TOKYO MASTER BANNER

MINISTRY OF TOKYO
US-ANGLO CAPITALISMEU-NATO IMPERIALISM
Illegitimate Transfer of Inalienable European Rights via Convention(s) & Supranational Bodies
Establishment of Sovereignty-Usurping Supranational Body Dictatorships
Enduring Program of DEMOGRAPHICS WAR on Europeans
Enduring Program of PSYCHOLOGICAL WAR on Europeans
Enduring Program of European Displacement, Dismemberment, Dispossession, & Dissolution
No wars or conditions abroad (& no domestic or global economic pretexts) justify government policy facilitating the invasion of ancestral European homelands, the rape of European women, the destruction of European societies, & the genocide of Europeans.
U.S. RULING OLIGARCHY WAGES HYBRID WAR TO SALVAGE HEGEMONY
[LINK | Article]

*U.S. OLIGARCHY WAGES HYBRID WAR* | U.S. Empire's Casino Unsustainable | Destabilised U.S. Monetary & Financial System | U.S. Defaults Twice A Year | Causes for Global Financial Crisis of 2008 Remain | Financial Pyramids Composed of Derivatives & National Debt Are Growing | *U.S. OLIGARCHY WAGES HYBRID WAR* | U.S. Empire's Casino Unsustainable | Destabilised U.S. Monetary & Financial System | U.S. Defaults Twice A Year | Causes for Global Financial Crisis of 2008 Remain | Financial Pyramids Composed of Derivatives & National Debt Are Growing | *U.S. OLIGARCHY WAGES HYBRID WAR*

Who's preaching world democracy, democracy, democracy? —Who wants to make free people free?
[info from Craig Murray video appearance, follows]  US-Anglo Alliance DELIBERATELY STOKING ANTI-RUSSIAN FEELING & RAMPING UP TENSION BETWEEN EASTERN EUROPE & RUSSIA.  British military/government feeding media PROPAGANDA.  Media choosing to PUBLISH government PROPAGANDA.  US naval aggression against Russia:  Baltic Sea — US naval aggression against China:  South China Sea.  Continued NATO pressure on Russia:  US missile systems moving into Eastern Europe.     [info from John Pilger interview follows]  War Hawk:  Hillary Clinton — embodiment of seamless aggressive American imperialist post-WWII system.  USA in frenzy of preparation for a conflict.  Greatest US-led build-up of forces since WWII gathered in Eastern Europe and in Baltic states.  US expansion & military preparation HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED IN THE WEST.  Since US paid for & controlled US coup, UKRAINE has become an American preserve and CIA Theme Park, on Russia's borderland, through which Germans invaded in the 1940s, costing 27 million Russian lives.  Imagine equivalent occurring on US borders in Canada or Mexico.  US military preparations against RUSSIA and against CHINA have NOT been reported by MEDIA.  US has sent guided missile ships to diputed zone in South China Sea.  DANGER OF US PRE-EMPTIVE NUCLEAR STRIKES.  China is on HIGH NUCLEAR ALERT.  US spy plane intercepted by Chinese fighter jets.  Public is primed to accept so-called 'aggressive' moves by China, when these are in fact defensive moves:  US 400 major bases encircling China; Okinawa has 32 American military installations; Japan has 130 American military bases in all.  WARNING PENTAGON MILITARY THINKING DOMINATES WASHINGTON. ⟴  
Showing posts with label LNG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LNG. Show all posts

December 04, 2015

Syria - British Airstrkes & Dodgy Dave's Lies

Article
SOURCE
as marked


SYRIA

SUMMARY
UK MoD report disputed David Cameron lies
re 70,000 'moderate rebels'

-->  “misleading”

MoD
OVERRULED @ meeting

-->  Joint Intelligence C'ttee
incl. heads: MI6, MI5 & GCHQ
+ senior military & Foreign Office staff

Dodgy Dave's lies: 
like Tony Blair’s “dodgy dossier” on #Iraq WMD
Cameron / British claim to:
Target Islamic State Oil Assets in #Syria
--> over 380 UK targets, in over 1yr  
[Comment: bet they're Bullsh*t claims.  Must have been targeting Assad for over a year, because ISIS went on selling oil to Turkey & whoever else is in on the finance-the-terrorists scheme to take down Syria]
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-joins-airstrikes-in-syria-against-isis-1449131829


NOTE this is 2013 Article
WikiLeaks cables have since revealed 2006
Israel-US plan to take down Syria
Note also:  oil reserves Golan Heights
SOURCE
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/aug/30/syria-chemical-attack-war-intervention-oil-gas-energy-pipelines
SUMMARY
Scumbag Hollande - 2013
welcomed the UK air force strikes in #Syria
--> Syria intervention plan fuelled by oil interests

Backers of attack on Syria:
US, UK, Israel + France
-  cooperation w/ Saudi Arabia
--> 2007 CIA anti-Syria ops {Seymour Hersh}
deploy:  al-Qaeda

w/ US approval
Saudi Arabia bankroll + give logistical aid
to Sunni radicals
hostile to US & al-Qaeda linked
to attack #Syria

#Syria
Covert US political + financial support
-- via Saudi Arabia --
given to:  exiled Syrian Muslim Brotherhood

former French foreign minister Roland Dumas:
-->  Britain planned covert action in Syria as early as 2009

Former French foreign minister Roland Dumas
stated on TV that:   Britain was preparing gunmen to invade Syria --> in 2009

Syria
2011 uprisings
-- domestic energy shortages + climate-induced droughts
-->  massive food price hikes
--> EXPLOITED

WikiLeaks Stratfor e-mails
--> CONFIRM US-UK training of Syria 'opposition' since 2011
to collapse ASSAD govt from within.

