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FSUOGM NRG FSUOGM

past week. This has been attributed to factors On August 14, officials in Washington
including the risk of a potential shutdown at the confirmed that US forces had seized four
Gorgon LNG terminal in Australia, as well as cargoes of Iranian gasoline en route to Ven-
something of an uptick in demand, though not a ezuela. Tehran responded by acknowledging
particularly large one as yet. that it had supplied the fuel but described it
The two regions’ LNG industries are closely as Venezuelan property, saying that Caracas
linked, with US producers seeking long-term had already paid its bill. Venezuela’s gov-
buyers in Asia in particular. One US company ernment did not respond immediately to
trying to secure a new Asian investment cur- reports of the seizure.
rently is Tellurian, which has been in the news The US action is sure to exacerbate the prob-
for scaling back the scope of the first phase of its lems of Venezuela’s oil industry. According to
proposed Driftwood LNG terminal on the US IHS Markit, the South American state shows no
Gulf Coast by deferring construction of some of sign of reversing the decline in its crude output
the pipelines that would serve the facility. and may see production drop from the current
The company had also recently renewed level of 100,000-200,000 bpd to near zero.
talks with India’s Petronet LNG over a tentative As recently as 2019, Venezuelan yields still
deal that would include an 18% equity stake in stood at 650,000 bpd. However, US sanctions,
Driftwood, as well as the option for the Indian deteriorating infrastructure and the fall in
company to buy up to 5mn tonnes per year (tpy) global energy demand have wreaked havoc on
from the facility. However, Indian media on the sector.
August 16 cited sources familiar with the matter Meanwhile, Venezuela’s National Assem-
as saying Petronet was considering scaling back bly, which is dominated by parties that oppose
its proposed $2.5bn investment in Driftwood as the socialist government led by President
a result of Tellurian’s overhaul of the project. Nicolas Maduro, has launched an investiga-
A further reminder of link between the LNG tion of a recent oil spill off the coast of Falcón
industries in the US and Asia came last week state. MPs have requested information from
when the SK Resolute LNG carrier made the the national oil company (NOC) PdVSA and
10,000th Neopanamax transit of the expanded other state-run institutions for details on the
Panama Canal since its opening in June 2016. incident, which appears to be related to main-
The expanded canal offers a shorter, and there- tenance work at the El Palito refinery. Opposi-
fore more competitive route for LNG deliver- tion legislators say the spill happened because
ies from the US East and Gulf coasts to Asian heavy rainfall caused the 146,000 bpd plant’s
countries. oxidation ponds to overflow.
In other news, Argentina’s YPF has
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping reported that its financial and operational
the global LNG sector then please click here for performance suffered in the second quarter of
NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor. 2020 as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-
19) pandemic. The state-owned firm said it
US seizes Venezuelan gasoline had incurred a loss of ARS85bn ($1.17bn) in
The US government has stepped up its campaign the April-June period, down by 154.8% on the
to prevent Iran from selling petroleum products loss of ARS33.36bn ($458.7mn) reported in
to Venezuela. the same period of 2019.

Week 33 19•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9