Giant supertankers with cargoes of frozen gas can start heading for Wales from the Arabian Gulf next year after the controversial Pembrokeshire-to-Gloucester pipeline was completed yesterday. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline was officially finished when UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks opened a valve on the 193-mile pipeline at a compression station in Felindre, west of Swansea. The minister’s gesture marked the linking of the first (Pembrokeshire to Aberdulais) phase of the £1.4bn pipeline to the second and even more controversial cross-Brecon Beacons section which links it to a major gas distribution network at Tirley, Gloucestershire. Mr Wicks, dressed in safety gear, accepted the pipeline had it critics. But he said, “I’m very sensitive to people’s feelings. As Minister of Energy I am asked by people to turn down wind farms or energy plants and sometimes the answer is ‘no’ sometimes it is ‘yes’. “But if we listened to every protest group people would be very happy but they may well be sitting in the dark. “Wales can feel proud of and optimistic about the benefits this project will bring.” He added, “National Grid’s new pipeline will be able to carry 20% or more of the UK’s gas needs, once imports into Milford Haven start next year, and it will also help to secure Wales’ energy supply for many years to come. “In the past, Wales’ gas has been piped through England and Scotland. Now, for the first time, Wales is at the front end of the UK’s gas supply system.” From next year, the buried pipeline will take high pressure liquefied natural gas delivered from Qatar in the Arabian gulf to the world’s biggest LNG importing terminal currently being completed at South Hook, Milford Haven. Double-hulled vessels dubbed Q Max tankers will take the LNG from Qatar’s titanic North Field (the World’s biggest LNG reservoir) to South Hook at a temperature of -165C to keep it as a dense liquid, and therefore easier to transport. The Welsh terminals will be run by Exxon/Qatar Petroleum under the South Hook Terminal Company Ltd umbrella plus Dragon LNG which includes the former British Gas. They will re-gasify the LNG and send it through the pipeline under high pressure to tens of thousands of businesses and households across Britain and Europe. The “river deep, mountain high” pipeline took three years to lay and involved 1,300 workers, half from South West Wales. The pipeline, one of Britain’s biggest engineering projects, can be put down to Britain’s growing energy insecurity. In the UK, the depletion in North Sea gas and delays in getting new sources into the system sent gas prices soaring last year. And with debates over a nuclear future still raging, the need for new energy resources is reaching crisis point. But the pipeline was not universally welcomed. Pipe construction was hit by protesters at Trebanos, in the Swansea Valley, outside Brecon where contractors were forced to obtain an eviction notice to move protesters from inside the pipeline and families at Cilfrew near Neath went to the High Court in a bid to overturn planning permission for a sub-station “too close” to their village. And Paul Sinadurai, senior ecology and policy adviser for the Brecon Beacons National Park, which was among objectors to the pipeline, said, “It kind of leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. It’s always very easy to grass over a piece of land that has been ploughed previously. But where you cut through ancient woodlands or internationally important river systems we are not convinced there will not be a significantly adverse affect.” Meanwhile, safety fears over LNG were stoked by thriller writer Frederick Forsyth’s latest novel, The Afghan. It includes a plot in which terrorists hijack an LNG supertanker aiming to ignite it to burn to death innocent people. James Fay, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, claims LNG pouring from a tanker at -160C would pool over a large area. If ignited, it would generate such intense heat that it could burn someone up to a mile away. It was this calculation which prompted protest group Safe Haven’s claim that LNG in Pembrokeshire could endanger 20,000 lives. But the South Hook LNG Terminal Company, which will operate the complex, has given assurances over safety. And pipeline project manager David Mercer says every inch has been built to stringent international safety standards.

