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Shell has sold a 26.5% interest of its 100% stake in Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project to Global Infrastructure Partners Australia for $3.25 billion in a deal which includes LNG storage tanks, jetties and operations infrastructure.

“This decision is consistent with Shell’s strategy of selling non-core assets in order to further high-grade and simplify Shell’s portfolio,” Shell said in a statement.

“The sale will contribute to Shell’s expected divestment proceeds, without impact on people or the operations of the QCLNG venture and aligns Shell’s interest in the common facilities with its 73.75 per cent interest in the overall QCLNG venture.”

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Prelude has resumed LNG cargoes shipments after being offline for 11 months as a result of technical issues, Royal Dutch Shell announced this week.

Prelude was forced to suspend production last February after an electrical trip and subsequently faced a series of technical issues that delayed the restart.

However, Shell said that Prelude was back in production and on January 8 the LNG tanker Symphonic Breeze loaded a cargo destined for Japan.

The restart couldn’t have come at a better time for Prelude and its JV partners Shell, Japan’s INPEX Corp, Korea Gas and Taiwan’s CPC Corp,...

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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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