US General Wesley Clark
(Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000)
--> confirms serial conquest =  strategy for control of region's vast oil & gas resources.


2008 US Army-funded RAND report:
--> industrialized states to continue to rely heavily on oil
--> oil production:  Middle East

#Syria
proven oil reserves Persian Gulf
coincide w/ power base of
Salafi-jihadist network
oil supplies / linked w. 'long war'

Regional policy trajectories:
1. divide & rule (salafists-jihadists)
2. exploit sustained Shia-Sunni Conflict

West policy (1)
divide & rule (salafists-jihadists)
turn groups against each other
/ covert action, info ops 
divide & rule (salafists-jihadists)
discredit transnational jihadist in local eyes

divide & rule (salafists-jihadists)
support indigenous security forces / local allies

West policy (2)
exploit sustained Shia-Sunni conflict
--> side with:  conservative Sunni regimes against Shiite empowerment

-> USA to shore up Sunni regimes in Saudi Arabia #Egypt & #Pakistan
-> to containing #Iran power in ME & Gulf

USA aware backing Sunni regimes
--> result:  empowering al-Qaeda jihadists
BUT this to advantage of West.

Support Sunni & exploit:
bogging down jihadi activity w. internal sectarian rivalry
{rather than targeting US}

American Saudi Arabia allies Salafi-jihadist
--> afraid of upsurge in Shia identity
--> to want to target #IRAN vs #USA

Following vulnerable to internal destabilisation:
1) Saudi Arabia
2) Gulf States
3) Egypt
4) Syria
5) Iran
Internal destabilisation factors - multiple, converging:
a) rapid population growth
b) 'youth bulge'
c) internal economic inequalities
d) political frustrations
e) sectarian tensions
f) water shortages - environment
Syria
= pipeline geopolitics
/ Assad refused to sign Qatar pipeline deal 2009
re supply Europe via Syria
ie.  bypassing Russia

Note that British plan for invasion Syria 2009
coincides w/ Assad refusal of Qatar pipeline deal
to supply gas to Europe


Nabucco pipeline
backed by
USA & European Union
         parties:

            Austria-UAE
            Hungarian
            Romania
            Bulgaria
            Turkey
            Germany*

        --------------------    ie

                OMV - Austria-UAE
                      {Romania Turkey Hungary interests}
                MOL - Hungarian
                Transgaz - Romania
                Bulgargaz - Bulgaria
                BOTAS - Turkey
                RWE - Germany, big / largest investor Egypt
                -- 2015 sale oil & gas unit to:
        Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman
                RWE operates:  Europe, Middle East & Africa
                RWE partnership w/ British & Netherlands
                re Urenco Group uranium enrichment plants: 
                in Germany, Netherlands,USA & UK
                -- supplies nuclear power stations in 15 countries
                -- sale of depleted uranium tails
                -- Russia owns radioactive waste
                -- waste transported to Seversk

            [wikipedia]


Middle East interests in the Nabucco Qatar LNG pipeline

    proposed route:
  •     -Qatar
  •     -Saudi Arabia
  •     -Kuwait
  •     -Iraq
  •     -Turkey
  •     -Jordan
http://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/qatar-seeks-gas-pipeline-to-turkey#full
 [link as above]
 

Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan
-->  attempt to bribe Russia to dump Syria
w/ Saudi 'block of gas' to Europe assurances

Russia wasn't buying what assurances of the Saudi
/ stuck w. #Syria
Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline plan = slap in face of #Qatar

Putin refusal to take bait & sell out #Syria
Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan
vowed military action.

Saudi Arabia Intelligence Agency
Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan
director general:  Saudi Intelligence Agency
2012 to 2014
--> supporters: Chechen terrorists

Bandar bin Sultan
confrontational re USA
--> Replaced by:  Prince Muhammad bin Nayef
head Saudi intel

Muhammad bin Nayef
Head of Saudi Arabia Intelligence

--> escaped x4 assassination attempts
--> incl. rectum bomb 
{ ... lol, always get a laugh out of that detail }

ALSO pulling strings in Middle East oil-focused US policy in Syria:
  • Qatar + 
  • Saudi Arabia
aim: pliable Syria opposition

Writer concludes Assad is 'war criminal'
[comment: 
--> but  USA a pre-eminent war criminal & Ghouta was a false flag by USA-Gulf proxies.]
SOURCE
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/aug/30/syria-chemical-attack-war-intervention-oil-gas-energy-pipelines



SUMMARY
British Airstrikes on Syria
UK Tornado attack planes
deployed to:  Akrotiri, Cyprus - first raid 3 Dec.
support:  Voyager tanker + Reaper drone
variable payload

The Brimstone
automated anti-armour missile
for use re fast-moving platforms
first fielded #Afghanistan 2008

The Brimstone
light warhead - 9 kg /  a range of 7.5 miles
-->  can be used on fast jets, helicopters & UAVs

The Brimstone
laser-guided missiles
UK  RAF weapons of choice
since #Libya in 2011

UK RAF Tornados - transit from Cyprus to #Iraq:
--> via Israel
--> via Jordan
--> Voyager tanker accompanies

British airstrikes covering #Iraq + #Syria
--> 10 Tornados
-->   9 Eurofighter Typhoon
reinforcement.

