LNG Canada FID near; Record container volume in Southeast; China relying on US energy
Our pick of the latest petrochemical news you need to know
Construction camp contract signals LNG Canada FID near
LNG Canada awarded a workforce accommodation contract to Houston-based Civeo Corp and analysts say the deal signals the $40-billion British Colombia liquified natural gas (LNG) project will proceed.
Civeo Corporation said it has been awarded contracts to supply construction camps for four locations along the proposed 670-kilometer Coastal GasLink pipeline project in British Colombia, Canada.
The contracts are contingent upon a positive final investment decision (FID) from the LNG Canada joint venture.
LNG Canada — comprised of Shell, Mitsubishi, Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd, PetroChina Co and Korea Gas Corp — expects to make a final investment decision by the end of the year.
Coastal GasLink would carry natural gas from northeastern B.C. to a proposed facility in Kitimat where it would be supercooled and liquified before being loaded onto ships for sale in Asia.
The project proposes to eventually ship as much as 28 million tonnes a year out of Kitimat, the equivalent of 10% of global LNG supply in 2017.
Meanwhile, the construction camp facilities are expected to reach total peak room count of over 2,000, and revenue for the full-term of the contract is expected to be approximately C$100 million over 2019-2021.
Civeo expects to deploy approximately C$10 million in capital, primarily in 2019, across all four facilities, which will include maintenance to existing assets, new site service equipment and a limited number of new modular assets.
South Carolina Port sees record TEU volume in June
South Carolina Ports Authority (SPCA) announced record container volume of 2.2 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) handled during the 2018 fiscal year, an increase of 3% over the previous fiscal year.
SCPA handled 201,163 TEUs in June, the single highest month for container volume in the Port’s history and a 10inc% rease over June 2017. June was a strong finish to the Port’s fiscal year, which began in July.
As measured in pier containers, or the number of boxes that moved across the docks of SCPA’s two container terminals, the Port handled 115,696 containers in June and a total of 1.25 million containers in FY2018.
“June container volumes were exceptional, marking the first time our Port has handled more than 200,000 TEUs in a single month,” said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome.
“We achieved the three highest months of container volume in the Port’s history in March, May and June. As compared to FY2010, SCPA has grown by over 900,000 TEUs for a compound annual growth rate of seven percent.”
Bottlenecks and logistical concerns are mounting as the US quickly becomes a top petrochemical exporter, and supply chain professionals are looking for creative ways to mitigate risk.
The Port of Charleston got a head start on the game servicing its first railcar from the US Gulf in 2011 and then began making tremendous efforts to grow and support this business.
The Port of Charleston is now servicing 17 import and export plastic resin companies and has seven bagging and transloading facilities. The facilities are operated by four companies which include Frontier Logistics, Midstates, A&R Bulk-Pac and Wyse Logistics.
Eastman chooses Jacobs for Texas, Tennessee plants
Jacobs Engineering Group has secured additional work from Eastman Chemical Company for providing construction support to two facilities.
The latest contract authorizes Jacobs to support capital construction, as well as maintenance and turnaround services at its facilities in Longview, Texas, and Kingsport, Tennessee.
Earlier this year, Eastman parted ways with contractor KBR of Houston and selected Jacobs Field Services for construction and supplemental maintenance services at its plants in Longview, Texas and Kingsport, Tennessee.
China-significant destination for US energy exports
As its domestic energy consumption has grown, China has become a more significant destination for U.S. energy exports.
China has been among the largest importers of U.S. exports of crude oil, propane, and liquefied natural gas, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
In 2017, more U.S. crude oil was sent to China than any other destination except Canada. China received more U.S. crude oil
in 2017 than the third- and fourth-largest importers, the United Kingdom and Netherlands, combined.
China has been the world’s largest net importer of total petroleum and other liquid fuels since 2013 and surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest gross crude oil importer in 2017.
Based on EIA data through April, China’s imports of U.S. crude oil have continued to increase, averaging 330 thousand barrels/day in 2018. In February 2018, China received more U.S. crude oil than any other destination. Nearly all these crude oil exports were sent from the U.S. Gulf Coast region.