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Editor’s note: This is the first in a 10-part series produced by the Alaska Support Industry Alliance to educate the public about liquefied natural gas. Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas converted to its liquid form. When natural gas is cooled to minus-259 degrees Fahrenheit, it becomes a clear, colorless, odorless liquid. LNG is produced by taking natural gas from a production field, processing it to remove impurities, and then liquefying the processed gas. LNG isn’t corrosive or toxic. It doesn’t explode or burn as a liquid. Natural gas is primarily methane, with low levels of other hydrocarbons,...

DAEGU, South Korea — Asia’s large-scale gas importers, long saddled with premium prices, say a cheaper alternative lies several thousand feet below North American soil, where companies are unlocking enormous gas reserves from shale rock. The shale boom has already revolutionized the gas market in the United States and Canada, giving both countries not only a reliable domestic supply but also the ability to sell overseas. Asian utility and gas company executives, speaking this week at a global energy forum here, have said that North America’s gas wealth could prove nearly as transformative across the world, leading to the first...

Soon old-school diesel locomotives could be replaced by ones powered mainly by liquified natural gas. GE Transportation presented retrofit technology that enables locomotives to use both diesel and liquid natural gas at Railway Interchange 2013, the North American rail industry’s largest trade show and technical conference, the International Railway Journal reported. The system allows up to 80 percent natural gas substitution. The LNG is cryogenically stored in a tender and enables trains to travel further without refueling. New LNG powered locomotives will allow many industry players to meet stringent Tier 4 locomotive emissions standards set to take effect Jan. 1,...

The companies seeking to advance a multibillion dollar natural gas pipeline project in Alaska have a leading contender for the terminal site where gas would be liquefied and shipped to Asia, signaling that a decades-old dream could still become a reality. Exxon Mobil, BP, ConocoPhillips and TransCanada Corp. announced Monday that the Kenai Peninsula town of Nikiski is the leading contender. Senior project manager Steve Butt said there are three or four other sites are still being considered — he declined to identify those — but said Nikiski has the land needed for the plant and the companies know they...

A California liquefied natural gas producer is set to build a production plant in North Texas that could initially produce 86,000 gallons of fuel per day. Applied Natural Gas Fuels said Wednesday the plant in Midlothian, about 30 miles south of Dallas in Ellis County, would fire up in 2015 seeking to attract buyers in high-horsepower, trucking, oil and gas and similar industries that normally consume diesel fuel. A boom in U.S. natural gas production has made LNG competitive with diesel for such uses. The Midlothian plant will be the company’s first in Texas. It is also doubling production at...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper are expected to agree to increase Canadian shale gas exports to Japan from around 2020, Japanese officials said Sunday. Canada’s envisioned shale gas exports are likely to total 40 million tons a year. The gas will be shipped after being processed into liquefied natural gas, the officials said. Abe and Harper plan to reach the agreement in a meeting on Tuesday in Ottawa during the Japanese leader’s five-day visit to Canada and the United States from Monday.

Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ: CLNE ) has jumped more than 7% during trading over Tuesday and Wednesday as investors applaud two major catalysts for the stock. For one, CEO Andrew Littlefair just purchased 127,000 shares, valued at approximately $1.6 million. Investors always like to see management with skin in the game, so to speak. It's a vote of confidence in the company and also aligns CEOs with shareholders' interests. Additionally, the company announced a joint venture with industrial giant General Electric (NYSE: GE ) to develop liquefied natural gas projects throughout the United States. Motley Fool analyst Taylor Muckerman appreciates...

This week that the Department of Energy (DOE) tentatively approved a fourth non-FTA permit to export liquefied natural gas (LNG). Secretary Moniz is credited with improving the speed with which his Department has moved on exports, having approved three permits in his short tenure compared to one under his predecessor. The Department of Energy’s approval of non-FTA permits is just the first step in the process of bringing U.S. natural gas to the world market, so a lot is riding on its approval stamp. Without the DOE’s approval, U.S. natural gas exports – and the important economic benefits – will...