The Brimstone
automated anti-armour missile
for use re fast-moving platforms
first fielded #Afghanistan 2008

The Brimstone
light warhead - 9 kg /  a range of 7.5 miles
-->  can be used on fast jets, helicopters & UAVs

The Brimstone
laser-guided missiles
UK  RAF weapons of choice
since #Libya in 2011

#Syria
UK RAF Tornados - transit from Cyprus to #Iraq:
--> via Israel
--> via Jordan
--> Voyager tanker accompanies

British airstrikes covering #Iraq + #Syria
--> 10 Tornados
-->   9 Eurofighter Typhoon
reinforcement.

http://theaviationist.com/2015/12/04/raf-tornados-first-air-strike-in-syria/

AUDIO
Syria / Libya / Refugee Crisis / Turkey

Scott Bennett
former US Army officer
counter-terrorism analyst
'Impeach Obama' / 'Arrest Carter'



---------------------- ꕤ ----------------------

COMMENT
Some of what I've enjoyed looking at today.

The stakeholders in the Nabucco pipeline gets complicated, once you start looking at the companies.  eg.  Austrian stakeholder itself has a United Arab Emirates stakeholder.  So working out who's really who would take more time, patience and focus than I have.  Above is just a rough, surface sketch re the companies.

The US military guy's audio was kind of cool.  He's anticipating a Turkey military coup against Erdogan.  I don't know if he might be a bit melodramatic there or not, as I'm not that knowledgeable or experienced.  At this stage, it sounds good but far-fetched to me.

Key info re Syria (now superseded by further info indicating 2006 planned attack):
    Former French foreign minister Roland Dumas
    Britain planning covert invasion / attack on Assad
    as early as 2009

    WikiLeaks Stratfor e-mails
    confirm US-UK training Syria 'opposition' since 2011
    to collapse Assad from within

    British attack
    coincides w. Assad rejection of
    Qatar pipeline deal 2009
    in favour of Russian interests

    NB   Qatar pipeline deal 2009
    benefits USA & European Union
US 4-Star General, General Wesley Clark (Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000) confirms a serial conquest strategy for region (7 countries).
NOTE ALSO:

Julian Assange: US & Israel Planned To Overthrow Assad In 2006

Cables reveal that before the beginning of the Syrian revolt and civil war, the United States hoped to overthrow Assad and create strife between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
By Kit O'Connell
@KitOConnell | September 14, 2015
LONDON — Speaking from Ecuador’s embassy in London, Julian Assange revealed that the United States planned to overthrow the Syrian government as far back as 2006, several years before the start of the current crisis.

...

The ongoing threat to his freedom hasn’t kept Assange from continuing his work revealing the dirty secrets of world governments. His latest revelations come in a Wednesday interview with RT in support of his new book, “The WikiLeaks Files,” published late last month.

The United States and its allies in the Middle East, including Turkey and Israel, have been frequently accused of contributing to the ongoing destabilization of Syria in the wake of the uprising and subsequent civil war which began in 2011. But according to cables from the WikiLeaks archive, discussed in the Syria chapter of Assange’s book, plans to deliberately destabilize the region go back at least five years further.

“In that chapter is a cable from US Ambassador William Roebuck, who was stationed in Damascus, which apparently discusses a plan for the overthrow of the Assad government in Syria,” RT reported.

[ ... ]
The cable also details plans to foster sectarian strife in the region and make Iran appear like a larger threat to Assad than it really was, Assange continued:
“In particular, to take rumors that are known to be false … or exaggerations and promote them – that Iran is trying to convert poor Sunnis, and to work with Saudi and Egypt to foster that perception in order to make it harder for Iran to have influence, and also harder for the government to have influence in the population.”
WikiLeaks cables reveal that these plans came from the Israeli government, and show that the U.S. government intended to work with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt to encourage the breakdown of the Assad regime as a way of also weakening Iran and Hezbollah.
“[I]f Syria sufficiently destabilized, it might be in a position where it can keep the Golan Heights forever, or even advance that territory,” Assange said.
According to Assange, the cable illuminates how the current Syrian crisis reflects U.S. influence on the Middle East, particularly the ways it has used its allies to put pressure on the country. “Part of the problem in Syria is that you have a number of US allies surrounding it, principally Saudi and Qatar, that are funneling in weapons,” Assange noted, adding that it shows how the U.S. uses its over 100 army bases and network of embassies to further its imperialist interests.

CONTINUES

http://www.mintpressnews.com/julian-assange-us-israel-planned-to-overthrow-assad-in-2006/209493/


As the article re the WikiLeaks cable indicates, the plan to take down Syria began even earlier than indicated by the former French Foreign Minister:  it was outlined in 2006 US cables.

Israel could be a driving force in for US foreign policy in the Middle Eastern region.  As in, the article states:
"WikiLeaks cables reveal that these plans came from the Israeli government."

Maybe this has something to do with it:
Huge oil discovery in Golan Heights - Israeli media
https://www.rt.com/business/317906-oil-golan-heights-israel/
---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------
PS ...
Think I might simplify things too much.  There's a combination of things going on.  It's not just a single driving factor.

I'll probably never understand what's going on.

