Low
gas prices spark Trucking firm initiatives
By PAUL DELEAN, The GazetteFebruary 2, 2010
Trucking firm starts conversion: Place Ville Marie's choice
of natural gas will cut pollution, Gaz Métro CEO says
Low natural-gas prices in North America have caused the indefinite
postponement of construction of the proposed Rabaska tanker terminal
near Lévis, but they've sparked new initiatives in other sectors of the
Quebec economy, Gaz Métro head Sophie Brochu said yesterday in a
luncheon speech to the Canadian Club in Montreal. Specifically,
Brochu mentioned a pilot project in the works with Groupe Robert to
convert part of its fleet of long-haul transport trucks to natural-gas
engines, which emit 20 to 25 per cent less greenhouse gases than those
using diesel fuel.
The managers of downtown office complex Place Ville Marie, for their
part, chose natural gas exclusively in the production of steam for
their buildings, a decision that will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions
in downtown Montreal by 15 per cent, she said. Brochu, president
and chief executive of the Montreal-based gas distribution company
since 2007, said natural gas today is 30 per cheaper than heavy oil,
which means most Quebec industries that can switch already have done
so. Since it's a much cleaner-burning fossil fuel, they've spared
the province "millions upon millions of tons" of greenhouse gases and
helped Quebec in its quest for a 20-per-cent reduction from 1990 levels
by 2020, Brochu said.
The province's hydro resources also make it a potentially strong market
for single-passenger electric cars, which would also be a major
environmental plus, as transportation-related emissions currently
account for about 40 per cent of greenhouse gases, she said.
Brochu said Gaz Métro's mission is to enlist as many customers as
possible and teach them to consume the least amount possible.
It's not looking for short-term payback, but rather a long-term
business relationship that also will benefit the entire province
through its encouragement of responsible, clean energy use, she said.
"Just as it would be irresponsible to isolate our energy choices from
their impact on the environment, it would be irresponsible to set
environmental targets without regard for our capacity to economically
fulfill our fundamental energy needs," she said.
As for Rabaska, a $1-billion project in which Gaz Métro is a partner,
Brochu said the land and all necessary permits have been obtained. All
that's needed now is a change in market conditions for the partners to
proceed. Cancelling it, she said, would be a "strategic error" at this
juncture.
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Shale Chesapeake, Total Cement $2.25B Shale Deal
Chesapeake Energy Corp. 1/26/2010
Chesapeake closed its $2.25 billion Barnett Shale joint venture
transaction with Total E&P USA, Inc., whereby Total acquired a 25%
interest in Chesapeake's upstream Barnett Shale assets. The assets in
the joint venture include approximately 270,000 net acres of leasehold
in the Core and Tier 1 areas of the Barnett, approximately 700 million
cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day of current net production
and approximately 3.0 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent
(tcfe) of proved reserves (0.75 tcfe net to Total). In addition,
Chesapeake believes that this leasehold position will support the
drilling of approximately 3,100 additional net locations (775 net to
Total) with approximately 6.3 tcfe of unrisked unproved reserves (1.6
tcfe net to Total).
Total paid Chesapeake approximately $800 million in cash at closing and
will pay a further $1.45 billion over time by funding 60% of
Chesapeake's share of drilling and completion expenditures until the
$1.45 billion obligation has been funded, which Chesapeake expects to
occur by year-end 2012.
In the framework of the joint venture, Chesapeake plans to continue
acquiring leasehold in the Barnett and Total will acquire its 25% share
of the new acreage on promoted terms until December 31, 2015. After
such date, Total's right to acquire its 25% proportionate share of
Chesapeake's leasehold will be on an unpromoted basis and Total will
also begin paying 25% of Chesapeake's support costs related to the
joint venture's corporate development activities.
Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake's Chief Executive Officer, commented,
"We are pleased to close our joint venture transaction with Total and
look forward to creating substantial value for both companies in the
years ahead. We are honored to partner with one of the largest and most
respected industrial enterprises in the world to further develop the
Barnett Shale. This transaction allows Chesapeake to reduce its
financial leverage and future capital expenditures and further
positions us to deliver industry-leading finding and development costs
and returns on capital for years to come."
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Indonesia Energy World to build small LNG plant
Mon Jan 25, 2010 JAKARTA, Jan 25 Reuters
Australian oil and gas firm Energy World Corp's (EWC.AX) Indonesian
unit plans to build a small liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant with a
capacity of 500,000 tonnes a year, a company official said on Monday.
"We plan to build the LNG plant...to supply a planned domestic LNG
receiving terminal in Indonesia," Thompson Situmorang, Energy World
general counsel, told reporters. "The plant is expected to be
operational for 5 years," he said, adding this was subject to approval
by BPMIGAS, which monitors oil and gas contractors working in Indonesia.
Energy Equity Epic Sengkang, the Energy World unit, operates a natural
gas block in South Sulawesi province.
Situmorang said the LNG will be supplied to a receiving terminal
planned by local gas distribution firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN)
(PGAS.JK).
PGN has said it will build a floating LNG receving terminal near
Jakarta in a joint venture with state oil firm Pertamina with a
capacity of around 1.5 million tonnes a year, and also plans to build
its own floating receiving terminal in North Sumatra with capacity of
about 1.5 million tonnes a year.
Indonesia has no LNG receiving terminal at the moment.
Indonesia, the world's third-largest LNG exporter behind Qatar and
Malaysia, is seeking non-oil energy sources such as natural gas and
coal to meet rising domestic demand for power and to reduce consumption
of crude oil as its reserves dwindle. (Reporting by Muklis Ali; Editing
by Neil Chatterjee)
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California Tulare
LNG fuel station may open to public
Privately owned trucks and cars could soon join Tulare city buses and
garbage trucks in fueling up at the city's liquefied-natural-gas
station.
Clean Energy, the company that provides fuel to the station, is
proposing investing $500,000 in the city-owned fueling station, taking
over station management and opening it to the public, said Tulare
Public Works Director Lew Nelson.
The city uses LNG to power buses and garbage trucks, and Compressed
Natural Gas for other city vehicles.
Under the proposal, Clean Energy would:
Add fuel dispensers and replace them if necessary.
Upgrade Compressed Natural Gas pressure and storage capacity.
Increase LNG storage capacity.
The proposal also calls for Clean Energy to:
Set retail prices for fuel sales.
Pay the city a royalty per gallon sold to privately owned vehicle.
Maintain the station.
Clean Energy could seek state funding to pay for the improvements.
Nelson said having an outside vendor responsible for maintenance would
relieve fleet maintenance workers from such duty. "While we have
so far avoided being unable to fuel due to maintenance problems, there
have been some close calls in the past," he said.
Tulare would continue buying LNG from Clean Energy, which already
operates stations in Southern California.
The city will continue owning the station.
Help replacing some trucks possible
Once the improvements are made, Clean Energy would work with local
milk-carrying fleets to access grant money to replace diesel trucks
with LNG-powered trucks.
A 15-liter engine that runs on LNG and is capable of hauling freight
over the Grapevine has been introduced, Nelson said. That would
make using the fuel more attractive. "There are many benefits to
the local fleets from use of LNG fuel instead of diesel, including
operating cost per mile and reduced air emissions," Nelson said.
Tulare City Manager Darrel Pyle said improvements at the gas-fueling
station could lead to a new tax revenue for local coffers. "That could
be an interesting revenue source," he said.
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