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Producción y mercados energéticos 22/01/19

Latest Energy News

22 January 2019

TOP STORY: Nord Stream gas pipeline shipped record volumes of 59 bcm in 2018 A record gas volume of 58.8 bcm were conveyed from Russia to the European Union (EU) market through the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2018. From the start of operations in November 2011 (Line 1) and October 2012 (Line 2) until the end of 2018, about 264 bcm of gas have been transported through the gas pipeline. In 2017, the facility shipped 51 bcm of Russian natural gas, up by 16% compared with 2016. Gas exports to Europe have ramped up quickly every year, from 11.5 bcm in 2012 to the current level. The 1,224 km long Nord Stream pipeline stretches from the city of Vyborg (Russia) to Lubmin near Greifswald, in Germany. The pipeline’s capacity is soon expected to be doubled with the commissioning of the €9.5bn Nord Stream 2 project, which is at an advanced stage of construction and slated for commissioning at the end of 2019. Nord Stream 2 is developed by Gazprom (50%), Uniper, Shell, OMV, Wintershall and Engie (10% each).

Energy Markets Poland’s LNG imports grew by 58% in 2018, at expense of Russian gas According to the Polish state-run oil and gas company PGNiG (Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo), LNG imports (most of which from Qatar, Norway and the United States) rose by 58% in 2018 (+ 1 bcm, from 1.7 bcm in 2017 to 2.7 bcm in 2018), accounting for 20% of total gas imports. Meanwhile, Russian gas imports declined by 6.4%,… Read more Electricity imports offset lower nuclear in Belgium’s 2018 power supply According to data unveiled by the Belgian power transmission system operator (TSO) Elia, 2018 was marked by significant levels of unavailability among the domestic nuclear power generation plants. Nuclear power generation fell by 32% in 2018 and only accounted for 34% of Belgium’s 2018 electricity supply (even 15% in October 2018), in contrast to 50% in 2017.. Read more UK onshore wind capacity additions plummet to 598 MW in 2018 According to RenewableUK, the British trade association for wind, wave and tidal power industries, onshore wind capacity installations fell by nearly 80% in 2018 to its lowest level since 2011, reaching 598 MW (263 turbines at 54 sites). These figures have plummeted compared with 2017, when nearly 2.7 GW were installed. Read more Petrobras’ crude oil production remains stable in 2018 (Brazil) Brazilian state-run oil and gas company Petrobras has reported that its total oil and gas output, including natural gas liquids (NGL), stood at 2.6 mboe/d in 2018, including 2.5 mboe/d produced in Brazil and 101,000 boe/d abroad. The annual average of the company’s total operated production (both Petrobras and partner’s share) amounted to 3.3 mboe/d, of which 3..2 mboe/d in Brazil. Read more Infrastructure & Investments Ethiopia launches a solar power tender for 6 projects (800 MW) The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance has launched a tender for six large-scale solar projects in the regions of Afar, Somali, Oromia and Tigray. Expected to have a total combined capacity of 798 MW, the projects will require around US$795m in investment and will be built under the framework of a public-private partnership. Read more EDF will start hot tests at Flamanville EPR in February 2019 (France) French power utility EDF will continue to implement the action plan on welds of the main secondary system of the 1,650 MWe Flamanville-3 EPR reactor (France), as announced in July 2018. The group expects to start the hot tests during the second half of February 2019 and complete the loading of nuclear fuel during the fourth quarter of 2019. So far,… Read more Tellurian’s Driftwood LNG terminal gets environmental clearance (US) US-based natural gas company Tellurian has been granted a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the 27.6 Mt/year Driftwood LNG export terminal and the associated pipeline infrastructure near Lake Charles, Louisiana (US). Read more