The Obama administration on Wednesday authorized natural gas exports from a fourth U.S. facility, speeding up a review process that would-be gas exporters and their allies in Congress had criticized as too slow. Dominion Resource Inc's conditional permit for liquefied natural gas exports from its Cove Point terminal on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay came just over a month after the Energy Department approved exports from a terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Dominion's was the fourth natural gas export permit issued by the administration. It was the third permit issued this year, following a pause of nearly two years in review of...

Why has the little nation of Qatar spent 3 billion dollars to support the rebels in Syria? Could it be because Qatar is the largest exporter of liquid natural gas in the world and Assad won't let them build a natural gas pipeline through Syria? Of course. Qatar wants to install a puppet regime in Syria that will allow them to build a pipeline which will enable them to sell lots and lots of natural gas to Europe. Why is Saudi Arabia spending huge amounts of money to help the rebels and why has Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan been...

Why is it that natural gas sells in the U.S. for $3.94 per 1,000 cubic feet and in Europe and Japan for $11.60 and $17, respectively? Part of the answer is our huge supply. With high-tech methods of extraction and with discovery of vast gas-rich shale deposits, estimated reserves are about 2.4 quadrillion cubic feet. That translates into more than a 100-year supply of natural gas at current usage rates. What partially explains the high European and Japanese prices is the fact that global natural gas markets are not integrated. Washington has stringent export restrictions on natural gas. Naturally, the...

Acceptance of natural gas as a consumer motor fuel has a long road ahead, even if Texans soon will be able to travel it in a gas-powered version of their favorite vehicle – a Ford F-150 pickup. Concerns about a lack of refueling stations, higher up-front costs and limited availability of the vehicles themselves mean that customers will probably not be rushing to buy natural gas trucks or cars any time soon. Still, a bi-fuel option on 2014 models of the top-selling F-150 – which will let the trucks run on natural gas or gasoline – along with changes in...

Japan registered a ¥4.84 trillion ($48.7 billion) trade deficit for the six months through June, the biggest on record for any six-month period, as the yen’s sharp slide boosted import costs despite a rebound in exports, the government said Wednesday. During the first half of 2013, the value of imports rose 9.2 percent on year to ¥38.8 trillion, with those of liquefied natural gas jumping 13.2 percent and of crude oil increasing 6.0 percent, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. Exports, a key engine of Japan’s economic growth, grew 4.2 percent to ¥33.96 trillion on the back of...

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is finding a home in an increasing number of transportation applications. On land, the fuel is gaining acceptance as a cleaner-burning and cheaper alternative to diesel in truck fleets and rail locomotives. The waterborne transport community is also turning to LNG to power ferries, tankers and other marine vessels. It will only be a matter of time until the aviation sector begins adopting LNG as a transport fuel as well, according to Graham Dorrington. The senior lecturer in aeronautical engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia contends that commercial airlines will find the environmental and economic...

The perception of natural gas as a mainstream fuel for vehicles runs the gamut, dependent upon where you live: from the improbable…to the viable…to the everyday reality. So from recent burrito research expeditions, here are ten points to stir up the melding pot of the great natural gas vehicle debate. 1) Here is a breakdown of the total number of natural gas vehicles globally. The key takeaways: there are A LOT of natural gas vehicles already in the world (15 millionish in 2011) and the number is rapidly increasing. However, there are relatively few in North America (aka, the tiny...

Moscow has reiterated its vivid interest for Cyprus’ natural gas by expressing once again its interest for the exploitation of the reserves in the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The interest was expressed during a meeting in Moscow between the Cyprus House President Yiannakis Omirou and Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Yury Sentyurin. The meeting lasted two hours and was also attended by the members of the parliamentary party delegation which accompany Omirou, as well as by representatives of Russian natural gas companies, NOVATEK and Gazprom Bank. Omirou arrived in Russia this morning, for a two-day official visit, heading a...

