Venice LNG, a subsidiary of the Decal Spa Group, has gained the authorization for the construction and operation of an LNG store in Porto Marghera. The project is promoted and supported by the Port System Authority of the Northern Adriatic Sea and was co-financed by the European Commission within the CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) programming through the actions called Gainn4SEA and Venice LNG Facility for a total of €18.5 million. Gian Luigi Triboldi, President and CEO of Venice LNG, said ‘We are pleased to have reached the Authorization Decree, since it confirms the value of our project,’.

Letters of warning have been sent from the United States to all the enterprises that are collaborating under whatever title with Gazprom to the doubling of the pipeline between Russia and Germany. It is a real ultimatum which requires the stop of all activities and that puts at risk not only the five financiers Shell, Uniper, Wintershall Dea, Omv and Engie but also anyone who has taken a useful role in putting it into operation.

The rise in natural gas prices on the global market is giving some relief to American companies after a particularly difficult year, given the economic crisis caused by coronavirus and the excess of supply that has saturated the markets. These prices are higher compared to US markets and are therefore favoring American companies that export gas. According to the Energy Information Administration, US exports of LNG will reach an average of 8.5 billion cubic feet per day in 2021: this would mean an increase of 30 percent compared to the volumes of 2020.

NOGA (National Oil and Gas Authority of Bahrain) and Eni’s environmental company Eni Rewind will collaborate in the promotion of joint initiatives for the efficient recovery of water, soil and waste in Bahrein. The project is in line with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 of the UN. The agreement, which was signed during a videoconference by S.E. Naser Sultan Al Sowaidi (CEO of NOGA) and Paolo Grossi (CEO of Eni Rewind), will also contribute to add additional fields of collaboration for the development of innovative solutions of circular economy. Eni is present in Bahrain since 2019 with an offshore exploration license.

Allseas is preparing to remove two disused Sprit Energy gas platforms from Morecambe Bay in the East Irish Sea. The platforms first produced gas in 1985 from the South Morecambe field. “After two years of preparing the platforms installations for removal, we’re now looking forward to one of the most significant milestones in the project with the removal of both platforms”, remarked Donald Martin, Spirit Energy project manager. “Seeing the Pioneering Spirit in the East Irish Sea will be an impressive sight – its capacity and single-lift methodology made it a good fit to safely execute this project.”

The company that manages Iraq’s oil exports, The State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), has selected a Chinese company for a multi-billion-dollar deal on oil supplies. The agreement is important because it introduces a news in Iraq, since it talks about a five-year agreement for the supply of 130,000 barrels of crude oil per day, against advance payment of a year of supplies. The amount would be of over $2 billion. The deal also provides for the possibility of choosing the time and the destination in which to ship the crude oil during a one-year period of time. Possibility of choosing, for one year, the time and the destination in which to ship the crude oil.

The Norwegian-based quality assurance company DNV GL, responsible for verifying the safety and technical integrity of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and for issuing a certificate of compliance will no longer provide integrity testing services for the above mentioned pipeline due to the US threat to sanctions. In fact, on January 1, the United States Senate voted to cancel President Donald Trump’s veto on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes new provisions relating to Nord Stream 2 under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Clarification Act (PEESCA). The building company of Nord Stream 2 could now try to involve another society in order to carry out the job of DNV GL.

A nuclear reactor at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant 220 kilometers northwest of Helsinki was shut down on Thursday after a big abnormal event which has caused severe radiations inside the unit. According to the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, there is no radioactive release in the environment. The event was probably caused by a fault in the purification system for the reactor water. The Finnish authority has stated that “There is no danger outside the unit and no radioactive release is expected. Iodine tablets shall not be taken, and it is no need for other actions as staying inside. The radiation situation outside the unit is normal.”

ExxonMobil and Petronas have announced a new oil&gas discovery offshore Suriname. The hydrocarbons were discovered in the Sloanea-1 exploration well on Block 52, which is drilled by Petronas with a 50-percent stake. The well is currently being evaluated to determine its resource potential. Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil said:
“Our first discovery in Suriname extends ExxonMobil’s leading position in South America, building on our successful investments in Guyana. We will continue to leverage our deep-water expertise and advanced technology to explore frontier environments with the highest value resource potential.”

Snam and Linde will work together to develop clean hydrogen projects and related infrastructure in Europe. The agreement previews the promotion of key technologies along the hydrogen value chain and develop opportunities for joint investments in commercial projects in the areas of production, distribution, compression and storage. According to Snam’s CEO Marco Alverà, the project will combine the know-how and innovative capabilities of both companies in order to contribute to scaling-up hydrogen and reaching climate goals, aligned with the European Hydrogen Strategy.”