U.S. Oil Rig Count, Sanctions on Russian LNG Companies: Your Daily Energy News

News highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy (Sugar Land, Texas) dealing with the energy markets.

LNG
New Round of U.S. Sanctions Target Russian LNG - Among the many new sanctions against Russia announced by the U.S. late last week in response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were those against companies involved in the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including the Arctic LNG 2 development in Siberia and a grassroot facility on the Baltic Sea. On Friday, the State Department targeted Russia's Zvezda shipbuilding company, which it said is involved in the construction of up to 15 highly specialized LNG tankers intended for use in support of Arctic LNG 2 exports. It also listed limited liability company Modern Marine Arctic Transport SPG, which the State Department said has ties to the project. Two firms were targeted for their involvement in the development and operation of Russia's LNG complex at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga--the Russian joint venture company building the LNG complex and its subsidiary. Rosgeologia, a Russian-state owned company that provides geological exploration services, including services for the search and exploration of oil and gas fields, was also targeted. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Project Database can learn more by viewing the project reports on Arctic LNG 2 and the Baltic Sea project. (Reuters)

NATURAL GAS
Japan Faces Large Natural Gas Stocks - Japan's natural gas inventories are well above normal for the time of year, part of a worldwide surplus in response to the period of exceptionally high prices stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Inventories amounted to 7.6 billion cubic meters at the end of 2023, almost 1.7 billion cubic meters (29%) above the 10-year seasonal average for 2012-2021. The country's gas consumption has been sharply reduced by the restart of nuclear units and the deployment of more solar generators. Gas-fired generation was 16% lower in the first 11 months of 2023 compared with the same period of 2020, falling to 262 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) from 314 billion. Nuclear output rose by 30 billion kWh over the period, and solar rose by 26 billion kWh. (Reuters)

PRODUCTION
U.S. Drillers Add Oil Rigs - U.S. energy firms last week added the most oil rigs since November, energy services firm Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) (Houston, Texas) reported Friday. The U.S. oil rig count rose by six to 503 in the week ending February 23. (Reuters)

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).

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About IIR Energy
Energy asset information on power plants, oil refineries and natural gas infrastructure is now more important than ever. A unit of Industrial Info Resources, IIR Energy provides infrastructure information on these assets, as well as real-time tracking of planned and unplanned interruptions affecting the commodity-trading community. We are the number one source for information about power plant outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).