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Tokyo Gas, Gas Malaysia cooperate on cleaner gas supply

  • Spanish Market: Natural gas
  • 31/07/23

Japanese gas retailer Tokyo Gas and Gas Malaysia will enhance their partnership in a gas grid network business, to further drive decarbonisation of their city gas supplies.

Tokyo Gas Network, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas, and Gas Malaysia agreed on 25 July to work together by exchanging knowledge and expertise related to cleaner fuels and technologies.

Tokyo Gas will seek to learn the impact of biogas, which has different calorific values from conventional city gas supplies, on pipeline equipment, as Gas Malaysia has already used biogas in its grid networks, Tokyo Gas said. Gas Malaysia also seeks to understand from Tokyo Gas the utilisation of hydrogen in the pipeline, the company added.

Tokyo Gas is planning to supply hydrogen-based city gas through pipelines to a new town, called Harumi Flag, constructed on the site of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games village in 2021. The volumes are expected to supplied from March 2024, it said.

It is still unclear whether both companies will work together on developing synthetic methane, also called e-methane, another cleaner feedstock for city gas. Tokyo Gas, along with fellow Japanese gas utilities, is gearing up to introduce e-methane in the country's gas grid networks.

Tokyo Gas holds an 18.5pc stake in Gas Malaysia through Tokyo Gas-Mitsui, while Malaysia-based utilities and infrastructure group MMC and Malaysia's state-owned oil firm Petronas own 30.9pc and 14.8pc, respectively. Around 35.8pc of the stake is publicly held.

Tokyo Gas had established a joint venture with Gas Malaysia in 2014 to develop the energy service business in Malaysia.


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08/07/24

Beryl menaces eastern Texas with storm surge, rain

Beryl menaces eastern Texas with storm surge, rain

New York, 8 July (Argus) — Hurricane Beryl crashed ashore early today, bringing life-threatening storm surge, strong winds and heavy rainfall to southeast Texas. The hurricane was packing maximum sustained winds of 75mph and was about 40 miles southwest of Houston, Texas, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued at 8am ET. About 1.1 million Houston area customers are without power, US utility CenterPoint Energy said. Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Matagorda, Texas, after regaining strength as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rainfall of 5-10 inches is forecast across parts of the middle and upper Texas Gulf coast and eastern Texas. The NHC also warned of the risk of flash and urban flooding. A hurricane warning is in effect for the Texas coast from Mesquite Bay north to Port Bolivar, while a tropical storm warning is in place for the coast north of Port Bolivar to Sabine Pass. On its current forecast track, the center of Beryl will cross eastern Texas today, before sweeping through the lower Mississippi valley into the Ohio valley on Tuesday and 10 July, the NHC said. Beryl is forecast to weaken as it moves inland and is expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm later today and to a tropical depression on Tuesday. Disruptions to US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations appear to be limited so far, given Beryl's approach to the west of most US offshore oil and gas operations. But some platforms were evacuated late last week. ExxonMobil said on Sunday it was making operational adjustments in advance of the storm but expected minimal impact to production. It shut in output from the Hoover platform and evacuated remaining staff. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Heavy rain, wind expected in Houston from Beryl: Update


