off the coast of Louisiana. The company was also relocating non-essential workers from its assets in the Mars corridor, and suspending some drilling operations. Equinor said it was shutting down the Titan oil platform as a precaution. BP had started to shut in production at its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, southeast of New Orleans, and was curtailing output from its Argos and Atlantis facilities, as well as removing non-essential staff. Offshore spot prices rise slightly The Na Kika platform is connected by pipeline to the Shell-operated Delta pipeline system, which carries Heavy Louisiana Sweet (HLS) crude to shore. During trading on Tuesday, October HLS rose by 20¢/bl relative to the light sweet crude benchmark in Cushing, Oklahoma, to an 80¢/bl discount. The October US pipeline trade month ends Wednesday. The Thunder Horse platform production is marketed as part of a sour crude stream by the same name that is priced at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Pipeline's (LOOP) facility in Clovelly, Louisiana, where it has dedicated underground cavern storage, as does Mars. On Tuesday, Thunder Horse traded at a 50¢/bl discount to the Cushing benchmark, after wide discussion circled a 40¢/bl discount in the prior session. Medium sour secondary benchmark Mars tightened its gap to the Cushing basis by 30¢/bl to a volume-weighted average discount of roughly $1.55/bl. Crude production from the 140,000 b/d capacity Argos platform feeds into the Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System (CHOPS), which carries Southern Green Canyon (SGC) crude to the Texas Gulf coast. Argos platform serves the Mad Dog 2 field development that came online last year. Atlantis production also feeds into SGC. No SGC transactions were reported on Tuesday. It was offered as low as $1/bl under the Cushing benchmark, lower than trade at a 50¢/bl discount in the prior session. US offshore production was disrupted earlier this month when Hurricane Francine made landfall as a category 1 storm. Up to 42pc of production was offline at one point. The offshore Gulf of Mexico accounts for around 15pc of total US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update
Adds BSEE production shut in data, updated storm info. New York, 24 September (Argus) — Tropical storm Helene, which is expected to develop into a hurricane on Wednesday before coming ashore in Florida Thursday, has shut in about 16pc of US Gulf of Mexico oil output. Around 284,000 b/d of US offshore oil output was off line as of 12:30pm ET, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), while 208mn cf/d of natural gas production, or 11pc of the region's output, was also off line. Operators have so far evacuated workers from four offshore production platforms. Helene was last about 175 miles east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, according to a 2pm ET advisory from the US National Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. The current forecast has the center of Helene entering the eastern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning and moving north-northeast toward a possible landfall near the Florida panhandle region late Thursday. By then it will have strengthened into a major hurricane, with winds of at least 111mph, according to forecasts. While the storm will largely pass to the east of most offshore oil and gas production areas, companies started suspended some operations on Sunday. BP said Monday it had started to shut in production at its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, southeast of New Orleans, and was curtailing output from its Argos and Atlantis facilities, as well as removing non-essential staff. Chevron began evacuating workers and shutting in its Blind Faith and Petronius platforms. "While we are also transporting nonessential personnel from our four other Chevron-operated Gulf of Mexico platforms, production there remains at normal levels," the company said. Shell said Monday it had shut in output from its Stones facility and curtailed production from the Appomattox platform, both off the coast of Louisiana. The company was also relocating non-essential workers from its assets in the Mars corridor, and suspending some drilling operations. Equinor said it was shutting down the Titan oil platform as a precaution. US offshore production was disrupted earlier this month when Hurricane Francine came ashore near Morgan City, Louisiana, as a category 1 storm. Up to 42pc of production was offline at one point. The offshore Gulf of Mexico accounts for around 15pc of total US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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