While the 16th round two-day India-China border talks concluded in Beijing Saturday seeking to resolve the vexed boundary disputes, some of which dates back prior to the establishment of either an independent India or the establishment of the People's Republic of China, but both the Asian giants have pitched themselves in the deep waters of Mozambique - home to the world's biggest gas discovery in a decade - for a higher stake in global energy assets. India made a difference with the Oil and natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd. (OIL) clinching a deal, an entry into...

BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) said on Saturday that it has completed the purchase of 50 percent of Chesapeake's share in its Mississippi Lime assets for 1.02 billion U.S. dollars. Chesapeake is the second-largest natural gas developer in the United States and its Mississippi Lime oil and natural gas assets are in northern Oklahoma. Sinopec signed the agreement with Chesapeake on Feb. 23 through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation. The deal means Sinopec acquires 425,000 acres (171,991 hectares) in the Mississippi Lime shale formation, with estimated proven and probable (2P) oil...

As the possibility of free market competition in liquefied natural gas sales looms, Gazprom is preparing to do battle with potential domestic and international rivals. The gas giant plans to take as much as 15 percent of the world LNG market, up from its 5 percent share today, Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said at annual shareholder meeting held at company's headquarters on Friday. Europe's own gas production is decreasing, while many LNG producers prefer to supply premium markets in the Asia-Pacific region. As a consequence, Europe's share in world LNG imports decreased from 28 percent in 2009 to 21 percent...

Natural gas turbines now are powering the world’s fastest ferry, according to GE. Two of the turbine-maker’s engines, capable of generating a combined 59,000 horsepower, were installed on a 325-foot passenger and vehicle ferry, GE said. The ferry has reached record speeds while running fully on natural gas and will soon be delivered to Argentina, where it will begin shuttling passengers between Buenos Aires and Montevideo, Uruguay, according to GE. The “wave-piercing catamaran” can travel at a speed of 58.1 knots, or 67 miles per hour, Australian ferry builder Incat Tasmania said in a statement. “Of course there’s a few...

ExxonMobil is hoping to get the green light from Canada’s National Energy board to export 30 million tons liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year and build a new export terminal in British Columbia. This is the biggest export plan ever proposed for Canada’s west coast. The oil giant has optioned land from the government of British Columbia in a place called Grassy Point, just north of Prince Rupert, and is now seeking approval for the massive LNG terminal project.

Cyprus and a US-Israeli partnership on Wednesday signed a statement of intent for the development of a natural gas liquefaction plant on the island. The parties are the Cyprus state, Noble Energy International, and Israel’s Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership. It is hoped the preliminary accord will lead to a final agreement in the future setting up a joint venture between the parties – a special-purpose vehicle seeking investors for the estimated €7 to €8bn LNG plant. “The signing of the memorandum between the Republic of Cyprus and the three companies represents the next milestone on the...

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom and a Japanese joint venture signed a memorandum Saturday to build a liquefied natural gas production base in the suburbs of Vladivostok and jointly sell LNG in Japan. Gazprom aims to expand in Asia amid falling sales in Europe, while Japan Far East Gas Co. hopes to lower LNG procurement costs by participating in building the production base. The joint venture was established in December 2010 by Itochu Corp., Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Marubeni Corp., INPEX Corp. and Itochu Oil Exploration Co.

The American shale gas revolution has led to a strong and growing interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports as a result of domestic supply far outstripping domestic demand, coupled with strong international demand. Current U.S. policy requires Department of Energy (DOE) approval for exports to countries with which the US does not have free trade agreements, based on the sole criteria of whether a requested permit to export would be in the public interest. This week, the process by which the Department evaluates permits to export LNG was analyzed in earnest by the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee...

Expands to Rail with GE Transportation SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE) today released Vol. IV of ROAD TO NATURAL GAS, an update of its growing portfolio of customers making the switch to natural gas as a transportation fuel or expanding their current fleets. This edition includes new agreements recently signed including Clean Energy’s first railroad fuel deal with GE Transportation to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its new initiative to test LNG locomotives...