08/07/24
08/07/24

Heavy rain, wind expected in Houston from Beryl: Update

Houston, 8 July (Argus) — Tropical storm Beryl is expected to regain hurricane strength before coming ashore near Matagorda, Texas, early Monday, bringing heavy rain and wind to the Houston area. As of 8pm ET Sunday, the center of the storm was about 120 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 70mph, moving northwest at 12mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The storm track forecast has shifted to the north of Corpus Christi, likely sparing that city's refining and oil export industries from the most severe conditions, although Citgo said its 165,000 b/d Corpus Christi refinery is running at reduced rates as part of its hurricane preparedness plan. Peak storm surge of 4-7ft is expected between Matagorda Bay and San Luis Pass, including at Freeport, home to a number of petrochemical plants and an LNG export terminal. Galveston Bay, which includes numerous refineries and oil export terminals along the Houston Ship Channel and Texas City, is expected to see 4-6ft of storm surge. The ports of Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City were closed to all traffic at 5pm ET Sunday, according to the US Coast Guard. The Port of Corpus Christi has been closed since Saturday afternoon. US Gulf coast refiners appear to have robust fuel inventories for this time of year should the storm lead to operational issues. The four-week average of Gulf coast gasoline inventories in the week ended 28 June was up by over 4pc from the same period in 2023 and up by 6pc from 2022, after hitting a near six-month high in the penultimate week of June. Residents and businesses in the Houston area may see power outages Monday from the high winds, according to local emergency management officials. Rainfall is expected to range between 6-10 inches with 15 inches in some isolated areas, according to NHC. Little oil, gas production disruption Disruptions to US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations appear to be limited given Beryl's approach to the west of most US offshore oil and gas operations, although some platforms were evacuated late last week. Chevron said it has already started to send non-essential workers who were evacuated back to offshore facilities. Mexican offshore operations were halted late last week when the storm first entered the Gulf after passing over the Yucatan Peninsula. Early last week Beryl was a Category 5 storm, which made it the strongest on record for the month of July, as it left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean . The second named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Beryl followed tropical storm Alberto, which came ashore in northeastern Mexico late last month. This year's Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be more active than normal, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with 4-7 major hurricanes that pack sustained winds of 111mph or higher possible. By Tom Fowler, Nathan Risser and Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Beryl aims between Corpus Christi, Houston


07/07/24
07/07/24

Beryl aims between Corpus Christi, Houston

Houston, 7 July (Argus) — Tropical storm Beryl was expected to regain hurricane strength today before coming ashore between Corpus Christi and Houston, Texas, early Monday. As of 11am ET today the center of the storm was about 195 miles southeast of the refining and oil export hub of Corpus Christi with maximum sustained winds of 65mph. Moving northwest at 10mph, its landfall was expected at about 2am ET Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The track of the storm's landfall has moved toward the east for the past two days, moving Corpus Christi out of the area likely to see the highest winds and storm surge. The most powerful winds and storm surge should be centered on areas near Matagorda Bay, according to the forecast, with 4-6ft of storm surge expected. Galveston Bay, which include numerous refineries and petroleum export terminals along the Houston Ship Channel and Texas City, was expected to see 3-5ft of storm surge. The port of Corpus Christi was closed to all traffic as of Saturday afternoon while the ports of Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City were set to "Yankee" status at 8am ET today, suspending all inbound traffic, bunkering and lightering operations. The Houston-area ports were expected to close to all traffic later today as the storm nears landfall, according to the US Coast Guard. Disruptions to US Gulf oil and gas operations so far appear to be limited given Beryl's approach to the west of most US offshore and gas operations. Mexican offshore operations were halted late last week when the storm first entered the Gulf after passing over the Yucatan peninsula. Early last week Beryl was a Category 5 storm, which made it the strongest on record for the month of July, as it left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean. The second named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Beryl followed tropical storm Alberto, which came ashore in northeastern Mexico late last month. This year's Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be more active than normal, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with 4-7 major hurricanes that pack sustained winds of 111mph or higher possible. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Beryl enters GOM, heading towards Texas: Update


05/07/24
05/07/24

Beryl enters GOM, heading towards Texas: Update

Updates hurricane watch and status of Texas ports and lightering zones. New York, 5 July (Argus) — Hurricane Beryl weakened to a tropical storm as it crossed the Yucatan Peninsula and entered the Gulf of Mexico on Friday afternoon, with a likely second landfall in Texas on Monday. Maximum sustained winds have dropped to near 65mph, the National Hurricane Center said in a 5pm ET advisory, but the tropical storm is forecast to strengthen to a hurricane again as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico, with forecasts pointing to a landfall late Sunday or early Monday from far northeastern Mexico to the eastern Texas coast. The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch from the mouth of the Rio Grande River to Sargent, Texas, about 80 miles southwest of Houston. Heavy rainfall of 4-8 inches is expected by Sunday into next week. The US Coast Guard changed the status of the port of Corpus Christi, Texas — a key US oil export hub — to "X-ray" at 3pm ET Friday, meaning gale force winds are expected to arrive at the port within 48 hours. All commercial traffic and transfer operations can continue during X-ray, but the Coast Guard said ocean-going commercial vessels greater than 500 gross tons should make plans to depart the port. Corpus Christi is also home to three refineries totaling 800,000 b/d of capacity. Citgo said it is implementing its hurricane preparedness plan at its 165,000 b/d refinery there. The ports of Houston, Texas City, Galveston and Freeport were set to port condition Whiskey at 5:05pm ET Friday, meaning gale force winds are expected to arrive within 72 hours. The ports remain open to all commercial traffic. Ship-to-ship transfers off the Texas coast proceeded as normal on Friday but will be postponed off Corpus Christi beginning Sunday. The US National Weather Service (NWS) forecast winds up to 90mph and waves up to 32 ft at the Corpus Christi lightering area on Sunday and Monday before calmer conditions return Tuesday. Ship-to-ship transfers are expected to be postponed at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area early next week due to the same conditions. Most of Mexico's Gulf coast ports were closed today and many offshore oil production operations. The impact to US Gulf oil and gas operations so far appears to be limited, with BP determining forecasts "indicate Hurricane Beryl no longer poses a significant threat" to its offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell had taken the precaution of shutting in production and evacuating all staff from its Perdido platform and its Whale development, which is scheduled to begin operations later this year. "We have safely paused some of our drilling operations, but there are currently no other impacts on our production across the Gulf of Mexico," the company said late on Thursday. Earlier this week, Beryl was a Category 5 storm, which made it the strongest on record for the month of July, as it left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean. By Stephen Cunningham, Tray Swanson and Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

