Page 4 - NorthAmOil Week 47 2022

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

Next wave of US LNG

projects advances

The next wave of US LNG export capacity is

advancing, with various announcements relating

to particular projects being made recently

US GULF COAST THE next wave of US liquefaction capacity is late October, the company’s Sempra Infrastruc-
making advances, with several announcements ture subsidiary said it had amended and restated
WHAT: relating to particular projects being made in the fixed-price engineering, procurement and
The next wave of US recent weeks. Some projects are already under construction (EPC) contract for the Port Arthur
liquefaction capacity is construction, with ExxonMobil and QatarEner- project with Bechtel Energy. The price of the
making advances. gy’s Golden Pass LNG at a particularly advanced amended contract is around $10.5bn.
stage and on track to enter service in 2024. Ven- Then on November 22, Sempra Infrastruc-
WHY: ture Global LNG – which is known for bringing ture formed a partnership with ConocoPhil-
Rising demand for LNG its Calcasieu Pass terminal online in a record 29 lips, including a 20-year sale and purchase
has been bolstered even months – is now racing to bring its second pro- agreement (SPA) for 5mn tonnes per year (tpy)
further this year by the ject, Plaquemines LNG, online by 2024 as well. of LNG from Port Arthur, as well as a 30% equity
war in Ukraine. Other projects have yet to reach the final stake in the first phase of the project.
investment decision (FID) stage, but received a The deal takes Sempra a step closer to an FID
WHAT NEXT: major boost this year following Russia’s invasion on Phase 1 of Port Arthur LNG, which the com-
US LNG exports are being of Ukraine and Europe’s resulting pivot away pany is targeting for the first quarter of 2023.
forecast to nearly triple from imports of Russian gas. European coun- This represents something for a turnaround for
over the next decade. tries have turned their attention to alternative the project after it suffered a series of setbacks,
sources of natural gas, and LNG developers on including the expiration in 2021 of a prelimi-
the Gulf Coast are reaping the benefits. nary agreement with Saudi Aramco, which
As a result, projects that were previously con- would have also entailed a mix of offtake and
sidered to have a challenging path towards FID equity. Additionally, Poland’s PGNiG termi-
have been picking up momentum, and this can nated its SPA with Sempra for offtake from Port
be seen in recent announcements related to Gulf Arthur last year, citing delays in the project’s
Coast LNG developments. schedule. PGNiG said it would reallocate the
volumes to other projects in Sempra’s portfolio –
Momentum which also includes the Cameron LNG terminal
Progress is particularly notable for Sempra’s in Louisiana and the Energía Costa Azul (ECA)
planned Port Arthur LNG project in Texas. In LNG facility under construction in Mexico.

Sempra is making
strides forward at Port
Arthur LNG as it targets
an FID early next year.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 47 24•November•2022