When President Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of Eight meeting this week, there should be a spotlight on our two nations’ drastically different approaches to natural gas exports. While Russia continues to export natural gas and dominate the European market, the United States continues to slow-walk approval for natural gas exports. Our slow and sluggish process is affecting U.S. economic and national security. While traveling recently to Azerbaijan, the Persian Gulf and Eastern Europe to research energy issues, I witnessed the heavy hand of Russian influence and oppression. Russia’s control of the natural gas market...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Delays in approval of more natural gas export projects are costing U.S. companies millions of dollars a day and giving a leg up to rival countries also looking to boost exports, the chief of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) said on Thursday. The comments by Exxon's Rex Tillerson came hours after new U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told lawmakers he hopes to "expeditiously" begin evaluating the more than a dozen applications awaiting approval to export liquefied natural gas (LNG). "It's a very competitive marketplace. It's not like people are just going to stand at our door like panting...

...Already, a raft of global players have opened their wallets to invest in the early stages of the dozen or more planned Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export facilities, which chills methane gas to -260 degrees to move it as a liquid in ships. International owners include China Investment Corporation, BG Group from the United Kingdom, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, Mitsui from Japan, Osaka Gas from Japan, Qatar Petroleum, RRJ Capital from Hong Kong and Singapore , RWE from Germany, Temasek from Singapore, and Tokyo Gas . Midstream Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) are the logical owners of LNG export facilities,...

There are few, if any, US energy policy decisions that are being more fiercely debated than the fate of liquefied natural gas exports. With a recent, high-profile approval from the Department of Energy, ramped up rhetoric and more decisions looming, it might be a good time to get up to speed on the LNG export issue. What’s this about? If you’ve followed the LNG export fight just a little, you’ve probably heard that, thanks to the shale gas revolution, the US has abandoned its plans to import gas from foreign markets and is now looking to aggressively export it. Ample...

Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum International have announced plans to build a $10 billion natural gas liquefication facility in the Gulf Coast port of Sabine Pass. The announcement comes as the two companies and the rest of the natural gas industry eagerly await permission from the U.S. government to begin exporting natural gas, which is cooled and liquefied before being shipped overseas.

In the second article of this series, we examined the second of the top three promising U.S. LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporters, Dominion Resources (D), that could benefit from the rising demand for LNG. Today, I will discuss about the top LNG exporter making business with natural gas (UNG) that could very much profit from the vast potential offered by the natural gas boom in the U.S. To see my article on this opportunity, click here... Cheniere Energy (LNG)

Escalating costs to build liquefied natural gas plants on land in Australia, where energy workers earn the highest salaries in the world, are driving developers out to sea in search of billions of dollars in savings. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) plans to use the world’s largest ship to turn gas into liquid at an offshore field, eliminating the need for investment in pipelines and port facilities. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL) is studying sea-based technology since ditching plans this month for an onshore plant for its Browse project. After starting work on $180 billion in LNG terminals on land, developers are...

Cold temperatures, a shortage of storage facilities and cutbacks in natural gas drilling are all helping push the price of natural gas well above $4, according to an Ernst &Young analysis released Tuesday morning. The increase comes after natural gas prices plunged to the lowest in more than a decade in 2012, as production outpaced domestic demand, creating a glut of natural gas. A year ago, the futures contract for next-month delivery was $1.975. On Tuesday, the contract closed at $4.238 in New York Mercantile Exchange trading. Consumers are beginning to absorb this excess supply, both for heat during unseasonably...

The global impact of the U.S. shale gas boom was in further evidence this week as Qatar Petroleum, along with its MOU partner, Centrica, made its first move into the North American exploration and production (E&P) market in a $1 billion acquisition of Canadian assets from Suncor Energy. North America had been earmarked by Qatar as a guaranteed market to sell its copious Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export capacity in, but the U.S. Shale boom has turned this idea on its head, as the middle-eastern NOC becomes the latest foreign power to move into the North American E&P arena. The...