Severn Trent, the UK water supplier, has received no ‘appropriate approaches’ from possible takeover suitors, said CEO Tony Wray today. Wray said that his concentration was focused on ‘delivery of efficient services’, declining to comment on any potential interest in the company. ‘If we had any appropriate approaches then we are aware of our duties and we would have announced so,’ Wray said. His comments come amid a flurry of speculation about M&A activity in the UK water sector, following Kelda Group’s acceptance of an offer from the Saltaire Water consortium yesterday. On the release of its half year results, the company was unable to be specific about the eventual cost of the flooding that occurred this summer, though so far it has cost 23.2 mln stg, brought down to 18.2 mln stg after 5 mln stg of interim insurance payments. The eventual cost is estimated at between 25 mln stg and 35 mln stg, with insurance covering between 10 mln stg and 20 mln stg. Inspections are ongoing at 150 sewage pumping stations, the outcome of which is not yet known. ‘We believe that most of this will be covered by insurance,’ said finance director Mike McKeon. ‘We can’t be more specific because we still have to do the work to ascertain whether there is any long-term damage to these stations.’ The company’s first half results were inline with analysts expectations. Pretax profit for the period rose to 161 mln stg from 142.3 mln stg. First half dividend was up 6.9 pct to 24.3p, from 22.8p, and earnings per share was up to 47.6p from 42.1p. The results threw up no surprises for analysts. ‘They flagged the costs before and we expected them to be that sort of size,’ said one analyst about the flooding. ‘They haven’t got all the bills in, but it’s in line with what they said previously.’ Severn Trent was last week charged by the Serious Fraud Office for the misreporting of leakage data between 2000 and 2002. The company is yet to receive details of the charges or a timescale for proceedings. ‘These things are out of our control,’ said Wray. ‘The first stage is that the charges will be listed in the Magistrates Court. Only then will we discern the nature of the evidence and only then will we be able to consider the company position.’ The UK water regulator, Ofwat, is currently in the early stages of developing the price review for the pricing period 2010-2015. Early suggestions from Ofwat are that price caps for water companies will likely benefit customers rather than shareholders. About the price review (PR09), Wray said: ‘PR09 is still two years away and we are in the early stages of consultations. What PR09 will clearly focus on is the best possible way to find the mix between maintaining the necessary investment and ensuring there is a fair deal for consumers, but also investors.’

Gazprom has given warning that European consumers should expect stiff increases in natural gas prices as the soaring cost of oil feeds through into contracts for the sale of Russian gas into Europe. The cost of wholesale natural gas will rise by between 15 and 20 per cent next year, Alexander Medvedev, the deputy chief executive of Gazprom, said. He added that even greater increases could follow if the European Commission pushes through measures to break up Europe’s gas grid. The Russian gas giant is at loggerheads with the Commission over its plans to strip European gas companies of their pipelines. The “unbundling” proposal, which is opposed by other monopoly suppliers such as Gaz de France, would affect Gazprom’s investment in downstream gas distribution in Germany. “The proposal will inevitably create a situation where prices will grow,” he said. “Liberalisation doesn’t work in such infrastructural industries as power generation and especially gas.”

The soaring price of crude oil, which this week flirted with $100 per barrel, will soon feed through into natural gas prices, stoking inflationary pressures in Europe. British consumers are unlikely to be spared the effects of a Russian price increase as the two markets are linked by an inter-connector pipeline between Norfolk and Belgium. In Britain’s free-for-all competitive gas market, contracts for gas are bought and sold daily on a futures exchange. However, Russian gas is sold under long-term contracts with big European energy companies such as Ruhrgas, owned by E.ON, and Gaz de France.

The price of gas sold under these contracts is not linked to a spot market but is indexed to a basket of alternative fuels, mainly crude oil and heating oil. Typically, the price is adjusted quarterly and is based on the average price of the fuel basket over the preceding six to nine months. Because of the time lag, the surge in crude oil has yet to affect European gas prices, but consumers already smarting from the soaring price of petrol will feel the full impact of expensive energy in their domestic fuel bills next year. Gazprom’s argument with the Commission over the unbundling of gas pipelines is set to intensify. The proposal to strip utilities of their physical infrastructure strikes at the heart of Gazprom’s strategy to extend its reach downstream into Europe. The Commission wants more competition and has taken steps to develop new supplies from Central Asia, promoting Nabucco, a vast pipeline project linking Baumgarten, a gas hub in Austria, to central Turkey.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/

A Perfect 10:

Domestic energy prices set to soar by 10% says expert…

With the country descending into a cold snap any price rises in energy will be felt keenly by those with stretched finances as well as the elderly.