Just read some Forbes article on Russian billionaires having been bought out of Russia's Rosneft (state oil company), and it's a struggle to understand how anyone can have so much money and how the entire thing works, so what hope is there of understanding politics without understanding of the money men?  lol

I'm really disheartened  ... and I can't comprehend why anyone would spend $14 million on a frigging mammoth.  Apparently, it's a gilded skeleton.  Intended as a good deed for an AIDS charity.  Just looked up the artist:
won the Turner Prize. New York public health officials banned Two Fucking and Two Watching featuring a rotting cow and bull, because of fears of "vomiting among the visitors" [here]
Well, now I'm sure I'll never understand anything on this planet.  Who the f*ck considers a rotting cow art?  This hilarious.  The fellow behind this is the "richest living artist to date."  Guess the 'Virgin Mother' would have taken some effort and talent to produce.  That anyone actually bought the finished product is mind-boggling.  I'd definitely go the mammoth.  ;)

April 09, 2015

Royal Dutch Shell & BG Group $70 Billiion Purchase Deal - LNG



BLOOMBERG ARTICLE
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-08/shell-will-buy-bg-group-for-70-billion-in-cash-and-shares
Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Europe’s largest oil co
to buy BG Group Plc for abt $70-b
making it foremost player in global natural gas

Shell deal pushing further into producing, shipping & selling gas
view to #China & emerging economies switch from coal + oil

{Ben van Beurden = CEO Shell}
Shell to increase oil + natural gas reserves by 28%
Pioneer of LNG for shipment aboard tankers

Shell & rivals
anticipate LNG to play increasing role in emerging economies / alternative to dirtier energy sources, eg. coal

deal:
= share in Brazil’s largest deepwater fields
= consolidation Australia gas
=  +participation in US emergence LNG exp.

Shell / BG deal
= new co will be world’s biggest internationl LNG co
= TWICE as big as its closest rival Exxon

Shell / BG deal requires antitrust {competition law} approvals from regulatory agencies in #Australia, #China, #Brazil + #EU

Helge Lund, BG
fmr Norway state oil / Statoil ASA
= highest paid oil executive in #EU
if deal goes down: gets $43-m for 1yr

Lund
= business management at Norwegian School of Economics
= MBA from the INSEAD bus. school France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helge_Lund

As BG Group CEO
= basic salary £1.5 million
= + bonuses
TOTAL est.  £14 million salary per annum


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-08/shell-will-buy-bg-group-for-70-billion-in-cash-and-shares

COMMENT

I've no idea how big Exxon is, but this deal will make Shell a monster at TWICE the size of Exxon (which is probably a huge monster itself).

Check out that guy's salary, if the deal goes ahead.  That's unbelievable.  LOL



August 22, 2014

LITHUANIA - LNG supply deal with Norway inked



Lithuania, Statoil sign LNG deal to end Gazprom monopoly
MENAFN - AFP - 21/08/2014

(MENAFN - AFP) Lithuania signed a deal with Norway's Statoil on Thursday to supply natural gas to the country's new terminal starting 2015, as the Baltic state strives to cut its dependence on Russian energy.

Under the five-year deal, Statoil will supply an annual 540 million cubic meters to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on Lithuania's Baltic Sea coast which is due to be completed by the end of the year.

The value of the deal is estimated at 2.5 to three billion litas (700-900 million euros, 1.0-1.1 billion) according to Litgas, the state-owned company in charge of LNG imports.

"It is a big and important step in strengthening Lithuanian energy security," Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius told reporters.

"For the first time in Lithuanian history, we will have a permanent alternative natural gas import source."

Russia's state-owned Gazprom is Lithuania's only natural gas supplier under a deal arranged in Soviet times, when Lithuania was part of the USSR.

But Vilnius has been working to diversify its gas suppliers since breaking free from Moscow in 1990 and joining the European Union and NATO in 2004.

In May, Gazprom agreed to a price cut of about 20 percent, after Lithuania filed an international lawsuit.

The first LNG cargo delivery is expected in December, so that the terminal at the port of Klaipeda can start commercial operations in January 2015, Litgas said.

http://www.menafn.com/1093921279/Lithuania-Statoil-sign-LNG-deal-to-end-Gazprom-monopoly


Surprised it's a Norwegian company.  Thought it would be the US doing the supply.

August 08, 2014

US - NEW WAVE OF LNG EXPORT FACILITIES - BOOMING



As one LNG project moves forward, another caught in regulatory tussle
Sempra Energy and Cheniere want to construct export terminals


By Rhiannon Meyers and Ryan Holeywell

August 7, 2014

One plan to export natural gas from the Gulf Coast moved forward this week toward construction of a $10 billion facility, while another got caught in a tussle between two federal agencies.

Sempra Energy and its partners announced their final investment decision in favor of a plan to add gas liquefaction and export capability to the existing Cameron LNG import terminal in Hackberry, La. They expect to bring it online in 2018.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said a federal energy regulator hasn't done enough to determine how Cheniere Energy's proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal near Corpus Christi would affect the air, water, wetlands and wildlife.

The projects are among a wave of proposed LNG export facilities looking to capitalize on cheap and abundant supplies of natural gas produced in the U.S. shale boom. Chilling natural gas into a liquid makes it possible to transport the fuel on tanker ships.

Cameron LNG obtained Federal Energy Regulatory Commission clearance in June to build and operate the project, and has a conditional permit from the Department of Energy to export natural gas to countries with which the United States doesn't have free trade agreements.

It will have three liquefaction plants, called trains, with a total capacity to produce 12 million metric tons of LNG per year.

Cheniere's proposed Corpus Christi export terminal has yet to receive approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is conducting environmental assessments and other reviews of Cheniere's permit application.

It was the environmental component that drew the negative comments from the EPA. In a letter Monday to FERC, the EPA said its fellow agency's draft environmental review for Cheniere's proposed Corpus Christi expansion was insufficient.