As LNG17 gets underway in Houston, Shell Oil President Marvin Odum spoke with FuelFix about the challenges and opportunities for liquefied natural gas. Shell is leveraging its position as one of the largest natural gas producers by using the fossil fuel to power its own drilling rigs, ships and heavy trucks — with hopes of spurring others to make the same transition. At the same time, it is investing heavily in small modular facilities capable of liquefying natural gas and building the infrastructure to resupply trucks and boats that run on the super-chilled fossil fuel. Shell also is part of...

North America has seen nothing short of a revolution in natural gas production over the last several years. Evidence of this revolution can be found in the dramatic shift in projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) during that timeframe. In 2005, the EIA projected US imports of LNG — natural gas cooled to -160o C (-256o F) to enable it to be transported by ocean-going tankers — would hit 12 Bcf/day by 2030. Seven years later, the EIA projected that by 2030 exports of LNG could be as high as 12 Bcf/day. To see a swing of 24...

As it looks to boost demand for bountiful natural gas, Royal Dutch Shell figures a good way to start is by keeping the home fires burning. The company is leveraging its position as one of the largest natural gas producers by using the fuel to power its own drilling rigs, ships and heavy trucks – with hopes of spurring others to make the same transition. At the same time, it is investing heavily in small modular facilities capable of liquefying natural gas by super-chilling it, and building the infrastructure to fuel trucks and boats that run on it. The approach...

Global LNG faced a number of problems as 2013 began. All reflect industry's growing pains; none responds to easy solution. As in recent years, industry supply and demand are struggling to find balance, as expected supply from some areas lags, other possible, unexpected supply has appeared on the horizon in the last 12-18 months, and some markets are behind announced schedules for installing regasification. When 2013 began, the global LNG industry was capable of producing as much as 290 million tonnes/year (tpy) and regasifying about 625 million tpy, according to data compiled by Oil & Gas Journal. These figures come...

Japan is planning to start the world's first futures contract for liquefied natural gas, marking the latest step toward creating a global market for the fuel. The market for LNG—the chilled and exportable form of natural gas—is poised to expand rapidly in the coming years, analysts say, as the U.S. increases its exports of the fuel and global demand rises. The price of gas varies widely across regions. Japan, the world's biggest importer of LNG, pays about $18 per million British thermal units, versus $4 for the product in gaseous form in the U.S. Japan's LNG imports rose after the...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Truckers considering natural gas as an alternative to high-priced diesel say the cost of vehicles that run on the cheap and cleaner-burning fuel is still too high for them to see a timely payback on their investment. A push to run more of the nation's truck fleet on cleaner, domestically produced natural gas is rapidly gaining momentum. [...] Natural gas trucks' greenhouse gas emissions are about 20 percent lower than those of diesel trucks. But truck companies must fork over an extra $40,000 to $80,000 per natural gas truck - a big markup considering a heavy-duty...

Amid the nation's shale gas boom, natural gas is being considered as an alternative to diesel to fuel heavy trucks. The "Blueprint for a Clean and Secure Energy Future" unveiled by U.S. President Barack Obama last week calls for "putting in place new incentives" for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that run on natural gas or other alternative fuels and providing a credit for 50 percent of the incremental cost of a dedicated alternative-fuel truck for a 5-year period. "The natural gas vehicle market is already growing but the vehicle incentives the president calls for would help accelerate that growth and...

The city of Valdez plans to spend up to $900,000 to try to defeat a bill aimed at advancing an in-state natural gas pipeline project. City manager John Hozey said a large-scale line capable of feeding overseas exports makes more sense for Alaska. Valdez has hoped to be the terminus for a major line, when and if one gets built, but Hozey said the PR campaign - including ads and a website - is geared at supporting what Valdez believes to be the better project. The city is using money it has won in challenges over taxation of the trans-Alaska...

