LNG

JSW Steel Italy announced the signing of an agreement with Creon Capital with the aim of developing the renewable energy, LNG, logistics and related industrial activities in the area of Piombino port. On September 15th, JSW Steel presented the Piombino 2030 Industrial Plan.

The new industrial plan for JSW Steel Group’s Italian companies, known as Piombino 2030, was presented on September, 15th at the JSW Steel Italy headquarters in Piombino. JSW Steel Italy’s Vice-President, Marco Carrai, the Undersecretary for Economic Development, Alessia Morani, the President of the Tuscany Region, Enrico Rossi, and the Mayor of Piombino, Francesco Ferrari, were present at the event.

Other participants were the Social Partners, representatives of the Province, of the Ministry of the Environment, of the Ministry of Labour, Invitalia, the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authorities and the State Property Office. The meeting was also attended by all the financial partners involved in the industrial plan.

The industrial plan, which envisages an initial investment of 84 million euro thanks also to the participation of Invitalia, as announced in the same office by the Undersecretary for Economic Development Alessia Morani, is divided into two phases: the first, in the short term, aims to make the rolling plants more efficient, complete the product range and bring the company to satisfactory profitability. The second phase, in the medium term, targets over the next five years the return to steel production through the use of the electric furnace and the construction of a multicentric industrial complex that also includes logistics, manufacturing and environment activities to be carried out with selected partners in the individual sectors and financials.

“We are proud to present the business plan today, even in a difficult economic situation. I would like to thank all those present here for making this relaunch a reality” – said Marco Carrai, Executive Vice President JSW Steel Italy – “Invitalia, as announced today by the Undersecretary for Economic Development Alessia Morani, will support this first phase, aiming to relaunch the company and make it productive again. We hope that Piombino will once again become a key industrial place, starting from our core business, steel, and safeguarding all jobs”.

“We had made a commitment and respected it. For some months now I have been following the dispute with Minister Patuanelli. The first commitment we had made was the possibility for the State to enter the capital of JSW Piombino and this will be achieved in the coming weeks through Invitalia, which will enter with 30 million euros” – said the Undersecretary for Economic Development Alessia Morani – “The second commitment was on a regulatory level and took shape last week, with the approval of the simplification decree, regarding the rail orders for the Piombino factory, thanks to which we created the ideal conditions ensuring a continuity that guarantees economic peace of mind for the company and, of course, for the workers. I believe that the policy must be done in the following way: for commitments and concrete results. On the 24th there will be a meeting at Mise to update the addendum that necessarily follows the approval of the industrial plan. With Jindal, all the institutional partners and with the help of the trade union, we hope to guarantee a future for this factory, which is the heart of the city, as soon as possible”.

In recent weeks, JSW Steel Italy announced the signing of an agreement with Creon Capital with the aim of developing the renewable energy, LNG, logistics and related industrial activities in the area of Piombino port and the start of a dialogue with the ship builder Fincantieri to assess the possibility of allocating some areas within the Piombino industrial site to shipbuilding activities and large reinforced concrete cellular modules for maritime infrastructure.

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JSW Steel Italy Piombino S.p.a., Piombino Logistics S.p.a. e G.S.I. Lucchini S.p.a. are part of the diversified JSW Group in India, which has a leading presence in sectors such as steel, energy, infrastructure, cement, sports, among others. Today, JSW Steel Ltd. is one of the leading integrated steel companies in India with an installed capacity of 18 MTPA.

The Sultanate of Oman is one of the most stable countries in the Middle East. Since the country’s political opening in 1971, the government has maintained constructive relations with all its neighbors, and Oman plays an active role in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Thanks to the abundance of oil and gas, economic output has tripled since the turn of the millennium, though, with the collapse of the oil price the growth to slow down two years ago.

Today, Oman is open to international cooperation, as evidenced by exploration projects with partners such as Shell and Total in the oil sector. In gas processing, the sultanate plans to increase gas liquefaction capacity to meet growing global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Creon Energy Fund is ready to participate in such projects as an equity partner. That is why a delegation of Creon Capital headed by Chairman Dr. Fares Kilzie on October 28 and 29 visited Oman’s capital Muscat.

