Is FSRU honeymoon over?

on 27/07/2018

A giant vessel docked at the port of Moheshkhali in Bangladesh two months ago, propelling the populous but poor nation into the fast expanding club of liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers. FSRU

The Excellence is the latest floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), a type of carrier that has proliferated since 2015 as many countries switch to a cleaner and increasingly cheaper fuel than oil and coal.

But the young FSRU industry has been beset by more project delays than successes in the past 12 months as fluctuating energy prices, shipping rates, government policies and not least strong demand for gas in China reshape the sector.

With the number of countries importing LNG having risen to 42 from 30 in three years, `plug and play` projects, in which regasification vessels link to well-worn physical and commercial infrastructure, are expected to continue if at a slower pace.

But strong Chinese demand for super-chilled LNG has dampened the allure of projects in other countries by lapping up excess supply, and new entrants are trying to develop smaller ventures.

`In the last year or so, FSRUs have suffered a bit of a setback from the stellar growth they were previously enjoying,` Andrew Buckland, Wood Mackenzie`s global LNG trade and shipping principal analyst, said.

`Some of that is down to conditions unique to particular proposed projects. But a lot of it is more to do with demand being stronger than expected in existing conventional markets.

Since a golden period between 2015 and 2017, when almost half of the world’s 34 FSRUs came on stream, projects in Ghana, Pakistan and Ivory Coast have been scrapped and in countries such as Chile, Croatia and South Africa, delayed.

Those stung include oil majors such as ExxonMobil, trading houses including Trafigura and shipping companies that provide FSRUs such as Norway`s Hoegh LNG. Some have backed off; others have regrouped in different configurations.

FSRUs are relatively new the first was put in operation in 2005 by Excelerate, which figured out how to fit an entire LNG terminal onto a single ship. The unlisted U.S. company, together with Golar and Hoegh, now dominates the industry.

On the face of it, they have a big advantage over onshore import terminals cheaper by half at around $300400 million, twice as quick to deliver and flexible to boot because the vessel can journey to other destinations once it is not needed.

This was shown by Egypt`s first FSRU project, completed by privately owned BW Group within just five months at Ain Sokhna on the Suez canal.

But the project was an ideal ‘plug and play` venture: suffering severe power cuts as its own gas output fell, Egypt had the infrastructure to accept regasified LNG.

Conversely, Ghana demonstrates the difficulties of what are still complex projects despite their lower costs and lead times. The country has yet to enter the LNG club despite coming so close that two FSRUs were earmarked for two projects.

Here, issues related to the construction of onshore infrastructure and solid contracts with power plants, the end consumers of the LNG, delayed and scuppered successive ventures.

The Golar and Hoegh FSRUs were reassigned to other locations.

`Developing countries by their nature have limited capacity when it comes to policy and regulatory structures,` said Lance Crist, head of natural resources for International Finance Corp, a World Bank arm that has lent to several FSRU projects.

`Many of these are much smaller marketsA giant vessel docked at the port of Moheshkhali in Bangladesh two months ago, propelling the populous but poor nation into the fast expanding club of liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers.

The Excellence is the latest floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), a type of carrier that has proliferated since 2015 as many countries switch to a cleaner and increasingly cheaper fuel than oil and coal.

But the young FSRU industry has been beset by more project delays than successes in the past 12 months as fluctuating energy prices, shipping rates, government policies and not least strong demand for gas in China reshape the sector.

With the number of countries importing LNG having risen to 42 from 30 in three years, `plug and play` projects, in which regasification vessels link to well-worn physical and commercial infrastructure, are expected to continue if at a slower pace.

But strong Chinese demand for super-chilled LNG has dampened the allure of projects in other countries by lapping up excess supply, and new entrants are trying to develop smaller ventures.

`In the last year or so, FSRUs have suffered a bit of a setback from the stellar growth they were previously enjoying,` Andrew Buckland, Wood Mackenzie`s global LNG trade and shipping principal analyst, said.

`Some of that is down to conditions unique to particular proposed projects. But a lot of it is more to do with demand being stronger than expected in existing conventional markets.

Since a golden period between 2015 and 2017, when almost half of the world’s 34 FSRUs came on stream, projects in Ghana, Pakistan and Ivory Coast have been scrapped and in countries such as Chile, Croatia and South Africa, delayed.