New UK government to bolster climate goals


05/07/24
05/07/24

New UK government to bolster climate goals

Despite some clear shifts in energy policy, Labour's manifesto does not suggest radical change in the near term, write Georgia Gratton and James Keates London, 5 July (Argus) — The UK's new government wants the country to revive its climate leadership role, and is set to toughen investment conditions for North Sea oil and gas. The UK's centre-left Labour Party has swept to power for the first time in 14 years after securing a landslide victory in the country's 4 July general election, consigning the ruling Conservative Party to the worst defeat in its history. Keir Starmer has replaced Rishi Sunak to become the UK's fourth prime minister in the space of just two years and Labour's first since Gordon Brown in 2007-10. Labour has so far won 412 of the 650 parliamentary seats, giving it the biggest majority in parliament since Tony Blair's Labour government in 1997. The result indicates a clear shift to the centre-left in the UK's lower parliament, the House of Commons. The centre-left Liberal Democrats won 71 seats, up from just 11 in 2019. And the left-wing Green Party secured four seats — quadrupling the one it had held previously. But the UK's first-past-the-post political system masked the significant fracturing of support in favour of smaller parties outside the two main players. Labour won its huge majority on only around a third of all votes, at around 9.7mn, while the Conservatives achieved approximately 6.8mn votes. The Greens picked up just under 2mn votes, and the right-wing Reform UK party won some 4mn votes but just five seats. "Change begins now," Starmer said after his party's emphatic victory was confirmed. But while there will be some clear shifts in policy, Labour's election manifesto does not suggest radical change in the near term. The new government will maintain the UK's staunch support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and has pledged to stay outside the EU. It wants to reset the relationship with the EU by "tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade", but that may be ambitious given Starmer has promised "no return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement". Labour is more focused on addressing climate change than Sunak's outgoing government, although some of the former's energy policies bear a striking resemblance to those of Boris Johnson's premiership in 2019-22. It has pledged a zero-carbon power grid by 2030 and has set ambitious targets to "double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind by 2030". Offshore pressures Starmer plans to keep the oil and gas windfall tax introduced by the Conservatives in 2022, and has pledged to raise it to an effective rate of 78pc from 75pc. Labour has no plans to revoke existing North Sea oil and gas licences but intends not to issue any new ones — or new coal licences — and it aims to permanently ban fracking. "Such measures would not create the investment conditions the UK needsto deliver the homegrown energy transition," industry group Offshore Energies UK says. Renewable energy associations have welcomed the new government's plans. Labour also says it will restore 2030 as the phase-out date for the sale of new gasoline and diesel-fuelled cars, after Sunak's government pushed it back to 2035. And it plans to set up a national wealth fund to support the country's energy transition, using public funding to pull in private investment. The party also intends to create a new publicly-owned company, Great British Energy, funded with £8.3bn ($10.6bn) over the next parliament, "to deliver clean power". The UK's election result is placed in sharper focus as some European and fellow G7 countries signal a shift to the right. Many consider a pushback on some net zero policy since Johnson's departure has eroded the UK's role as a leader on climate action. But Labour has been clear that international climate leadership and multilateralism will be priorities as it tries to reposition the UK on the world stage. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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