GO WITH THE FLOW
EU member Portugal may be committed to the national renewable energy targets of the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) 2013-2020, but more traditional energy sources remain vital to picking up the slack.
Portugal's commitment to a diversified raft of renewable energy including onshore wind, hydropower, and solar technology has led to an installed capacity of 12,643MW at 418 renewable power plants. The national target is to achieve an 85% renewables ratio of total generation in 2030 and 90% in 2050. One may conclude then that fossil fuels very much remain a part of the energy equation for the foreseeable future.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a commodity of mixed character. Its purity, higher methane and energy content, and more stable composition render it superior to pipeline gas. Nothing is free, however, and the price paid is greenhouse gas emission. That being said, it is also the cleanest burning fossil fuel, which curbs maintenance and replacement cost at related facilities. Prices tend to be more stable, too, than energy inputs derived from crude oil. According to the International Energy Agency, LNG is likely to supersede pipeline gas in global gas trade.
The vagaries of commodity pricing spawn interesting methods of mitigating energy market uncertainty. One tendency to have emerged involves so-called stationary cargoes; the practice of sellers retain fuel afloat inside transporter vessels at minus 162 degrees Celsius for long periods in anticipation of better pricing. What we are talking about here is the process of contango, namely the condition whereby as land-based supplies are consumed there is no immediate rise in the price of LNG, and hence the option to retain stock in vessels, despite the cost involved. As of late 2018 though, industry data pointed to just 30 out of a global fleet of over 500 LNG supertankers were engaged in the practice. Besides, the global LNG fleet operates a transportation capacity of just over 44 million tons—far lagging behind the crude oil tanker fleet's 370-plus million tons, based upon sector numbers from Clarkson Research Services Ltd. A sudden unforeseen leap in demand, say from inclement weather, can predictably lead to sizeable profits.
The CWC 19th Annual World LNG Summit & Awards Evening, 2018
From November 27–30, 2018 Lisbon hosted the leading annual occasion for discussion and networking for the world's LNG operators. In discussing ideas such as the one covered above, its overarching brief was to position LNG as a commercially attractive fuel capable of competing strongly with other fuels in an ever more commoditized world.
Portugal is a small player, accounting for a mere 1.3% of European gas demand. Lacking homegrown gas production however, it is entirely dependent upon those imports, although as we see elsewhere, green energy is a major national initiative making huge strides. It imports Algerian piped gas through the Maghreb pipeline via Spain. Portugal's primary gas distributor Energias de Portugal (EDP) handles those imports under a long-term supply contract. Galp Energia, Portugal's national oil and gas monopoly, sources LNG from Nigeria.
Meanwhile, LNG enters its terminal at Sines, a facility constructed in 2003, but upgraded in 2012. Portugal mostly imports LNG from Nigeria, Algeria, and Qatar. Back in 2014, EDP penned a 20-year agreement with Cheniere to import US LNG from 2019, followed in 2018 with a contract with Venture Global for 1MPTA of LNG for a 20-year period, to commence in 2023. Sine LNG import terminal is operated by Portugal-based holding company Ren Redes Energeticas Nacionais SGPS SA (REN), a vital player in Portugal's energy arena. The holding transports natural gas at high-pressure and operates underground natural gas storage. It is also engaged in electricity transmission and national grid management, as well as telecoms. ✖
GO WITH THE FLOW
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Focus: Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries
Making an Impact
Established in 1996, the Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries (CPLP) is a mechanism geared at linking and sharing the experience of Lusophone countries. Besides Portugal, this includes Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
read articleFocus
Don’t Mind the Disruption
Having won the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, Lisbon hosted the 2018 event. The relevance? Well, the contest began back in 1956 as a showcase not only of song, but of then-nascent live television broadcast technology. Today, Portugal is on the cutting edge of new technological developments.
read articleInterview
João Pedro Soeiro de Matos Fernandes , Minister , Environment and Energy Transition
The Ministry for the Environment and Energy Transition is focusing on decarbonizing the economy, valuing the territory and its habitats, and striving for a more circular use of the country's resources.
read articleInterview
António Braz Costa , General Manager, Portuguese Technological Centre for the Textile & Clothing Industries (CITEVE)
CITEVE has transformed the industry by promoting value addition, adopting the latest technologies, and ensuring the highest standards of environmental sustainability.
read articleFocus: New airport
Right Time to Seize Missed Opportunities
Portugal has seen its air traffic figures increase by as much as 80% in the last five years. As a result, its transportation infrastructure, and Lisbon's airport in particular, cannot cope with the rising numbers. A new airport project that will turn a military base into a commercial airport is now under discussion to bring much-needed relief to air traffic.
read articleInterview
Germano de Sousa , President, Grupo Germano de Sousa
Grupo Germano de Sousa's success can best be summed up by its understanding that science and medicine only really progress when technological development is combined with a deeper respect for human values and professional ethics.
read articleInterview
Isabel Capeloa Gil , Rector, Universidade Católica
Having pioneered the introduction of multiple subject areas to Portugal's tertiary education scene, Universidade Católica is aspiring to establish the country's first private medical school and introduce cutting-edge digital transformation.
read articleInterview
Carlos Guillén Gestoso , President, Escola Universitária de Ciências Empresariais, Saúde, Tecnologias e Engenharia & President, Atlantica University
Atlantica University differentiates through its company-university model and an MBA program in partnership with the University of California, Berkley, among other initiatives, to produce practical theoreticians.
read articleFocus: Public teaching staff
An Age-old Problem
Over a decade of austerity measures combined with an ageing population have seen the average age of the Portuguese public teaching staff progressively climb to one of the highest in the OECD. With frozen salaries, an extended retirement age, and precarious working conditions, today the sector faces one of its biggest challenge yet.
read articleInterview
Pedro Queiroz , General Manager, Federation of the Portuguese Agri-Food Industry (FIPA)
Portugal's economic recovery has seen its F&B sector emerge with annual turnovers of EUR16 billion, thanks to FIPA's undeterred focus on stable policies, excellent nutrition standards, and sustainability.
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