The focus of the fund’s delegation trip was a visit to the “Gas & LNG Middle East Summit” hosted by Wisdom Events. The high-caliber participants included, among others, the Minister of Oil and Gas, Dr. Ing. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy and Harib Al-Kitani, CEO of Oman LNG. Both underpinned their commitment to gas processing projects, which should help to strengthen and diversify the country’s economic growth sustainably. Creon Capital Chairman Fares Kilzie expressed in a panel discussion that the Luxembourg Creon Energy Fund will contribute to the necessary investment in LNG infrastructure.

On contrary to the oil sector the gas processing industries need equity partners, when it comes to the realization of new projects, Kilzie emphasized: “The global hydrocarbon market is changing. Chinese companies, for instance, approach us on monthly basis to ask for solutions how to import more LNG. To serve these demands, we need to invest not only in large-scale but also in small- and mid-scale LNG plants.”

These smaller tonnages with a capacity of usually less than 1.5 million metric tons per annum, are dedicated to decentralized heating plants, truck fueling stations and so-called bunkering operations, the refueling of ships with LNG. If the transport and logistics sector operate to a large extend on LNG-basis instead of Diesel and heavy oil, emissions could be reduced tremendously. In this context Dr. Kilzie argued: “We consider gas as the greenest available energy source for the transport sector.”

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For further information please contact: Leila Nettaf, T. +352 26 49 79 2203 (nettaf@creoncapital.lu)

Pictures:

Dr. Fares Kilzie, Chairman of the board of Creon Capital, debating with David Kalife, CEO of Oman Oil Marketing.

Florian Willershausen, Director Business Development, Marketing and Communications of Creon Capital, speeking on investment opportunities in the LNG sector.

The 60 participants in the Wisdom Small and Mid-Scale LNG Conference in Amsterdam agreed on one thing: The demand for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) will grow enormously over the next 15-20 years. Royal Dutch Shell had concrete forecasts for this: in 2035, the world could deliver 600 million tons of transportable liquefied gas per year, more than twice as much as in 2017, according to Shell’s LNG Outlook for 2018, which was introduced by Shell’s Senior Advisor Gas Strategy Wouter Koopman.

From 2020 onwards, Shell expects a growing deficit in LNG: Although the gas market grows only one percent per year, the role of LNG as a resource for power plants or for the propulsion of ships is steadily increasing. “Gas is an easy subsitute to coal if we want to contribute to climate goals,” says Koopman. The additional volumes of liquefied petroleum gas, which manufacturers from Russia, the US and soon also from Canada on the market rinse, will not be able to keep pace with the growing demand, according to the expert.

Florian Willershausen, Director Business Development, Marketing and Communications, participated in the strategy panel for Creon Capital. He pointed out that the infrastructure was not adequate for refueling ships and trucks – and banks are still struggling to finance such projects. “We have to design this infrastructure with the help of modern instruments for project financing and involving private equity partners,” says Willershausen. The aim is to develop the entire value chain from the producer through the logistics to the end user. The Creon Energy Fund, managed by Creon Capital, is dedicated to this task.

For more information please contact:
Leila Nettaf
Creon Capital
T. +352 26 49 79 2203
E. nettaf@creoncapital.lu

Several German cities plan to ban diesel-powered vehicles from city districts – further bans will follow throughout Europe. Stricter sulfur and carbon dioxide limit values on the North and Baltic Seas, as well as later in the Mediterranean, are forcing the ship-owners to make extensive retrofits. And so, the diesel gradually fades from roads and sea routes.

LNG could benefit from it. The burning of liquefied natural gas produces only a fraction of the pollutants compared to diesel, gasoline or heavy fuel oil – and the range is greater. But it lacks the value chain – from liquefaction to transport fueling the entire supply-chain is missing, preventing the fuel’s final breakthrough in the gas station business. How this can be achieved was a subject of the recent LNG conference organized by Wisdom Events in Hamburg.