Those stung include oil majors such as ExxonMobil, trading houses including Trafigura and shipping companies that provide FSRUs such as Norway`s Hoegh LNG. Some have backed off; others have regrouped in different configurations.

FSRUs are relatively new the first was put in operation in 2005 by Excelerate, which figured out how to fit an entire LNG terminal onto a single ship. The unlisted U.S. company, together with Golar and Hoegh, now dominates the industry.

On the face of it, they have a big advantage over onshore import terminals cheaper by half at around $300400 million, twice as quick to deliver and flexible to boot because the vessel can journey to other destinations once it is not needed.

This was shown by Egypt`s first FSRU project, completed by privately owned BW Group within just five months at Ain Sokhna on the Suez canal.

But the project was an ideal ‘plug and play` venture: suffering severe power cuts as its own gas output fell, Egypt had the infrastructure to accept regasified LNG.

Conversely, Ghana demonstrates the difficulties of what are still complex projects despite their lower costs and lead times. The country has yet to enter the LNG club despite coming so close that two FSRUs were earmarked for two projects.

Here, issues related to the construction of onshore infrastructure and solid contracts with power plants, the end consumers of the LNG, delayed and scuppered successive ventures.

The Golar and Hoegh FSRUs were reassigned to other locations.

`Developing countries by their nature have limited capacity when it comes to policy and regulatory structures,` said Lance Crist, head of natural resources for International Finance Corp, a World Bank arm that has lent to several FSRU projects.

`Many of these are much smaller markets. You`re not talking about large, liquid markets with established infrastructure where you can just plug and play,` he said.

While the Ghana saga unravelled over the past three years, global LNG market trends changed the dynamics of FSRU projects.

Rates for transporting LNG rose, boosting the revenues of LNG shipping companies that were thinking of branching into FSRUs, and China`s demand for gas skyrocketed, soaking up an anticipated oversupply in the market.

China’s environmental drive to convert heating plants from coal to gas drove 40 percent of global LNG demand growth last year and increased Chinese gas imports by 15 percent, making it the second-largest LNG buyer after Japan, the International Energy Agency said in June.

This created less urgency to open new markets by parking FSRUs in countries that had hitherto not bought LNG. Existing terminals, usually underused, took more supplies.

The result has been a slowdown in the delivery of planned projects.

‘Prior to last winter, when it looked like there’d be excess LNG, creating new demand centres via FSRUs looked a more attractive strategy than it does now,` Buckland said. ‘Which is not to say they won’t come back to that in the future.’ Meanwhile, LNG carrier rates, which slumped to $25,000 per day in 2017, more than tripled to $85,000 a day. This meant those companies that operate LNG carriers but wanted to join the FSRU bonanza had missed the boat at least for now.

For example, LNG carrier company Flex LNG backed out of the FSRU business in May, saying shipping rates and project delays had made the move unattractive compared to improved carrier rates, its chief source of revenue.

Some large projects are still due to come onstream, if at a slower pace: Ivory Coast is scheduled to become an LNG-buying nation by 2020 with a Total project using a Golar FSRU.

The rush of new projects between 2015 and 2017 together with predictions of LNG oversupply also attracted trading houses wanting to secure markets for the rising volumes they bought and sold.

Trafigura, Vitol and Gunvor have competing plans for FSRUs in Pakistan after the country became an LNG importer in 2016 but have failed to get projects in Bangladesh off the ground.

Now the urgency has receded with China’s growing appetite for LNG.

But there has been a proliferation of much smaller projects: LNG-to power ventures, FSRUs for single users such as gas-intensive fertiliser plants and ‘petrol stations’ for ships using LNG as bunker fuel in northern Europe.

 

Electrical Engineering, From HEPC to 40GB WI-Fi

on 27/07/2018

Electrical engineers are at the forefront of some of today’s most important innovations. Whether working for the private sector, government, or major research institutes, electrical engineers are always pushing the boundaries of the possible. Recently, they’ve contributed to huge strides in energy efficiency, mobile technology, accessibility, transportation, telecommunication, and much more. Let’s take a look at some of the most exciting new ideas in the field.