The EPA comments aren't likely to slow down the overall approval process significantly, but the final environmental review may be delayed slightly, depending on how much the energy regulator needs to do to address the EPA concerns, said Daniella Landers, head of Sutherland Asbill and Brennan's environmental practice.

She said it depends on the extent to which FERC has to do additional studies.

Activists may take note

While FERC will give the EPA's input the same weight it gives other comments, Landers said, the EPA's concerns could provide fodder for environmental groups and others opposed to the project to argue against it.

In the letter, Craig Weeks, chief of the EPA's office of planning and coordination, said his agency identified "a number of potential adverse impacts to aquatic resources, air quality, environmental justice populations and wetlands," and recommended specific issues be addressed in the energy regulator's final plan.

Without an adequate plan to mitigate potential impacts, the terminal, proposed for a 991-acre site along the northern shore of Corpus Christi Bay, could cause a number of environmental problems, according to the EPA. Among them, the terminal could take away wetlands and special aquatic habitats, while dredging and frequent ship traffic could contribute to chronic cloudiness in the water, which inhibits the growth of underwater plants on which fish and shellfish feed, the EPA said.

[...]
Deals for half of output

[...]

Houston-based Cheniere already has begun construction on liquefaction and export facilities at its existing Sabine Pass import plant in Cameron Parish, La. The project has Energy Department and FERC approval.


http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/As-one-LNG-project-moves-forward-another-caught-5675870.php



Wonder if that's the Japanese $10billion facility in the Gulf Coast, or if the figure's just a coincidence and the money's from somewhere else?

Anyway, there's a shale boom ... and there's a scramble to build LNG export facilities.

cheap and abundant supplies of natural gas produced in the U.S. shale boom. Chilling natural gas into a liquid makes it possible to transport the fuel on tanker ships.



LNG?  HELLO EUROPE.

** NOTE - Europe (ie Economic Union) is on the proposed free trade agreements list -  here.

Does this mean US is preparing to export LNG to Europe?


US - SHALE GAS - JAPANESE and CHINESE MARKETS



Why Japan Will Drive Global LNG Growth


There is little reason to expect Japan’s reactors will offset its voracious new appetite for LNG.

By Clint Richards
August 08, 2014
...
A look at Japan’s LNG consumption since 2011 ... Japanese use of LNG has increased by almost 20 million metric tons, or about 8 percent of global demand in 2013. The Wall Street Journal writes that this increased demand has led to more than 50 LNG export terminal proposals worldwide. However, despite surging demand for LNG in Japan (and China) recently, there are reasons to temper expectations. The Wall Street Journal speculates that a possible Japanese return to nuclear power and China’s staggeringly large new deal with Russia to import regular, piped natural gas should cause LNG speculators to hedge their bets somewhat[Yeah, hedge those bets in Europe.]

While the question of China’s future LNG consumption may not be clear, demand will surely rise over the short to medium-term, even if that growth ends up being less pronounced than the increase in natural gas demand. Even with the prospect of a slowdown in China’s economy, it is simply too large not to diversify and increase the weighting of LNG in its energy mix, especially as the environmental impact of coal becomes much more problematic in its mega-cities.

Japan’s future demand for LNG may also be difficult to gauge, but there are indicators as to what direction the industry in Japan will take. First of all, there are the $10 billion in loans put together by major private banks like Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank, along with the government’s Japan Bank for International Cooperation, to fund LNG projects in North America slated for delivery between 2017 and 2018. Additionally, by 2020 Japan is expected to order roughly 90 LNG ships worth $19.3 billion.

However, the location of the investments is important, as that will signal the long-term viability of LNG imports for Japan. Overall Japanese investment in North America has increased substantially since 2011, going from roughly $15 billion to more than $45 billion in 2013. A significant portion of that investment is being funneled into the emerging shale natural gas industry in both the U.S. and Mexico. Once U.S. shale gas is online, it is expected to be 20 to 30 percent cheaper than Japan’s other suppliers.

EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE
http://thediplomat.com/2014/08/why-japan-will-drive-global-lng-growth/



That's just the Japanese / Chinese market.

* China will be largely natural gas reliant (Russian deal) ... but some diversity expected.

* Japan is a big market ... but they *could* revert to nuclear, so market not assured?

Don't forget Europe needs energy, too.  Hello Europe.


UKRAINE & RUSSIA - GERMANY, UK, EU - ENERGY NEEDS - HELLO US LNG



'Germany, Want to Rid Yourself of Russian Gas? Turbo-Charge the Energiewende!'

Posted August 7, 2014
Merkel And Medvedev Inaugurate Nord Stream Gas Pipeline

Last week, the US and the EU hit Russia with a new sanctions regime in order to punish its continued meddling in destabilizing Eastern Ukraine. The economic restrictions are dubbed ‘Stage Three’ sanctions, indicating the increased level of severity meant to further ratchet up costs to the Russian economy. The sanctions now target Russian banking, defense, and energy sectors.

As for the latter, “both the EU and the United States will ban export of technologies to Russia for deep-water, Arctic or shale oil drilling,” The Guardian newspaper writes. Interestingly, the article also notes that “sanctions from the EU, which does far more trade with Russia, will be reviewed in three months.” The EU compared to the US has much more at stake – check out data (Eurostat, 2013) on imports, exports, and trade volumes between Russia and the EU in an interactive graphic provided by Der Spiegel.