Domestic energy tariffs saw several rapid increases during 2006 with some suppliers even putting prices up three times during that period.

Since that peek domestic energy tariffs have been coming down this year. The prices have fallen as new projects to import gas have eased concerns about a supply gap caused by sliding output from the ageing North Sea fields. At the start of the year, following a mild winter and increased imports from overseas, we saw a sustained fall in wholesale prices by as much as 50% since the summer of 2006.

It was widely expected that with factors including additional gas supplies and a milder winter forecast for 2007, these should have worked to provide downward pressure on wholesale prices this year and it was anticipated that we would see further falls of about 20%.

The price that we pay for electricity is largely dictated by wholesale electricity prices. As approximately 40% of UK electricity generation comes from gas-fuelled power stations then wholesale electricity prices are in turn obviously affected directly by the wholesale price of gas.

During 2007, wholesale gas prices began to rise at an unprecedented rate. As the world economy has grown, demand has pushed wholesale gas prices through the roof. The UK’s North Sea fields have declined faster than predicted, so the UK has been forced to import more gas from Europe. The price of gas imported from the continent is linked to the price of oil, which peaked again this month. However the market for crude oil gas has been very volatile and the price could easily rise further.

Another main factor on the current supply is the forthcoming winter weather which will affect demand. The Met office is suggesting that this coming winter may be colder than usual.

The combination of these risks may become more serious as supply and demand plays a major factor in the market prices and any sustained cold weather will have an immediate impact on the price.

Chris Hurcombe, Operations Director, of Catalyst Commercial Services, warned yesterday that domestic prices may still go up. He said: “Prices of domestic electricity and gas look likely to go up again, a 10% hike in prices would add over a £100 to the typical gas and electricity bill. “The first to increase prices will probably be the catalyst for others to follow”

Hurcombe concluded “However recent reports suggest that 9.3 million households have still not taken advantage of competition by switching to a cheaper provider”.
_____________________________________________________

For interviews, quotes, photos or comments contact:

Mr. Christopher Hurcombe
Operations Director
Phone: 0870 710 7560
Email: info@catalyst-commercial.co.uk

Notes for Editor:

Catalyst Commercial Services Ltd

Catalyst Commercial Services (www.catalyst-commercial.co.uk) provides an independent energy procurement service for medium to enterprise businesses in the UK. We also provide energy management services and advice on smart metering technology.

Infinis, one of the UK’s biggest renewable energy companies, has pulled its flotation planned for this autumn. The flotation had been estimated to value the company at between £700m and £1bn, one of the biggest public offerings yet seen in the renewable energy sector. Infinis is owned by Terra Firma, Guy Hands’ private equity group. Alan Lovell, chief executive, told the Financial Times the planned flotation would not go ahead and that there were no plans to revive it for several years. He said the recent turbulence in the markets was part of the reason but added that Infinis had produced a five-year plan for Terra Firma, which resulted in the private equity group deciding to hold on to it for “the medium term” of three to five years. Infinis is one of the biggest “pure play” renewable electricity companies in the UK, producing more than a 10th of the UK’s total renewable energy. It generates most of its energy from landfill sites, capturing methane from dumps and using it to generate electricity. However, this business will reach natural limitations in the next decade, as most of the landfill sites in the UK suitable for methane recovery have been taken up. The methane produced by older landfill sites will gradually run out and the government is diverting waste away from dumps to recycling and incinerators. Infinis is also building up its biomass business, which involves burning wood and waste products to generate electricity, and is expanding into wind energy. However, Mr Lovell noted the high price being paid for wind assets in today’s markets meant Infinis was hampered in the search for wind acquisitions. He said a flotation would have provided the cash and equity necessary to fund such acquisitions but that buying existing wind assets in cash was too expensive. Instead, Infinis will focus on building wind farms on sites already in industrial use, where gaining planning permission should be easier. BT Group unveiled a similar strategy this summer when it said it would offer sites around its facilities to wind farm developers, a strategy expected to produce about 250 megawatts of wind power. Terra Firma bought Infinis as part of its takeover, for £531m, of the Waste Recycling Group in 2003, and expanded it by acquiring some of the landfill business of Shanks, the waste management company, for £277m. Terra Firma sold the rest of the Waste Recycling Group to FCC, the Spanish construction company, last year for about £1.4bn.