High-Efficiency Photo voltaic Cells One of the enduring challenges of modern electrical engineering is to find an implementation of photo voltaic technology that is efficient, effective under varying operating conditions, and highly resistant to damage – while not being cost-prohibitive. Different engineering approaches have been used to raise collection and distribution efficiency, though perovskite-based cells have recently captured the most attention at major research facilities.
Green Energy Electrical Power Converter Once you collect energy, converting it for use in the electrical system is an essential next step. A new power converter developed in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Arkansas will now make it easier for users of renewable energy to shunt excess energy into the power grid. This has the potential to make rooftop solar initiatives much easier and to further incentivize homeowners to pursue energy efficient technology.
Smart Electrical Grids As energy systems become more complex and energy sources become more diverse, smart grids are growing in importance worldwide. Smart grids integrate innovative electrical technology at multiple levels to improve flow control, detect malfunctions, and automate service delivery. With end-to-end communication between power plants, distribution sites, and the end user’s electrical point-of-presence, it becomes possible to raise efficiency and reduce costs.
Virtual RealityVirtual reality draws on multiple disciplines, but in terms of providing a sensory experience that maps effectively to “real life,” electrical engineering is crucial. The earliest VR technologies consisted of a headset with gloves as an input device, rendering the user mostly stationary. Positional tracking is now making VR more interactive, but the market has yet to develop a solution using a complete array of sensors.
Eye Tracking Technology As many consumers develop an adversarial relationship to conventional digital advertising, eye tracking becomes essential – not only to deliver commercial messages but to better understand what information is of greatest interest. As it has matured, eye tracking technology has grown into an important frontier in accessibility for the disabled, allowing technology access through eye movement. Sensitive electronic sensors are the basis of virtually all eye tracking.
Wireless Wearable TechThe idea of the “Personal Area Network” has been around in computing science for a long time, but it’s only now becoming a practical reality. Devices can now operate on a smaller scale than ever and interface seamlessly with the wider environment. Wearable devices have been developed to authenticate access to vehicles and machinery, improve reading comprehension while engaged in exercise, and provide communications information without the use of a phone.
Graphene As electrical engineers reach the performance constraints caused by the fundamental properties of matter, advances in materials science become essential. Graphene is perhaps the most important recent innovation. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms one million times thinner than paper. It’s so thin that it is actually considered two-dimensional.
Graphene’s unique characteristics make it the strongest known material on Earth. It can stretch by 20%, making it as pliable as rubber. It will provide immense gains in battery life for portable devices and is uniquely well-suited for wearable technology that collects biometric information from the user. In short, it may be essential to the future of electrical engineering.
Ion Thruster EnergyIt comes as no surprise Star Trek was a defining force in inspiring thousands of people around the world to develop and pursue an interest in engineering. One of the engineering challenges presented by that vision of the future was this: What kind of novel propulsion technology would be necessary to allow manned spaceflight to distant worlds?
NASA and others have been working on the prototype ion engine for years, envisioning a way to carry large amounts of supplies and equipment through space. It uses solar power as a charging mechanism and expels xenon gas. Electrons from the solar panel will be trapped in a magnetic field and then used to ionize the xenon propellant for a total thrust of 13kW.
Personal Flying CarsPeople – engineers and others – have been thinking about flying cars since The Jetsons. Now, a private U.S. firm called Terrafugia is tackling the engineering challenges necessary to deliver a personal flying craft that offers the control and safety required for regular civilian use. It calls its flagship product The Transition, which combines driving and flying in a single vehicle.
To create a commercially viable dual-use vehicle, Terrafugia has had to combine best practices in automotive technology and aeronautics. This includes a number of innovations of keen interest to electrical engineers, including an engine that successfully powers both the rear wheels and the propeller using unleaded gasoline. It also incorporates advanced carbon fiber construction.
40GB Wi-FiThe maximum speed of Internet connectivity, whether wired or wireless, has always been defined by foundational challenges in electrical engineering – semiconductor size and composition, for example. Each advance in speed represents a fundamental shift in engineering processes, whether from applying novel materials, new transmission media, or other technology.
Back in 2013, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany broke the speed limit for Wi-Fi by delivering 40 gigabytes of data per second over a distance of more than half a mile. The key innovation was a new set of chips capable of processing signals at higher-than-usual frequencies. The shorter the wavelength, the more powerful Wi-Fi can theoretically be