Wisdom gathered the who-is-who of the industry: representatives of ENI, Elengy, Gas Natural Fenosa, Uniper, Fluxys, Linde subsidiary Nautricor, Baker Hughes and NASA were present to discuss the chicken egg problem: If the decrease of LNG in large quantities is not secured, nobody will run a gas station. As long as LNG prices fluctuate, a freight forwarder will shy away from switching its fleet to LNG. Without the critical mass of demand, an LNG supplier will not offer the gas on long-term contracts with reasonable pricing.

Creon Capital is ready to invest in projects along the value chain for small and mid-scale LNG through the Creon Energy Fund. “We believe in strong medium term growth in this segment,” said Florian Willershausen, BD Director of the Luxembourg Private Equity Fund. “Banks are hesitating to finance because of the high volatility in the market. As a consequence, an equity partner like us is more than ever needed to realize the projects.” Creon Capital is currently evaluating several potential LNG projects and technology providers in Europe.

The US is likely to replace Eurasia as the world’s largest gas producer by the end of 2018. Within ten years, US companies have been able to keep developing their fracking technology. As a result, the country is not only able to meet domestic demand through domestic gas production, but also to gain a foothold in exports.

America’s LNG market was the subject of a conference organized by CREON’s partner Wisdom Events partners on 27 and 28 February in Houston, Texas. Creon Capital was on board as silver sponsor. Florian Willershausen, Director of Business Development, Marketing & Communications, discussed the LNG market and current challenges in a panel discussion with representatives from GE, Red Box, SNC Lavalin and Monkey Island LNG.

There are many challenges for the US gas market, though. It is not a coincidence, that in the past two and a half years no final investment decision has been made for the construction of new large-scale export terminals: The US manufacturers have difficulties to find customers for their hydrocarbons, given the current oversupply of gas. Since the good utilization of the terminals is crucial for banks and equity partners in the context of project financing, many projects are on hold.

Over the next few years, Australia will bring more gigantic quantities of liquefied natural gas onto the world market. At the same time, Eurasia is increasing its export of gas in the form of LNG and pipeline supplies. Nonetheless, analysts expect China’s rapidly growing demand to rapidly absorb additional available volumes.

In general, the Creon Energy Fund is also holding back on the financing of the large-scale LNG infrastructure. Instead, Creon Capital, as a fund manager, is examining entry into technology companies that make the handling and transportation of LNG more efficient. An entry into small scale LNG projects, especially in Europe, can also be an attractive topic for the Fund. The latter are aimed primarily at the supply of decentralized power plants, as well as the refueling of ships and truck fleets. These are growth markets that CREON keeps a clear eye on.

You have any questions, remarks or project ideas? Please contact us: fw@creoncapital.lu

There are some good news from Italy, most recently: The country left a deep recession crisis behind. The economy is growing again, the situation on the labor market has eased, no more banks threatened to collapse due to large non-performing loans. At the same time, the country returns to an economic growth with appears to be much more sustainable than ever before. Italy fulfilled and over-fulfilled the targets of the European Energy and Climate strategy already, reducing the level of energy consumption by 24 percent compared to the 1990’s, “Renewables” account already for 18.6 percent of the energy mix.

These “good news” are no “bad news” for the gas industry, though. Finally, Italy pushes forward reforms of the gas distribution market and the diversification of gas supplies. The regulator is keen to develop a liquid gas hub for Southern Europe, which will lead to more competition on the domestic market and increased exports soon.

Creon Capital identified five directions of investments in Italy, which could provide attractive opportunities for the Fund and its partners. This is the conclusion of a study, which was presented by the Fund’s Business Development Director Florian Willershausen in Milan during a Wisdom conference on Small Scale LNG.

In particular, the Italian market is in need for additional gas storage facilities, Small Scale LNG terminals, new trading platforms, new LNG suppliers and operators, who are capable to provide solutions for peak shaving and emergency management.

Concrete investment projects are under discussion already. The presentation can be downloaded under this link. In case of questions don’t hesitate to contact us under: info@creoncapital.lu

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Creon Capital joined US LNG conference in Houston

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