In addition, given that about 30 per cent of the EU’s overall gas consumption – ... is covered by Russian natural gas imports, it is no wonder that the EU may want to reconsider its ‘tough’ stance before the winter. The EU cannot have an interest in joining the Russian Bear in what might be called “economic hibernation” due to severe repercussions in the energy realm on both sides. A 2006 Russian natural gas shutoff left many Europeans without heating fuel during a bitter cold winter.

As expected, Russia responded defiantly to the new sweeping EU/US sanctions, threatening to increase energy prices in a statement by the Russian foreign ministry cited by EUobserver:

“Obsessed with sanctions, Brussels is itself creating barriers for further cooperation in such a key sector as energy industry ...

In light of this threat a timely study by experts from the renowned German Frauenhofer Institute (IWES), commissioned by the German Green Party faction in the German parliament, explains how  ... Germany could completely wean itself off Russian natural gas imports. The study titled in German “Erdgassubstitution durch eine forcierte Energiewende” (“How a turbo-charged ‘Energiewende’ can replace natural gas imports”) concludes that Germany could be independent of Russian gas imports by 2030 at the earliest.

At that point of time, Germany could cut down on Russian gas imports entirely, which is equivalent to about 400 TWh of German energy consumption per year based on 2013 figures. The authors go on to explain that Germany consumed about 900 terawatt-hours (TWh) – equivalent to about 102,600 megawatts (MW) by doing a rough conversion to megawatts – in 2013 with 96 TWh thereof attributed to its own domestic production. Charts show that Germany imported 1,040 TWh – including natural gas transits – and re-exported 226 TWh, leaving it with a net natural gas import balance of 814 TWh in 2013. Russian natural gas accounted for 38.7 per cent of these imports.

However, in order to significantly reduce dependence on natural gas imports ahead of 2050 – the legislative goal as outlined in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) 2.0 – an initial investment of 300 billion Euros is required now through 2028 in order to reap the benefits from overall energy system procurement savings through 2050, which then would make this gigantic endeavor profitable, the authors claim. Moreover, the initial investment has to be accompanied by general energy efficiency measures such as the reduction of energy consumption through energy efficiency of buildings, geothermal heat and energy, power-to-heat, conversion of electricity into synthetic fuel (power-to-gas), the use of biomethane as a natural gas substitute, biomass energy, and solar. By implementing such a holistic view of the power generation and heating sectors, the above measures could already yield a substantial reduction in natural gas imports by 2025.

The following graphic nicely illustrates the path – as outlined by the experts of the German Fraunhofer Institute – to a reduction in natural gas imports by turbo-charging as well as optimizing the ‘Energiewende’:


It is important to note that the above-described scenario does not include the potential of increased domestic natural gas production through ‘fracking’ or future direct German LNG imports from global markets via a yet-to-be built import terminal in Wilhelmshaven.

Lastly, given the enormous costs and relatively long time frame to accomplish total energy independence from Russia – probably neither smart nor cost-effectively achievable to begin with – it would not even be a stunning turn of events if ‘clean’ coal became down the road the big ‘energy savior’ in Europe. So, get ready US coal for a European Energy Emergency! Der Spiegel cites estimates that show coal helping Germany to wean itself off Russian gas in about ten years. Remember, we live in a very volatile world and just like geopolitical change, governments along with their policies change in response. Stay tuned….


http://theenergycollective.com/jared-anderson/455716/germany-want-rid-yourself-russian-gas-turbo-charge-energiewende



Germany, UK and Europe need ENERGY. 

Forget the renewable stuff.  They need hard-core dependable energy.

It's a case of : GET READY US SHALE / LNG.

Liquid Natural Gas

Until the mid-1990s, LNG demand was heavily concentrated in Northeast Asia: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. At the same time, Pacific Basin supplies dominated world LNG trade. The world-wide interest in using natural gas-fired combined cycle generating units for electric power generation, coupled with the inability of North American and North Sea natural gas supplies to meet the growing demand, substantially broadened the regional markets for LNG. It also brought new Atlantic Basin and Middle East suppliers into the trade.

By the end of 2011, there were 18 LNG exporting countries and 25 LNG importing countries. The three biggest LNG exporters in 2011 were Qatar (75.5 MT), Malaysia (25 MT) and Indonesia (21.4 MT). The three biggest LNG importers in 2011 were Japan (78.8 MT), South Korea (35 MT) and UK (18.6 MT).  LNG trade volumes increased ... new LNG supply from six new plants comes to the market just in 2009, including:

    Northwest Shelf Train 5: 4.4 MTPA
    Sakhalin II: 9.6 MTPA
    Yemen LNG: 6.7 MTPA
    Tangguh: 7.6 MTPA
    Qatargas: 15.6 MTPA
    Rasgas Qatar: 15.6 MTPA

In 2006, Qatar became the world's biggest exporter of LNG.   As of 2012, Qatar is the source of 25 percent of the world's LNG exports.
Investments in U.S. export facilities were increasing by 2013—such as the plant being built in Hackberry, Louisiana by Sempra Energy. These investments were spurred by increasing shale gas production in the United States and a large price differential between natural gas prices in the U.S. and those in Europe and Asia. However, general exports had not yet been authorized by the United States Department of Energy because the United States had only recently moved from an importer to self-sufficiency status. When U.S. exports are authorized, large demand for LNG in Asia was expected to mitigate price decreases due to increased supplies from the U.S. [WIKPEDIA]

The US has a shit-load of LNG it needs a market for.   Hello Europe.

That's why snatching gas supply from Russia is so important -- and it's also why Ukraine's natural resources are important.

This isn't about 'democracy' or 'protecting' anyone in Europe; it's about a grab for energy, resources and strategic control.




