Attention Turns to LNG, Renewables as OPEC Struggles to Increase Crude Oil Prices

China’s Appetite for Natural Gas is Increasing, and a U.S. LNG Fleet is Heading  To Asia As Spot Prices Soar.

Meanwhile the British Independent Newspaper reports that a Record number of oil and gas firms have gone bust as a renewable energy revolution begins to bite.

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By TZ Business News Staff and Agencies.

 

Amid hope among  Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their sympathizers oil prices are rising on account of their plan to cut production, energy users are proving they have other ideas; eyes are now focused on natural gas and renewables, according to media reports.

With Asian LNG spot prices almost doubling in three months, a total of nine U.S. LNG cargoes are traveling to northeast Asia, the world’s top LNG demand destination, as the price surge is making U.S. shipment via the Panama Canal more profitable.

According to Platts and its trade flow software, Asian spot prices were $9.75/MMBtu on Tuesday, compared to $4/MMBtu in April 2016, and with around $5.50/MMBtu in the middle of September last year.

Prices have surged since September, due to issues and outages at liquefaction plants, including Gorgon in Australia, the journalist Tsvetana Paraskova has reported on Oilprice.com.

The LNG spot price increase has now made the journey from Sabine Pass in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to northeast Asia more attractive, after prices had been too low in the first half of 2016. Even after the extended Panama Canal started making the journey shorter, the U.S. LNG cargoes were not rushing to head to northeast Asia in July, August and September.

But in the past couple of months, Asian spot prices jumped considerably, by 27 percent since mid-November, to $9.20/MMBtu in mid-December. This was the largest monthly rise for Asian LNG since February of 2013.

Platts data showed that before December 2016, just one U.S. LNG ship out of 33 cargoes from Sabine Pass had set out for northeast Asia. But now, the surge in Asian spot prices have led to nine cargoes traveling from the U.S. en route to the world’s biggest LNG buyers: Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan.

China received its second U.S. LNG shipping last month, and data by Platt’s cFlow software shows that the country would welcome “a number of the vessels currently headed to the region”.

A fisherman collects spilled crude oil at the Pantai Teluk Penyu in Cilacap, Indonesia Reuters

A fisherman collects spilled crude oil at the Pantai Teluk Penyu in Cilacap, Indonesia Reuters

 

The Independent has reported in the meantime that the world’s largest private power production company has warned the renewables sector could drive the oil price as low as $10 a barrel. A record number of oil and gas companies became insolvent last year, according to a new study which environmentalists said highlighted the need for the UK to prepare for the move to a low-carbon economy.

They warned that the loss of jobs in the sector when it becomes clear that fossil fuels can no longer be burned because of the effect on global warming would lead to “desolate communities” unless people were retrained to work in the “new industries of the 21st century”.

The study by accountancy firm Moore Stephens found 16 oil and gas companies went insolvent last year, compared to none at all in 2012.

After oil prices fell from about $120 a barrel to under $50 for most of the past year, smaller firms in the sector were unable to cope, Moore Stephens found.

Jeremy Willmont, who carried out the research, said: “The collapse of the price of oil has stretched many UK independents to breaking point.

“The last 15 years has seen a large increase in the number of UK oil and gas independents exploring and producing everywhere from Iraq to the Falkland Islands.

“Unless there is a consistent upward trend in the oil price, conditions will remain tough for many of those and insolvencies may continue.”

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Solar energy panels (Internet Photo)

Solar energy panels (Internet Photo)

His report said North Sea oil producers were facing more “headwinds” because of the need to decommission a number of offshore rigs.

Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace UK, warned the ultimate demise of the fossil fuel industry would create “desolate communities” unless the Government took steps to help the country move to a low-carbon economy.

“As the warnings from climate science get stronger, now is the time to realise – as a utility chief recently warned – that the future is not in fossil fuels,” Dr Parr said.

“It’s also time for Government to recognise that we should not leave the workers stranded, but provide opportunities in the new industries of the 21st century.”

The utility chief cited by Dr Parr is Thierry Lepercq, head of research at French energy company Engie, who recently told Bloomberg that the growth in renewable energy could push the cost of oil down to as low as $10 in less than 10 years.

“Even if oil demand continues to climb until 2025, its price could drop to $10 if markets anticipate a significant fall in demand,” he said.

Engie, the world’s largest private power production company, is increasingly investing in renewables and selling off coal-fired power stations and fossil fuel exploration rights.

The firm recently carried out research which found the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region, home to about five million people, could save 20 per cent on energy costs by 2030 by switching to 100 per cent renewable sources.

And Mr Lepercq added: “The promise of quasi-infinite and free energy is here.”

However Joseph Dutton, an associate research fellow with Exeter University’s Energy Policy Group, said fossil fuels would be around for some time to come.

“There’s a real battle between fossil fuels and renewables in power generation,” he said.

“But in terms of renewable transport, we are so far behind where we need to be to tackle climate change.

“In fuels and chemicals, I think fossil fuels are set to remain for the foreseeable future.”