LOUISVILLE, KY , March 19, 2013 /CNW/ - Heavy-duty trucking customers seeking optimal on-board fuel storage, high-performance natural gas engines, and reliable fueling can benefit from a new joint marketing program by Westport Innovations Inc. (TSX:WPT/NASDAQ:WPRT) and Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) that was announced today in Louisville, Kentucky, home of the Mid-America Truck Show (MATS). To encourage the use of natural gas vehicles and the establishment of the growing fueling infrastructure across North America , the companies will bundle the Westport™ LNG Tank System - optimized for use with the Cummins Westport ISL G or the new Cummins Westport...

ENN Group Co Ltd, one of China's largest private companies, is quietly rolling out plans to establish a network of natural gas fueling stations for trucks along U.S. highways. With plans to build 50 stations this year alone, ENN joins a small but formidable group of players -- including Clean Energy Fuels Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc -- in an aggressive push to develop an infrastructure for heavy-duty trucks fueled by cheap and abundant natural gas. Clean Energy is backed by T. Boone Pickens and Chesapeake Energy Corp. The move is yet another example of China's ambition to grab...

<p>That's understandable given that the egg in this case is government support and Akerson is head of General Motors, a company that received a $49.5 billion federal bailout to keep it in business.</p> <p>He doesn't want to be seen as calling on the government for help, although he essentially is.</p>

he nation’s largest railway decided to test out liquefied natural gas as a fuel for locomotives because the cost savings appeared too great to ignore, its CEO said Wednesday. “It comes down to the spread relationship between LNG and diesel,” said BNSF CEO Matt Rose, speaking at the IHS CERAWeek energy conference at the Hilton Americs-Houston in downtown. “Once you get that in your head you can make that decision pretty quickly.” BNSF has been studying the possibility of natural gas for locomotives for 18 months, focusing on the opportunity for saving on fuel. The company burns 1.3 billion gallons...

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) division of Calgary-based Ferus LP successfully completed in October what the company believes to be the first-ever hydraulic fracturing operation utilizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as engine fuel in North America. Ferus' LNG Division was engaged by a major oil and gas service company in the United States to conduct the pilot project, which involved six dual-fuel 2,250 horsepower pressure pumper units, powered by LNG, to stimulate well performance in the south Texas Eagle Ford shale. The dual fuel systems allow for natural gas and diesel to be consumed simultaneously with no decrease in performance,...

A large tanker carrying liquified natural gas (LNG) is set to become the first ship of its type to sail across the Arctic. The carrier, Ob River, left Norway in November and has sailed north of Russia on its way to Japan. The specially equipped tanker is due to arrive in early December and will shave 20 days off the journey. The owners say that changing climate conditions and a volatile gas market make the Arctic transit profitable. Long-term preparationBuilt in 2007 with a strengthened hull, the Ob River can carry up to 150,000 cubic metres of gas. The tanker...

The world is entering a "golden age of gas" with Australia set to be a key contributor to it. With seven world-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the country currently under construction, it is clear that Australia is positioning itself to emerge as the leading player in the global LNG market. Four of the projects draw from gas fields in Western Australia (Gorgon, Prelude, Wheatstone and Ichthys) and three are in Queensland (Queensland Curtis LNG, Gladstone LNG and Australia Pacific LNG). Gorgon will have three trains producing 15 million tones per annum (mtpa) of LNG from 2014. Wheatstone will...

On August 7, Norway’s Statoil announced its exit from the super-giant Shtokman gas field development in the Russian Arctic. The Norwegian company, majority state-owned, is writing off its investment into the Shtokman project, booking $335 million (apparently most of that investment) as financial expenses for the second quarter of 2012. Statoil’s executives have withdrawn from the project company’s board of directors. Declaratively at least, Statoil claims to be interested in re-negotiating the terms of the Shtokman project with Gazprom. But the Russian side has long failed to satisfy Statoil’s concerns (and probably also those of French Total, the other partner...