August 07, 2014

UK - NEEDS EUROPEAN LNG - FRACKING - ENERGY DRYING UP

Government data hints at future challenges for curbing natural gas emissions

05 August 2014

...


As a consequence, the UK's main LNG supplier, Qatar, is sending increasing amounts of LNG south east rather than to the UK, which isn't willing to match Asia's price. In 2013, 62 per cent of Qatar's LNG was exported to Asia, with only 30 per cent going to Europe.
...

If the UK is going to use gas as a bridging fuel while curbing its emissions, it will need to continue to import as much as possible from the continent rather than alternative sources. Shale gas could potentially play a role, but only if fugitive methane emissions are constrained. Finding alternative low emission gas sources will get ever more pressing as North Sea wells dry up and Norway's resources become increasingly depleted.



http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2014/08/government-data-hints-at-future-challenges-for-curbing-gas-demand/

Wow!

This would indicate that UK has a vested interest in supporting the Obama/US incursions into Eastern Europe ... and that UK would be fully behind the energy rape of Ukraine, the replacement of infrastructure ... and snatch of Russia's market etc.



July 15, 2014

US AIM STEPPING UP LNG EXPORT - EUROPEAN GAS SUPPLY - US ANTI FRACKING ENVIRONMENTALISTS PROTEST

Anti-fracking activists rally with opponents of LNG export facility
July 14, 2014

On Sunday afternoon, about 2,000 people marched in the heat of mid-summer Washington,D.C., from a rally on the national mall to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; the first-ever demonstration at FERC. They were protesting what they called FERC’s rubber stamp approval process for an export facility for liquified natural gas, or LNG, in a heavily populated area of southern Maryland called Cove Point. It’s one of 14 such proposed facilities around the country. Much of the natural gas slated for export would be extracted through the process of fracking, which is already happening in the Marcellus Shale formation located in parts of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. That’s leading anti-fracking groups to form an alliance with opponent of LNG export terminals. Melinda Tuhus reports from D.C.
...
Residents and advocates like the Chesapeake Climate Action Network – CCAN – which organized the rally, want FERC to require Dominion, the owner of the liquefied natural gas terminal, to do an Environmental Impact Statement or EIS, in addition to the less comprehensive Environmental Assessment it conducted. A FERC spokesperson said she couldn’t comment spcifically on Cove Point, but that if a full study was done when the site was developed several years ago as an LNG import, not export, facility, another one would not be required since the new proposal does not exceed the footprint of the existing facility.

Mike Tidwell, founder and executive director of CCAN, said the export plans involve “completely different industrial machines, totally different process, much bigger, much more dangerous, and FERC doesn’t think there should be an Environmental Impact Statement. They think the EIS from 2006 for a $700 million facility is enough to cover, in 2014, a $3.8 billion facility. It’s ridiculous.” Tidwell said this is the only LNG proposal in the country that’s planned for a populated area.[WOW .... IT'S A CORPORATE FREE FOR ALL & STAKES HIGH.]
...
One of the speakers at the rally was Sandra Steingraber, a biologist, author and a leader of the anti-fracking movement in New York. She said their destinies are intertwined, because LNG exports would lead to an increase in fracking. She noted the success of a movement to ban liquified natural gas production in New York State following an explosion in Staten Island in 1973 that killed 40 people. She said the safety concerns remain, but what has changed is that in 1973 people didn’t know yet about climate change and had never heard of fracking. So the stakes are even higher today.

“To the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and to President Obama, we say we are not willing to blow up the bedrock of our nation in order to extract a fossil fuel called methane, that will in turn blow up our climate,” Steingraber told the crowd gathered for the rally. “We are not willing to liquefy the results, using more fossil fuels, and so give methane a passport to foreign markets and so give methane a passport to foreign markets and so further entrench a fossil fuel dependency around the globe and so further entrench a fossil fuel dependency around the globe in a time of climate emergency. We say No to that!”

Mike Tidwell of CCAN said FERC does more to facilitate the production of natural gas than to regulate it. “They facilitate fossil fuel projects. They’ve never denied a major electrical or gas project ever presented to them – ever. So they’re an isolated, non-responsive commission that does not take into account public safety or health and instead all they do is try to further the profits of the fossil fuel industry.”

Plans to increase the nation’s natural gas export infrastructure come as Europe’s largest gas supplier – Russia – is locked in a dispute with Ukraine, where key pipelines carrying Russian gas to Central and Western Europe are located. Are export facilities like the one in Cove Point meant to step in to fill a need at a moment of political crisis?

In a phone interview before Sunday’s rally, Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, explained how the business works: “All the trade from LNG exports are going to be typically structured as 20-year, locked in deals, where nearly all of the export capacity is already slated for specific customers. Not a single bit of this is slated to go to Ukraine or anything like that. These are not national determinations; these are private marketplace determinations, depending upon who negotiates the supply agreements.”[NO WAY DO I BELIEVE THAT.  AS IF CORPORATE AMERICA WILL BE PRECLUDED FROM ENTERING INTO *NEW* SUPPLY CONTRACTS.]

FERC’s decision is expected in the next several months. The Maryland Public Service Commission must also given an opinion on whether the proposed LNG export facility is in the public’s interest.


FULL  @ - SOURCE - FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS - here.


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COMMENT

It seems a corporate free for all over there -- and it is.  LOL. 

Fancy not doing an Environmental Impact Statement on a $3.8 BILLION facility & trying to rely something dated in relation to a much smaller project ($700m).

