Signs suggest that the oil and gas industry in the UK is starting to show signs of optimism after two years of gloom. There was certainly a high demand for fuel over the winter and new exploration licences and significant oil field discoveries hint at the possibility of better times ahead, so much so that the Scottish Energy Minister believes the industry needs to be “future proofed” to ensure the success of this expansion.
When Ex~i Flow Measurement originally designed the SFC3000 flow measurement computer, we knew it would need to be flexible and adaptable enough to accommodate the changing needs of the worldwide liquid hydro-carbon and gas measurement industry without the need for the hardware to be further updated to accommodate these requirements.
As this year marks our 10th anniversary in business, we thought it was golden opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved and learnt so far. Since starting the business in 2007, the demands of the oil and gas industry have developed and changed. Our flow measurement products have likewise come on over that time. Reliability and accuracy are still vital to the operation of oil and gas companies and, thus, our commitment to delivering the best quality products is still as firm as ever.
The kingdom of Bahrain is about to begin construction of a huge liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and regasification terminal to secure its energy future and power industrial expansion. Requiring a $741 million loan from a syndicate of nine regional and international banks and following an international tendering process, the project is owned by a consortium of companies, making the finance arrangements and partnerships involved complex, the construction plans expansive and the future goals ambitious.
The International Energy Agency released its World Energy Outlook for 2016 recently and its findings suggest that the period up to 2040 will be one of great change in the way the world powers itself. Thanks to the Paris Agreement, it predicts a rise in the use of renewable energy sources and natural gas with a significant decline in the use of coal.
Winter is always an interesting time of year in the energy industry, as demand spikes and any shortfalls need to be addressed. This winter has already seen demand for liquid natural gas (LNG) imports and exports rise to levels not seen in years. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the UK began this winter heating period with low long-term stockpiled levels of LNG, due to issues both at home and abroad. The recent cold weather brought an expected increase in demand across Europe and the UK’s economic situation made UK LNG more attractive to foreign buyers. New deals are also being signed to supply more LNG to the UK to prevent any threat of a shortfall going forward.
In 2014, there were 47 ships running on liquid natural gas (LNG). By 2018 another 48 will have joined the fleet. LNG is a cleaner and cheaper alternative to other fuels, which would under most circumstances make it the top choice. However, problems with refuelling mean its use is not as widespread as expected. Currently, the only options for fuelling ships is through ship-to-ship fuelling or shore-to-ship fuelling, both of which present substantial drawbacks. But now Titan LNG, an LNG provider based in Amsterdam, is in the process of creating an alternative refuelling option in the form of an LNG bunkering pontoon.
A report generated by the Atlantic Council, a highly influential international think-tank based in Washington DC, has called for greater connectivity in the supply for LNG across Europe. It states that current and proposed pipeline development projects need to be moved forward and properly coordinated to ensure gas can flow freely across the continent. The report makes two main suggestions for how this can be accomplished and purports that the major benefits to these hugely ambitious projects will be greater competition with Russian pipeline gas and US LNG in addition to greater energy security for the whole of the EU as countries would no longer be dependent on gas supply from individual countries such as Russia or Norway.
The China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) are increasing their investments in LNG exploration, production and pipelines to nearly double their annual output to around 180 billion cubic metres (bcm) by 2020. This comes against a backdrop of low oil and gas prices, a cut in overall investment in the industry and losses recorded so far this year. Whether the move away from oil towards gas is driven by environmental or economic factors is unclear.
With the development of major new European gas pipelines, 'small scale' operations are often overlooked. Spain, despite not producing any LNG themselves, is the biggest exporter of LNG in Europe. This is due to their capability to reload it for small, medium and large applications in large multimodel terminals. Truck loading has played a major part in Spain's share of the export market and in 2015 35,000 trucks were loaded with LNG which represents 80% of the EU's truck loading traffic. Coincidentally, transport is also providing a growing market for LNG as increasing numbers of trucks and ships are powered by it.