Industry

Total SE has removed workers from the Mozambique LNG plant under construction in the northern part of the country with Islamic militant attacks encroaching ever closer to the US$30 billion project.

Reports said that while the heavily guarded LNG facility had not been breached yet by the insurgents, a recent attack was launched on a town which is located less than 5km away from the gas processing site.

Total SE has taken every precaution to protect workers and said it was continuously reviewing the situation at Africa’s biggest investment.

 Mozambique has battled to curtail the insurgency in the Cabo Delgado region that is believed to have claimed about 2,500 lives with and 500,000 people forced to flee their homes.

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Global methanol capacity is poised to see considerable growth by 2030, potentially increasing from 148.44 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2019 to 310.94 mtpa in 2030, registering a total growth of 109%.

Russia, Iran and the US are expected to drive capacity additions during the forecast period. Together these three countries will contribute around 59% of the total global methanol capacity additions, says data and analytics company, GlobalData.

GlobalData’s report, ‘Global Methanol Capacity and Capital Expenditure Outlook to 2030’ reveals that Russia accounts for the highest capacity additions with 40.35 mtpa by 2030.

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Data presented by Bankr indicates that the United States oil and gas rigs in operation have dropped by 59.49%. The drop was recorded between February 2020 and November 2020.

In February, the rigs were 790 while in November the number was at 320. In March, the rigs plunged to 728 before dropping by 36.2% to 465 in April. As of May, operating rigs stood at 301 and later declined to 265 in June.

The lowest number of operating rigs was in July at 251 which slightly rose in August at 254.

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Global shale production has taken a drastic hit in 2020, where shale oil is expected to drop by 11.7% year-on-year and shale gas production may see a 4.5% fall, according to projections by data and analytics company GlobalData,.

Global Data said that market demand for oil and gas, which plummeted globally from March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, would continue to weigh down oil prices unless an effective vaccine was made available.

GlobalData’s latest thematic report, ‘Shale’, notes that the US led the global shale industry in 2019 - with over 98% share in shale oil production and over 78% share in shale gas production.

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Media in Africa have reported that Mozambique soldiers were able to defeat an Islamic insurgent attack which was targeting Total’s $30 billion LNG plant in the east African country – the second attack launched during the month of December.

According to reports, the battle came within 21km of the project in the Cabo Delgado province and is the continuation of a conflict that is believed to have killed 2,500 people and left 570,000 homeless.

The Total LNG plant is the largest current investment anywhere in Africa and has already secured contracts to supply TokyoGas and Centrica, Shell, CNOOC and Power Singapore Trading & Marketing and Bharat Petroleum.

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APPEA has welcomed new funding by the WA Government to deliver the learning materials needed to ensure training of operators for liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants is recognised industry-wide.

APPEA WA Director Claire Wilkinson said the funding, outlined in the State’s 2020–21 Government Mid-year Financial Projections Statement, will ensure operators are taught in a consistent manner across training providers.

“With the bulk of Australia’s LNG plants and production located in Western Australia, it’s great to see the WA Government back our industry by supporting the training of local workers in these critical skillsets,” Ms Wilkinson said.

“Developing...

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EnergyQuest CEO Graeme Bethune said November was a strong month for Australian LNG exports, with 6.9 million tonnes (Mt) shipped, the highest since April this year. This was despite supply disruptions from Gorgon, Australia’s second largest project, and delays to the start-up of the Prelude floating LNG project.

Bethune said one of the reasons for the strong performance was record production from the east coast LNG projects at Gladstone. Taken together, the Gladstone projects exceeded nameplate capacity for the first time since exports commenced in January 2015.

Total Australian exports for the year to November are running 1.

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A new Productivity Commission report has highlighted that better and more streamlined regulation of Australia’s resources sector will help support future investment and build community trust in the sector.  

The Resources Sector Regulation report said there is considerable scope to improve regulatory processes and reduce unnecessary burdens to support investment into resources without having adverse impacts on the environment, heritage, worker safety, landowners and communities.

In welcoming the report, APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said the report has some important recommendations that should be adopted by government to help streamline regulation, reduce duplication and unnecessary costs – all of which will be critical to help further improve the investment environment.

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CO2CRC has announced that the CO2 injection for the Otway Stage 3 Project has successfully commenced.

CO2CRC’s Otway Stage 3 Project trials next generation subsurface monitoring and verification (M&V) technologies to reduce the costs for monitoring in industrial applications.

CO2 storage projects require M&V to understand movement of the injected CO₂ plume in the subsurface.

Traditional methods monitor the CO2 from the surface and can be costly due to long-term planning and their interaction with farming or marine industries.

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Natural gas embodies all the attributes required to achieve the multidimensional challenges of environmental protection, energy access, and affordability in a world stepping onto the road of recovery, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum Secretary General Yury Sentyurin said at the 7th IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum, hosted virtually by the Government of Malaysia.

“As the world reaches the end of the pandemic tunnel, it will need an energy partner that can help prevent environmental degradation, ensure a stable and uninterrupted supply of energy, and bring affordable and reliable energy for all. Natural gas is that partner,” said HE Sentyurin. 

“The GECF Member Countries are amongst the lowest cost producers globally and are able to weather the current storm – or any other. W

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