Financial crisis set to impact upon gas industry
December 15, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Last week, an international energy conference was attended by managers and employees from energy companies across Europe. They met at the European Autumn Gas Conference in the small northern Italian town of Cernobbio. However, many employees were left wishing that they hadn’t bothered making the trip, since the prevailing feeling in the conference was one of gloomy negativity and intense anxiety. Many speakers at the conference publicly revealed their fears that the global financial crisis is threatening the future security of gas supplies and may negatively impact upon potential future investments in the entire energy sector.
Domenico Dispenza, the chairman of the Eurogas association, was one individual who voiced his concerns at the conference. He believes that the credit crisis is affecting the European Union and its suppliers of gas. Other spokesmen and women for European energy companies expressed their concerns that cuts in capital spending would have to be made in an attempt to combat the financial crisis. Enel SpA, the Italian utility company, were one of the companies who expressed their anxieties in front of a worried crowd.
The conference, which was full of anxious gas traders, was full of talk about how reliable trading partners had suddenly become hard to find. Furthermore, many of the traders revealed their concerns that the financial crisis has drained liquidity from the energy market and credit conditions in the short-term have deteriorated drastically as well. The managing director of NV NUON Energy and Trade Wholesale, Stephen Asplin, explained that “liquidity” is now “the name of the game”.
Centrica deliver 50 million therms of LNG
December 3, 2008 at 4:34 pm
This week saw a record delivery of liquefied natural gas, commonly known as LNG, arrive on the shores of Great Britain. The Isle of Grain terminal, which is situated in the northern region of Kent, imported almost fifty million therms of liquefied natural gas. This supply was delivered by the Al Khuwair tanker and the delivery will be enough to provide energy for four and a half million houses for one week.
The director of Centrica LNG, Simon Bonini, believes that the delivery is an important step forward for the country. He stated that as production in the North Sea declines, liquefied natural gas will adopt a “pivotal role” in maintaining gas supplies for consumers served by British Gas. The success of this massive delivery of LNG has shown that the UK has the ability to obtain gas from “a diverse range of international sources”.
The ability of the Isle of Grain terminal to accept such a large delivery has brought further positive news to Centrica. The gas terminal is currently reaching its last stages of commissioning after a large-scale expansion estimated to be worth over three hundred and fifty million pounds. Bonini believes that the Isle of Grain capacity is simply one of a number of “strategic investments Centrica is making” in order to satisfy the UK’s energy needs.
The director of UK LNG for the National Grid, Peter Boreham, echoed the views of Simon Bonini. Boreham stated that having “modern importation facilities” is imperative for the nation’s future, since, in less than two years from now, we will need to import over half of our gas.
