Page 8 - GLNG Week 37

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Magnolia terminal to supply gas to Vietnamese LNG-to-power project
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
LNG Ltd has regulatory approvals in place for the Magnolia plant but has yet to announce
a final investment decision.
AUSTRALIA-LISTED LNG Ltd has struck a deal to supply gas to a province in Vietnam from its Magnolia export terminal in Louisiana, on the US Gulf Coast. The deal covers 2mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG to be delivered over a 20-year period, which can be extended. This locks in a buyer for 25% of Magnolia’s output, but it is the only offtake deal in place for the export project after a previous deal with another party lapsed.
The LNG will be shipped to an offshore import terminal in the coastal province of Bac Lieu, which will be linked to a 32,000- MW combined-cycle power plant. Once the gas has been delivered by LNG Ltd, it will be used by Vietnam-based Delta Offshore Energy to generate electricity for use in the province. The Vietnamese project is anticipated to enter service in 2023.
The LNG will be sold on a free-on-board (FOB) basis and will be linked to the US Henry Hub benchmark.
“Delta Offshore Energy’s Bac Lieu project addresses Vietnam’s need for an LNG import terminal to provide access to growing the LNG
industry as a feedstock for electricity generation,” Delta Offshore Energy’s engineering managing director, Bobby Quintos, said in a statement. “Our alliance with LNG Ltd will allow the gov- ernment of Vietnam to have a stronger rela- tionship with the US market and the long-term stability of the Henry Hub index, which fits perfectly with the Vietnamese National Power Development Plan.”
LNG Ltd has regulatory approvals in place for the Magnolia plant but has yet to announce a final investment decision (FID). Despite having offered capacity at discounted prices compared to some of its competitors, LNG Ltd has strug- gled to finalise sales agreements. The company said the US trade war with China had had an impact on these efforts. It was initially aiming to make an FID last year, but postponed it after Beijing imposed tariffs on imports of US LNG.
The Magnolia plant is approved to produce 8mn tpy of LNG. The operator has requested permission from US regulators to boost capacity by a further 800,000 tpy, though this is still pending.™
Inpex mulls Ichthys LNG expansion
INVESTMENT
JAPANESE developer Inpex has revealed that it is looking at ways to expand its $45bn Ichthys LNG project offshore north-western Australia as it approaches full capacity.
“In Australia our focus is on fully utilising our Ichthys LNG facilities, while creating a solid base for future expansion,” Inpex’s president director for Australia, Hitoshi Okawa, told Reuters on September 13.
Okawa said the 8.9mn tonne per year (tpy) Ichthys LNG project was ramping up smoothly and that he expected the terminal to reach peak capacity shortly. The executive said that since its first shipment of LNG in October 2018, Ichthys had dispatched a further 77 cargoes as well as 18 shipments of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and 36 condensate cargoes.
While Okawa did not provide an exact time- table for the project reaching full capacity, the company had originally anticipated that it would take two to three years before it plateaued.
In terms of a possible expansion, Okawa said the company had enough room to add another four production trains that could be
fed from either offshore fields or from Inpex’s acreage in the onshore Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory. The company is seeking the NT government’s approval to begin explo- ration work.
Okawa added that the 890-km pipeline that connects the Ichthys field and the liquefaction facility had five free connections for new off- shore fields to tie into.
In terms of the company’s other offshore exploration efforts, Okawa said the company was looking to begin acquiring seismic data in the 3,460-square km Block AC/P66 in the Bon- aparte Basin, which it won in June. The block, which lies in water depths ranging from 60 to 500 metres, lies within the vicinity of the Lam- inaria oilfield. Inpex operates the licence with a 100% participating interest.
In response to questions about potential acquisitions in Australia, including PTT Explo- ration and Production’s (PTTEP) Cash Maple gas field, Okawa said: “At this moment, we would not rule out any opportunity to meet with our Vision 2040.”™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 37 19•September•2019