Tanker

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is approaching Dominion’s new export facility on Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, and was expected to dock there Thursday to assist with the commissioning process, according to analysts and three websites that track the movement and position of seafaring vessels.

A trio of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier owners has formed a pool through which their vessels operating in the spot market will be contracted for charters of up to 12 months. The idea is to lower costs and improve contracting efficiencies, a representative of one of the participating companies told NGI.

Billing it as a strategic move that will better position it to meet rising demand for the transport of refined petroleum products, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) has struck a deal to acquire two maritime shipping companies for $962 million in cash.

Responding in part to the derailment and explosion of a crude-laden tanker in Quebec in July, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed a rule aimed at improving the safety of the rail transportation of hazardous materials by tanker cars, as well as the rail transportation of shale oil.

The number seven is a symbol of fortune and intelligence in China and that luck is being pressed by the Asian-owned seventh proposal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to the Orient from the Pacific Coast of British Columbia (BC).

Enbridge Inc.’s hotly contested Northern Gateway pipeline proposal for an oilsands conduit from Edmonton to a new tanker terminal on the northern Pacific Coast at Kitimat, BC, hit another hurdle this past week when the Yinka Dene Alliance sent a cease and desist letter, warning Enbridge against trespassing in their traditional territories as the company seeks temporary permits for drilling and tree removal for the pipeline project.

Enbridge Inc.’s hotly contested Northern Gateway pipeline proposal for an oilsands conduit from Edmonton to a new tanker terminal on the northern Pacific Coast at Kitimat, BC, hit another hurdle this week when the Yinka Dene Alliance sent a cease and desist letter, warning Enbridge against trespassing in their traditional territories as the company seeks temporary permits for drilling and tree removal for the pipeline project.

North America’s growing shale gas plays were the key determinant in pushing global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply away from American shores. But now the gravity of the shale gas bubble is so strong it could pull in empty tankers to take American gas away to Asian, European and other markets.

The recent Canadian government-commissioned study on the impacts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker traffic in the choppy waters of Passamaquoddy Bay does not provide any fodder for the opponents of the Downeast LNG project proposed for Maine, said the company’s president.