Page 12 - NorthAmOil Week 07 2021

NorthAmOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES NorthAmOil

Cheniere requests permission to

bring Corpus Christi Train 3 online

US GULF COAST CHENIERE Energy has asked the US Federal terminals on the Gulf Coast were also affected
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for by the fog.
permission to bring the third train at the Cor- Conditions were normalising from February
pus Christi LNG export terminal in Texas into 11, with the Sabine-Neches Waterway re-open-
service. ing that day, only for the Gulf Coast to run into
The train has already been operating in test further problems because of below-freezing
mode for several months, and the commission- temperatures in Texas and Louisiana that have
ing cargo was loaded in December. In its filing caused major disruption in the region. (See:
last week, Cheniere asked the FERC to approve Extreme cold causes major disruption in Texas
its request as soon as possible, and no later than and beyond, page 4)
March 12. Following a disaster declaration in Texas, the
The first train at Corpus Christi entered ser- Freeport LNG plant on the state’s coast delayed
vice in March 2019, with Train 2 following in and cancelled the planned loading of several
September 2019. Each train at the facility has the cargoes over the coming weeks. The move came
capacity to produce 5mn tonnes per year (tpy) following a request from Texas Governor Greg
of LNG. Abbott, in an effort to minimise consumption of
Cheniere is the first LNG exporter in the natural gas and power as the state struggles with
Lower 48 US states, as well as the largest. Also shortages of both.
over the past week, the company was experi- Cheniere also said it was voluntarily cutting
encing disruptions to loadings at its Sabine Pass gas and electricity consumption in an effort to
LNG terminal in Louisiana as a result of heavy help ease pressure on the Texas power grid.
fog in the region. The fog led to the temporary Data from BloombergNEF showed this
suspension of pilot service last week along the week that gas flows to US LNG export facil-
Sabine-Neches Waterway, which vessels use ities had dropped to their lowest level since
to reach the Sabine Pass facility. Other LNG early September.™

India’s GAIL to sell all US LNG

imports locally from 2023

US-INDIA GAIL (India) has unveiled plans to stop selling LNG in foreign markets except for any arbitrage
the LNG it sources from the US in international opportunity,” he said, adding crude prices reach-
markets, instead selling it locally from 2023. This ing $60 per barrel had made GAIL’s Henry Hub-
comes as India’s domestic demand for gas rises linked US LNG affordable for Indian customers.
with the commissioning of new fertiliser plants. Demand from Indian fertiliser plants is set to
GAIL buys roughly 5.8mn tonnes per year rise this year and next. By March, the Ramagun-
(tpy) of LNG from the US. According to com- dam fertiliser plant in southern India is expected
ments made by GAIL’s executive director, Rajeev to reach full capacity, requiring 750,000 tpy of
Singhal, at an analyst conference, the company LNG. This will be followed by the commission-
sold 2.5mn tonnes of its US supplies in global ing of fertiliser plants at Durgapur in eastern
markets last year. India and Gorakhpur in the north later this year,
These sales come as a result of time and desti- with these plants respectively requiring about
nation swap deals for some of the volumes GAIL 1.25mn tpy and 750,000 tpy of LNG. And next
buys, struck in an effort to cut the landed cost year, two more plants at Sindri and Barauni in
for Indian customers and trade the remainder in eastern India are due to come online next year,
overseas markets. each requiring 750,000 tpy of LNG according to
The reduction in volumes traded in overseas Singhal.
markets is expected to be gradual, with Singhal GAIL has contracts for procuring LNG vol-
saying the company hopes to trade less than 2mn umes from the US under two long-term offtake
tonnes of its US volumes this year, and poten- agreements. A new LNG carrier chartered by the
tially around 1mn tonnes in 2022. company, the GAIL BHUWAN, was named ear-
“From 2023 we will not be selling our US lier this month in an online ceremony.™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 07 18•February•2021