From Platts
Dominion Energy’s Cove Point LNG export terminal in Maryland received its first tanker on Thursday as the company prepares to join Cheniere Energy shipping US supplies overseas.
Inspectors boarded the Maran Gas Delphi and the vessel was being moored at the facility around 3:05 pm local time, US Coast Guard spokesman Andy Kendrick said in an email. It was not clear when the vessel would depart, he said.
Source: Dominion Energy Cove Point presentation
Data from cFlow, Platts trade flow software, show the tanker was fully laden with LNG and its last destination was a port in Nigeria.
The exact purpose of Dominion bringing in a tanker already filled with LNG was not clear, though it is common for new LNG export terminals to cool down their tanks with already produced LNG before they begin commissioning their own cargoes.
Shell, which uses a combination of its own vessels and charters, is scheduled to take Dominion’s commissioning cargoes.
The Maran Gas Delphi, as well as several other Maran Gas tankers, have been used to carry cargoes from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana.
Cheniere became the first US exporter of LNG produced from shale gas when it launched its initial cargo in February 2016. That cargo went to Brazil. Dominion, which is set to become the second US exporter of LNG produced from shale gas, has not said where Shell plans to take its first cargo. Often, that decision is not made until vessels are preparing to leave or in transit, based on market prices and buyer needs.
Asia, Mexico and Europe are key destinations for US LNG.
Cove Point began introducing feed gas to the facility on December 5. Shell will offtake the LNG produced at Cove Point during the commissioning process. It also said Shell is providing the gas for liquefaction during commissioning.
Cove Point has long-term service agreements with Gail India and ST Cove Point, which is a joint venture of Japan’s Sumitomo and Tokyo Gas, to supply LNG produced from the facility. Since those agreements cover substantially all of the LNG capacity from the facility, Dominion has said it is unlikely it will be shipping spot cargoes, something Cheniere as done since starting production at Sabine Pass.
From MarineLink
First Vessel Heads for MD’s Cove Point LNG
The first liquefied natural gas vessel, the Maran Gas Delphi, was headed Thursday for Dominion Energy Inc’s Cove Point LNG export facility in Maryland, a Reuters interactive map showed, with the facility expected to enter service by the end of the year.
Cove Point will be the second large LNG export terminal in the lower 48 U.S. states, after Cheniere Energy Inc’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, which exported its first cargo in February 2016.
The Maran Gas Delphi… can hold about 3.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) natural gas. One Bcf is enough fuel for about 5 million U.S. homes.
With Sabine Pass, Cove Point and a couple of other export terminals under construction, the United States is expected to have the third-biggest LNG export capacity in the world by the end of 2018.
U.S. LNG export capacity is expected to soar from 3.0 Bcf/day now to 3.8 Bcf/day by the end of the year, 5.3 Bcf/day by the end of 2018 and 10.1 Bcf/day by the end of 2019.
From Oil & Gas 360
Cove Point Almost at the Finish Line
Dominion Energy (ticker: D) introduced feed gas into the Cove Point natural gas liquefaction facility on Dec. 5. The plant is currently undergoing commissioning in Lusby, MD. All major equipment has been operated and is being commissioned as expected following a comprehensive round of testing and quality assurance activities, Dominion said in a news release.
Shell NA LNG is providing the natural gas needed for liquefaction during the commissioning process and will off-take the LNG that is produced.
When commissioning is complete, Dominion’s Cove Point plant will produce LNG for ST Cove Point, which is the joint venture of Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Gas, and for GGULL, the U.S. affiliate of GAIL (India) LTD under 20-year contracts. The Cove Point liquefaction facility has a nameplate capacity of 5.25 mtpa of LNG.
Construction of the liquefaction facility began in October 2014, after three years of federal, state and local permit reviews and approvals. With a cost of $4 billion, it is the largest construction project ever thus far for Maryland and for Dominion Energy. Construction has involved more than 10,000 craft workers and a payroll of more than $565 million, Dominion said.
