Page 12 - NorthAmOil Week 04 2021

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Tellurian’s co-founder
and executive
chairman, Charif Souki

Tellurian’s Souki urges industry

to clean up its act

US TELLURIAN’S co-founder and executive France’s Engie pulled out of talks over a poten-
chairman, Charif Souki, has urged the oil and tial LNG supply deal with NextDecade, which
gas industry to do more to clean up its act. His is proposing to build an LNG export termi-
comments come as new US President Joe Biden nal at the Port of Brownsville in South Texas.
is already taking steps aimed at illustrating his The move was attributed to pressure from
commitment to tackling climate change and the French government and others on Engie,
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. because the LNG it would have bought from
“People have decided to vilify hydrocarbons, NextDecade would have used shale gas as feed-
and some of it is deserved. We have to increase stock. France banned hydraulic fracturing in
our standards,” Souki was quoted by the Finan- 2011 and use of the technique remains so con-
cial Times as saying. He also called for a “com- troversial in the country that even the possi-
plete ban” on methane leaks from gas operations bility of importing shale gas from overseas has
and a nationwide price on carbon, saying it run into resistance. Tellurian is now
would be “easy to do”. A plan for NextDecade to develop an LNG
Souki made a name for himself with Cheniere import facility in Ireland has also failed, with a hoping to start
Energy, which became the first company to preliminary deal signed in 2017 having expired.
export LNG from the Lower 48 US states in 2016. Once again, the fact that the gas would have construction this
Having founded the company and served as its come from US shale formations appears to have
president, CEO and chairman of the board, he played a part in Ireland being unwilling to pro- summer, and
left the firm in 2015, citing a disagreement with ceed with the plan. is in talks with
the rest of Cheniere’s board, including billion- It is against this backdrop that Souki is urging
aire Carl Icahn. Souki subsequently co-founded the industry to clean up its act. He still expects “around two
Tellurian, which is proposing to build the Drift- US LNG exports to continue growing, as a result
wood LNG export terminal on Louisiana’s Gulf of rising global demand, and he belies that the dozen” potential
Coast. Having previously postponed a final Biden administration will continue to see the
investment decision (FID) on Driftwood and strategic value of LNG, given that exports started investors.
taken steps to cut the project’s costs, Tellurian is under former President Barack Obama. Indeed,
now hoping to start construction this summer, Biden served as Vice President under Obama
and is in talks with “around two dozen” potential and while he appears to be prioritising climate
investors, according to Souki. change mitigation, it is likely that his agenda will
This comes at a time when more and more have much in common with Obama’s.
countries are prioritising decarbonisation and “We want to repair our relationships around
climate change mitigation, and indeed, con- the world and I think natural gas is going to be
cerns have been raised over US LNG export- central to this discussion everywhere, whether
ers’ environmental credentials. In November, it’s India or China or even Europe,” Souki said.™

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