Page 9 - GLNG Week 15

GLNG AMERICAS GLNG
Peru LNG reports exports up in March
PERFORMANCE
PERU LNG, the operator of a natural gas liq- uefaction plant and export terminal in Pampa Melchorita, saw export volumes increase year on year in February.
The national oil company (NOC) Perupetro reported last week that the Peru LNG consor- tium had loaded five vessels with 809,192 cubic metres of LNG in March. This represented a rise of around 6.9% on the figure reported in the same month of 2019, when the group exported 756,762 cubic metres of LNG.
Exports also climbed month on month in March. Previously released data show that Peru LNG loaded five vessels with 795,576 cubic metres of LNG in February of this year, mean- ing that volumes went up by around 1.7% on the previous month.
The increase in export volumes is somewhat unexpected, given that PeruPetro reported in late March that Peru LNG had stopped loading tank- ers around the middle of the month. According to the NOC, the consortium filled three tankers with LNG in the first half of the month and did not immediately resume loadings after dispatch- ing the third cargo to China on March 13. (Peru- Petro also noted at the same time, though, that production levels were up at Camisea Block 56,
which supplies feedstock to the LNG plant.) The Peru LNG consortium has loaded and delivered a total of 567 cargoes of LNG since its launch in June 2010. Of the five cargoes dispatched in March 2020, one went to South
Korea, two to China and two to Japan.
The group was established by US-based Hunt Oil along with three other companies. The part- ners spent $3.8bn to build the Pampa Melcho- rita facility, which includes a 4.45mn tonne per year (tpy) gas liquefaction plant built by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (CBI), along with a marine terminal constructed by a consortium known as CDB. (This group includes Italy’s Saipem, Lux-
embourg’s Jan de Nul and Brazil’s Odebrecht.) The Pampa Melchorita LNG complex also includes a storage depot with two 130,000 cubic metre tanks and a 34-inch (860-mm) natural gas pipeline. This pipeline handles gas from fields in the Cusco region that are being developed by YPF, Argentina’s NOC and Repsol of Spain. The link runs for 408 km from Chiquintirca, a town
in the Ayacucho region, to the LNG plant. Equity in the Peru LNG project is divided between Hunt Oil, with 50%; SK Energy (South Korea), 20%; Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Nether-
lands), 20%, and Marubeni (Japan), 10%.™
Texas approves Annova LNG project
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
Annova is one of
three LNG projects proposed for the Port of Brownsville.
THE Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has issued a state permit to the proposed Annova LNG project at the Port of Brownsville, in South Texas. The permit marks a step forward for a project in a region where such developments are attracting more opposi- tion than terminals elsewhere along the US Gulf Coast.
Indeed, Annova LNG’s state permit was granted despite objections from the nearby cit- ies of Port Isabel and South Padre Island, which had requested a hearing over possible pollution from the facility. The two cities cited concerns about the LNG industry’s impact on the tour- ism and fishing industries, as Annova is one of three LNG projects proposed for the Port of Brownsville.
In a virtual meeting last week, the TCEQ’s three commissioners denied the hearing request from the two cities, saying it had not been filed in a timely manner. They also rejected several requests for a hearing made by nearby residents, saying they all lived too far from the facility to qualify.
Annova LNG, which is majority-owned by utility Excelon, has been steadily making pro- gress towards a final investment decision (FID) in recent months. Federal authorisation for the project was granted in November 2019. In Jan- uary 2020, Annova LNG signed a gas supply agreement with pipeline operator Enbridge, which also owns a stake in the terminal. In February, the US Department of Energy (DoE) authorised Annova to export LNG to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the US.
However, the 6.5mn tonne per year (tpy) project has yet to secure any firm offtake agree- ments for its output. And given the collapse of demand as a result of the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic in an already oversupplied market, finding buyers will become difficult even for pro- posed LNG facilities.
Annova LNG officials previously said they hoped to announce an FID by the end of this year, but given the unprecedented changes in market conditions, delays to the schedule are likely, assuming the project goes forward at all.™
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