Statoil buys LNG from rivals to cover outage period
Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil, Europe's only producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), resorted to purchasing cargoes from its competitors following extended maintenance at its Snoehvit plant, trading sources said, Reuters reports. After repair work at its Snoehvit plant overran by more than a month the state-controlled company diverted tankers in search of spot cargoes with which to supply customers.
Statoil vessel Arctic Voyager is en route for the Spanish port of Bilbao from Belgium, according to AIS Live ship-tracking data on Reuters.
The 145,000 cubic meter capacity carrier filled up with LNG held in storage at Belgium's Zeebrugge terminal, the only port in Europe capable of accepting and discharging LNG.
The tanker is due to arrive in Bilbao on August 1. Spanish oil and gas company Iberdrola is a long-term customer of Snoehvit.
Sources said Statoil has also shown interest in buying cargoes from U.S. Gulf Coast terminals, Sabine Pass and Freeport, both of which have re-export capability, like Zeebrugge.
"I hear that they are also trying to load in the U.S....due to the extension of maintenance at Snoehvit they have quite a lot of commitments to fulfill," one LNG source said.
Re-exports from the U.S. offer companies the chance to pick up cargoes of the liquefied fuel at relatively short-notice.
Chevron and Total each have a tanker arriving at Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal during August, a source with knowledge of the schedule said.
Snoehvit's average output amounts to some 5.76 billion cubic metres per year.
The plant, which processes gas from the Snoehvit field into LNG, was closed for planned maintenance between April 29 and mid-June, but its restart was delayed due to technical problems which lasted until July 16.
The partners in the Snoehvit field are Statoil with 33.53 percent, Total with 18.40 percent, Hess with 3.26 percent, GDF Suez with 12 percent, RWE Dea with 2.81 percent and Norwegian state-owned firm Petoro, which holds the remaining 30 percent.
Statoil vessel Arctic Voyager is en route for the Spanish port of Bilbao from Belgium, according to AIS Live ship-tracking data on Reuters.
The 145,000 cubic meter capacity carrier filled up with LNG held in storage at Belgium's Zeebrugge terminal, the only port in Europe capable of accepting and discharging LNG.
The tanker is due to arrive in Bilbao on August 1. Spanish oil and gas company Iberdrola is a long-term customer of Snoehvit.
Sources said Statoil has also shown interest in buying cargoes from U.S. Gulf Coast terminals, Sabine Pass and Freeport, both of which have re-export capability, like Zeebrugge.
"I hear that they are also trying to load in the U.S....due to the extension of maintenance at Snoehvit they have quite a lot of commitments to fulfill," one LNG source said.
Re-exports from the U.S. offer companies the chance to pick up cargoes of the liquefied fuel at relatively short-notice.
Chevron and Total each have a tanker arriving at Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal during August, a source with knowledge of the schedule said.
Snoehvit's average output amounts to some 5.76 billion cubic metres per year.
The plant, which processes gas from the Snoehvit field into LNG, was closed for planned maintenance between April 29 and mid-June, but its restart was delayed due to technical problems which lasted until July 16.
The partners in the Snoehvit field are Statoil with 33.53 percent, Total with 18.40 percent, Hess with 3.26 percent, GDF Suez with 12 percent, RWE Dea with 2.81 percent and Norwegian state-owned firm Petoro, which holds the remaining 30 percent.