Page 7 - GLNG Week 22

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following a COVID-19 outbreak. The move will A number of pre-FID projects in both the US
likely affect work on an expansion project, which and Canada would be greenfield developments,
is already running a year behind schedule. adding to their construction cost at a time when
LNG prices remain low and securing financing
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping is increasingly challenging. The convergence of
the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then please LNG prices globally is also throwing the eco-
click here for NewsBase’s FSU Monitor . nomics of shipping the fuel over long distances
into question.
LNG giant pushing ahead as others hold Current trends are compounding the wor-
back ries of US LNG developers. Reuters reported on
Even as US LNG exports decline, the backers of June 1 that the amount of pipeline gas flowing
the Golden Pass LNG project, which is under to US LNG export terminals was on track to fall
construction in Texas, have requested author- to a nine-month low of 4.3bn cubic feet (122mn
isation to expand the capacity of the terminal. cubic metres) per day as cargo cancellations kick
This is perhaps not surprising, considering the in. This is anticipated to hit Cheniere Energy, the
project is majority-owned by Qatar Petroleum US’ leading LNG exporter, particularly hard.
(QP), which is also aggressively pursuing the
expansion of its domestic LNG export capacity. Latin America faces sickness, sanctions
QP owns a 70% stake in Golden Pass LNG, while In two South American oil-producing states, the
ExxonMobil holds the remaining 30%. (See: coronavirus pandemic and related topics con-
Golden Pass LNG files for capacity expansion as tinue to dominate headlines.
cargo cancellations bite US exporters, page 15) The Colombian pipeline operator Cenit, a
The partners are seeking permission to boost subsidiary of the national oil company (NOC)
the capacity of Golden Pass LNG to 18.1mn Ecopetrol, has said it will extend measures
tonnes per year, from 15.6mn tpy previously. designed to ease the financial burden on produc-
They say the increase “does not involve any ers that have been hit hard by declining energy
equipment changes or environmental permit demand and low crude prices. The company
adjustments”, and would be achieved via “pro- revealed last week that it intended to cut tariffs,
duction efficiencies”. to keep special financing arrangements in place
Separately, QP announced this week that it for another six months and to be more flexible in
had signed $19bn worth of orders for LNG ships negotiations with users of its pipelines.
from South Korean shipbuilders Daewoo Ship- In Brazil, more offshore operators are report-
building & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Heavy ing COVID-19 infections among their con-
Industries Holdings and Samsung Heavy Indus- tractors and staff members. As of May 28, the
tries. This marks the largest ever single LNG National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas
vessel order, covering more than 100 ships to be and Biofuels (ANP) had recorded no less than
delivered by 2027. (See: QP reserves South Korean 544 cases. State-owned Petrobras reportedly
LNG shipbuilding capacity in $19bn megadeal, accounted for hundreds of these cases, and sev-
page 9) eral private firms – including Dommo Energia
Qatar’s push on both domestic and overseas (Brazil), Enauta Participacoes (Brazil), Equinor
LNG development comes as other planned (Norway), Perenco (UK/France) and Royal
liquefaction projects in North America and Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands) – have also been
elsewhere appear to be increasingly in doubt. hit.
A handful of North American developers have Venezuela also continues to draw criticism
already postponed final investment decisions from the US for importing gasoline from Iran.
(FIDs) from this year until 2021, but analysts Officials in Washington have threatened to
are now warning that it could be even longer penalise any companies found to be involved in
before any more liquefaction capacity is this activity and have also delivered diplomatic
sanctioned. warnings to governments around the world.

Week 22 05•June•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7