9th IEEEP FAIR 2018

on 23/07/2018

IEEEP Fair 2018-Pakistan’s Premier ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of Pakistan (IEEEP) is organizing its 9th Industrial Fair from 31 July -2 August 2018. This fair is one of the biggest Electronics and Electrical Engineering Industrial Exhibition in Pakistan, show-casing a large collection of industrial merchandise and service products. Many foreign exhibitors utilize this platform to launch their products in the region. Each year the IEEEP Fair provides greater opportunities for companies, both local and foreign, to pick up the latest trends and gain access to the newest, cutting-edge products in the industry. The fair facilitates companies to engage in joint ventures exchanging technology and information. It is advantageous for university students as well, who are able to network and make connections with potential employers.

Visit ER’s Stall, Stall# A-12, Hall# 01 Expo Centre Karachi, Pakistan.

Benefits Of Participating:

  • View introductory and demonstrative presentations of the latest products in the engineering field.
  • An ideal setting to examine as well as compare the performance of products from competitive suppliers in Electrical & Electronics Engineering Industry.
  • An opportunity to interact with key clients and develop relations with local businesses as well as the foreign principal companies attending the fair.
  • Gain direct access to the buyers, industry professionals and high profile engineering consultants.
  • An opportunity to hold B2B meetings with both domestic and foreign manufacturers.
  • Interact with government officials, policy makers, representatives of various associations and stakeholders.

China pledges $20b in loans to Arab states

on 18/07/2018

China will provide Arab states with $20 billion in loans for economic development, President Xi Jinping told top Arab officials on July 10, as Beijing seeks to build its influence in the Middle East and Africa.
The money will be earmarked for “projects that will produce good employment opportunities and positive social impact in Arab States that have reconstruction needs,” said Xi, without providing further details.
It is part of a special Chinese program for “economic reconstruction” and “industrial revitalisation,” Xi told participants at a China-Arab States forum in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
Beijing is also prepared to provide another one billion yuan to countries in the region to “build capacity for stability maintenance,” Xi said, using a term commonly associated with policing and surveillance.
Since taking office, Xi has overseen a concerted effort to expand Chinese influence in the Middle East and Africa, including the construction of the country’s first military base in Arab League state Djibouti.
China has already provided vast sums to Arab countries, with Djibouti alone owing some $1.3 billion, according to estimates from the US-based China Africa Research Initiative.
The financial largesse has raised concerns both at home and abroad over the vulnerability of poor nations to such massive debt.
Last year Sri Lanka was forced to hand over majority control of its Hambantota port to China after being unable to repay its loans.
At the heart of Xi’s vision is the “Belt and Road” initiative, a $1-trillion infrastructure programme billed as a modern revival of the ancient Silk Road that once carried fabrics, spices and a wealth of other goods between Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
The Arab states’ position at the centre of the ancient trade route makes them “natural partners” in China’s new undertaking, he said, adding he expected the summit would end with an agreement on cooperation on the initiative.
“Chinese and Arab peoples, though far apart in distance, are as close as family,” he said, describing a romanticised history of trade along the Silk Road. The project, which has already financed ports, roads and railways across the globe, has spurred both interest and anxiety in many countries, with some seeing it as an example of Chinese expansionism.
“China welcomes opportunities to participate in the development of ports and the construction of railway networks in Arab states” as part of a “logistics network connecting Central Asia with East Africa and the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean,” said.

NIC holds a session for start-ups

on 18/07/2018

The National Incubation Center (NIC) Islamabad, Pakistan’s premier technology hub, held an open house session for all those who aspire to be a part of its fourth cohort.
The open house was open to all and speakers from Ignite – National Technology Fund, Jazz and Teamup informed the participants about the vision, mission and the future of the NICs in Pakistan. Teams also discussed the benefits of the programmes offered at the NIC. Jazz xlr8 and Teamup have been at the forefront in promoting all tech-enabled start-ups on national and international platforms.
Students, corporates and executives from across industries attended the session, gaining insights on the programme and toured the state-of-the-art facility. The session also included presentations from start-ups, where they showcased their journey at NIC Islamabad and how it is helped them scale their businesses