The US energy corporations must be rubbing their hands in glee in anticipation of becoming Europe's supplier:

Plans to increase the nation’s natural gas export infrastructure come as Europe’s largest gas supplier – Russia – is locked in a dispute with Ukraine, where key pipelines carrying Russian gas to Central and Western Europe are located. Are export facilities like the one in Cove Point meant to step in to fill a need at a moment of political crisis?

As if this isn't about big corporate interests.  *eye-roll* 

And as if vilifying Russia as a 'threat' and US heavy investment (billions) in Ukraine (and US-NATO calls for increased war chest investment & presence of US soldiers on European soil) isn't about US (& assoc.) corporate interests.

Another *eye-roll*.



US $11 BILLION ARMS DEAL TO QATAR

US, Qatar sign $11 bn arms deal

Washington, July 15 (IANS) 

US and Qatar have signed an arms deal on Qatar's purchase of US Patriot defence systems and Apache helicopters to the tune of $11 billion, the US Defence Department said in a statement on Monday.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel hosted Qatar's Minister of State for Defence Affairs Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah at the Pentagon on Monday to sign letters of offer and acceptance for Apache helicopters and Patriot and Javelin defence systems worth $11 billion, Xinhua reported.

"Today's signing ceremony underscores the strong partnership between the United States and Qatar in the area of security and defence and will help improve our bilateral cooperation across a range of military operations," said Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby in a statement.

Secretary Hagel also used the meeting to express his appreciation for the support that Qatar provides US forces in the country. "Today's visit followed Secretary Hagel's visit to Doha last fall, where he met with al-Attiyah to sign and renew the US-Qatar Defence Cooperation Agreement," Kirby said.

"This is a critically important relationship in the region," the official said, adding that the secretary is pleased to be able to continue to make the US-Qatar ties stronger.

US Vice President Joe Biden welcomed al- Attiyah at the White House and the two sides discussed regional issues, including Syria, Iraq, Libya, and the Gaza crisis.

During their meeting, Biden noted that the signing of the arms deal will help strengthen strategic relationship between Qatar and the US.

The weapons deal was the biggest for the US in 2014 and would enhance its security and diplomatic ties with Qatar to counter the threat across the Gulf from Iran, experts said.

SOURCE - IANS - here
----------------------------------------------
COMMENT

US scores it's biggest 2014 arms deal with Qatar - $11 BILLION.

Cooperation between Qatar & US strategic in region because of alleged Iran threat.  [Also reserves of gas.  Also US regional control. Important regional US ally.  Also big money.]

So what's the background?

----------------------------------------------
FURTHER INFO
State of Qatar is a sovereign Arab country, located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the north-easterly coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf.

Qatar is home to USA's biggest military base in the Middle East.

[Blogger's note:  Historically has been under British and Ottoman rule.]

Qatar was also an early member of OPEC and a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It is a member of the Arab League. The country has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.

Qatar hosts the Al Udeid Air Base, which acts as the hub for all American air operations in the Persian Gulf. Qatar has bilateral relationships with a variety of foreign powers. It has allowed American forces to use an air base to send supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Qatar signed a defence co-operation agreement with Saudi Arabia, with whom it shares the largest single non-associated gas field in the world.

It was the second nation, the first being France, to have publicly announced its recognition of the Libyan opposition's National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of Libya amidst the 2011 Libyan civil war.  Qatar's relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are strained, owing to the perceived closeness between the Qatari government and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Qatar Armed Forces are the military forces of Qatar. The country maintains a modest military force ...

Qatar has recently signed defence pacts with the United States and United Kingdom, as well as with France earlier in 1994.

Qatar plays an active role in the collective defence efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council; the other five members are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and Oman.

The presence of a large American military base in the country provides the country with a guaranteed source of defence and national security.

In 2008 Qatar spent US$2.355 billion on military expenditures, 2.3% of the gross domestic product.  Qatari special forces have been trained by French and other Western countries,... also helped the Libyan rebels during the 2011 Battle of Tripoli.

Oil was discovered in Qatar in 1940, in Dukhan Field. The discovery transformed the state's economy. Now, the country has a high standard of living. With no income tax, Qatar (along with Bahrain) is one of the countries with the lowest tax rates in the world. The unemployment rate in June 2013 was 0.1%.

Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world as of 2013, according to the CIA World Factbook and approximately 14% of households are dollar millionaires.

In 2012, Qatar retained its title of richest country in the world (according to per capita income) for the third time in a row, having first overtaken Luxembourg in 2010.

Oil production will not long remain at peak levels ... as oil fields are projected to be mostly depleted by 2023.

However, large natural gas reserves have been located off Qatar's north-east coast.

Qatar's proved reserves of gas are the third-largest in the world...

1991 ... North Field gas development. 
1996 ... Qatargas ..... began exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan.

Further phases of North Field gas development costing billions of dollars are in various stages of planning and development.
[wikipedia]
----------------------------------------------

This is embarrassing, but I didn't even know Qatar existed.
It sure sounds important to the US.

Also, I think 'liquified natural gas' is what hydraulic fracturing or fracking is all about (I think).

Quick check:

Anti-fracking activists rally with opponents of LNG export ...
Free Speech Radio News ‎- 9 hours ago
That's leading anti-fracking groups to form an alliance with opponent of LNG export terminals. Melinda Tuhus reports from D.C
...

[I've not read the Free Speech Radio New's story, so I haven't linked.  It's just what come up on my Google.]

Fracking is why the Ukraine is also important to the US - as well as strategic/military regional importance in the Ukraine.