June 2025, Vol. 252, No. 6
Global News
Global News June 2025
Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Starts 2nd Train Despite Sanctions
Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 plant started production at its second train, even after it has been unable to sell liquefied natural gas from a first train, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Russian energy company Novatek owns 60% in the plant, located on the Gydan Peninsula, which extends into the Kara Sea. The LNG plant is designed to have an eventual output capacity of 19.8 mtpa at three trains.
According to Reuter’s sources, Arctic LNG 2’s first production train had been shut since Oct. 11, as sanctions have prevented any sales.
Novatek began production at Arctic LNG in December 2023 but is behind schedule in supplying cargoes of the gas because of shortages of ice-class gas carriers and Western sanctions over Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Sunoco to Acquire Parkland in $9 Billion Deal
Sunoco LP will buy Canada-based Parkland in a deal valued at about $9.1 billion, including debt, the U.S. fuel supplier said, in a move the companies said would create the largest independent fuel distributor in the Americas.
The companies announced the agreement, stating Sunoco will acquire all outstanding shares of Parkland in a cash and equity transaction, including assumed debt.
As part of the deal, Sunoco will form SUNCorp, a new publicly traded Delaware limited liability company that will hold limited partnership units economically equivalent to Sunoco’s common units. The new entity, treated as a corporation for tax purposes, will maintain equivalent dividends for two years following closing.
Under the agreement, Parkland shareholders will receive 0.295 SUNCorp units and C$19.80 per share, reflecting a 25% premium over the companies’ recent share prices. Shareholders may alternatively elect to receive C$44.00 per share in cash or 0.536 SUNCorp units, subject to proration.
Sunoco has secured a $2.65 billion bridge loan to fund the transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025 following shareholder and regulatory approvals.
“This acquisition enables advantaged fuel supply, diversifies Sunoco’s portfolio, and accelerates growth,” the company said in a statement. Sunoco expects the deal to deliver $250 million in synergies within three years.
Penspen Joins UK’s HyNet Project with CO₂ Pipeline Deal
Energy consultancy Penspen has secured a multimillion-dollar contract from United Living Infrastructure Services to deliver detailed engineering design for the HyNet North West CO₂ pipeline, a key component of the UK’s low-carbon transition.
The pipeline will transport carbon dioxide captured from industrial emitters in Stanlow to the Liverpool Bay storage site at Point of Ayr. It will use a mix of new infrastructure and repurposed pipeline assets, with six block valve stations and five above-ground installations (AGIs) along the route from the Ince Facility in northwest England to the North Wales coast.
Penspen’s 70-person engineering team, based in London and Aberdeen, will lead the project. Twenty new roles have been created to support the detailed design phase. The Aberdeen office, which has grown significantly in recent months, will also provide engineering support.
“This is a pivotal award that highlights Penspen’s reputation as specialists in supporting complex energy transition projects,” said Darren Bartlett, Director of Energy Transition at Penspen. “The HyNet North West project will be transformational for the UK’s energy network.”
HyNet North West is one of the UK’s most advanced decarbonization projects, aiming to create a low-carbon industrial cluster through large-scale carbon capture and hydrogen infrastructure. Following government funding announced in October 2024, the initiative includes hydrogen production, transport, and storage, along with offshore CO₂ sequestration in depleted reservoirs beneath Liverpool Bay.
Penspen will lead the detailed engineering for both onshore pipelines and associated AGIs, bringing its experience from long-distance, high-pressure pipeline projects to bear on what is one of the first CO₂ transport networks in the UK to reach this stage of development.
Once operational, HyNet is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 10 mtpa in the 2030s and play a vital role in helping the U.K. meet its net-zero targets.
TurkStream Gas Pipeline Could Slow EU, Russia Decoupling
The European Commission revised its path to cease using Russian energy by the end of 2027, but some regions of the continent continue to move in the opposite direction.
While Russian pipeline gas exports to the European Union have fallen since the start of the Ukraine war to under 40 Bcm in 2024, Russia’s LNG sales in the in Europe are increasing, and gas supplied through the TurkStream pipeline has expanded.
Since 2021, Russian LNG sales to the EU nearly doubled to around 25 Bcm, with France, Belgium, Spain and Netherlands buying over 90% of the volumes, according to Reuters.
Since TurkStream came on line, more than 63 Bcm of Russian gas has reached the EU, generating over $22.72 billion (20 billion euros) for Gazprom, while supplying gas to Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Bosnia, Hungary and Slovakia.
In 2025, Hungary has emerged as the leading importer, with Russian gas imports expected to rise to around 8 Bcm, up from 6 Bcm in 2023.
Enbridge, Others to Acquire 85% Stake in Matterhorn Pipeline
Infrastructure investment firm I Squared, midstream company MPLX LP, and pipeline operator Enbridge have entered an agreement to acquire up to 85% interest in the Matterhorn Express gas pipeline, the companies said.
WhiteWater, which counts I Squared as one of its partners, will own up to 65% interest in the pipeline, the companies said in a statement, adding that Canada-based Enbridge and MPLX will own another 10% each in the Matterhorn pipeline following a closing of the transaction.
The companies would acquire these equity interests from private equity firm Ridgemont Equity Partners and Devon Energy Corp., the statement said.
The Matterhorn pipeline carries natural gas from the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico to the outskirts of Houston. The 580-mile pipeline was designed to carry up to 2.5 Bcf/d of gas.
Reuters reported earlier Miami-based I Squared Capital was in talks to acquire a majority stake in the natural gas pipeline from WhiteWater Midstream. A deal could value Matterhorn Express pipeline at more than $5 billion including debt, a Bloomberg report had said.
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