One of the country’s biggest water companies is to be charged by the Serious Fraud Office, it has been revealed. Severn Trent Water is being accused of lying about its leakage figures to the industry watchdog Ofwat – it faces substantial fines if convicted. Information given to Ofwat is crucial in determining how much water firms can charge households for water, waste services and the cost of repairing the network of pipes. The news comes a few days after it emerged that Southern Water faces fines of up to £20.3m for misleading Ofwat by deliberately misreporting customer service information. Severn Trent says it has been told that no individual member of its staff will be accused of any offence. The charges relate to information supplied by Severn Trent going back as far as 2000. In 2005 the SFO told the company it was undertaking a criminal investigation into “alleged reporting irregularities”. Ofwat had been carrying out is own investigation following allegations of false reporting against one of its employees in May 2004. It published its findings almost two years later – and Severn Trent had to apologise to customers and reduce its prices. The company has acknowledged that the regulator “may expect further amends to be made to customers”. It serves some eight million people across a large part of the country, from mid-wales to Rutland and Bristol to the Humber. Chief Executive Tony Wray said: “We will now study carefully the details of the charges, which relate to the responsibilities of a previous regime.” The group is also facing Ofwat penalties over “misstated” customer relations data and added today that it was “unable to give a reliable estimate” over the potential fines it faces. In April 2006, Severn Trent also said it had uncovered evidence of the “misstatements” going back over several years.

Oil retreated on Wednesday after earlier closing in on the $100 milestone in response to a new slump in the dollar. U.S. light crude surged to a record $99.29 early in the session but then edged off this peak to stand at $97.53, down 50 cents, at 4:23 p.m. London Brent crude was down 24 cents at $95.25. U.S. crude oil inventories fell by a surprise 1.1 million barrels last week, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Analysts had predicted a rise of 600,000 barrels. But crude stocks rose at the key U.S. delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma, which helped to depress prices. Distillates, which include heating oil, fell by 2.4 million barrels, a much bigger drop than the 300,000 barrel decrease that had been forecast. “The crude draw is bullish, however the market will be rangebound due to people being out for the holiday,” said Dan Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading, referring to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday starting on Thursday. Oil is up by about 45 percent since mid-August, driven by increased speculative investment, tighter supplies and a slide in the dollar. The dollar’s fall to record lows against the euro has spurred buying of relatively cheap dollar-denominated commodities. The dollar sank to a new record low against the euro and versus a basket of currencies on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its growth outlook for next year, boosting chances of another interest rate cut in December. Worries about a U.S. slowdown helped trigger sharp falls on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average down more than one percent. High oil prices could intensify pressures on the fragile U.S. economy, which could ultimately hurt demand for oil. The rising cost of oil, for example, could force more than three-quarters of Americans to tighten their budgets by cutting fuel use or by slashing spending elsewhere, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll. Some 32.5 percent of people surveyed said they would drive less if oil prices kept rising, while 20.8 percent said they would try to conserve energy at home and 22.8 percent said they would cut spending on retail and entertainment. Gold and platinum have also rallied in response to the falling dollar, although copper and zinc have slumped to multi-month lows on concerns the U.S. mortgage crisis could slow economic growth and demand. U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman has said producers need to pump more to bring prices down from levels that are close to a record in nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. But the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which meets on December 5 in Abu Dhabi to chart supply policy, has said the market is well-supplied and it is up to consumer countries to curb speculation through regulation.