Page 7 - GLNG Week 36 2021

GLNG AMERICAS GLNG

GNL Quintero and partners moving

ahead with green hydrogen project

ENERGY THE backers of a green hydrogen project in The facility will consist of a hydrolysis plant
TRANSITION Chile are said to have already arranged to sell powered by 10 MW of Acciona Energía’s wind
more than half of their initial production. and solar generating capacity in Chile. It will
According to a report from Argus Media, receive electricity via Chile’s national trans-
GNL Quintero, the operator of Chile’s Quintero mission grid, Argus Media reported, citing an
LNG terminal, and its Spanish partners Enagas environmental application that the partners sub-
and Acciona Energía have signed preliminary mitted last month. The partners are now wait-
off-take agreements with several customers. ing for the government to grant environmental
These agreements cover 70% of the hydrogen authorisation for the project.
that the plant will produce in its first stage of The first buyers of the green hydrogen are
operation, said an executive close to the project. likely to be companies operating in the nearby
The source did not name any of the buyers, Quintero-Puchuncaví industrial zone. The zone
citing corporate confidentiality considerations. is home to the 104,000 barrel per day (bpd)
GNL Quintero, Enagas and Acciona Energía Aconacagua refinery owned by Chile’s national
unveiled plans to build a green hydrogen pro- oil company (NOC) ENAP, as well as a copper
duction facility at the Quintero LNG terminal smelter owned by Chile’s national copper-min-
last month. They have said they intend to spend ing concern Codelco, a coal-fired thermal power
about $30mn on the plant, which will turn out an plant (TPP) owned by a subsidiary of US-based
initial 430 tonnes per year of green hydrogen, ris- AES, and other industrial facilities.
ing later to 640 tpy. Production is slated to begin Enagas and GNL Quintero are already closely
in late 2024 or early 2025 and will be loaded onto affiliated. The Spanish company has a 45.4%
tanker trucks for delivery to local consumers. stake in the LNG terminal operator.™

Cheniere unveils capital

allocation plan

INVESTMENT US LNG producer Cheniere Energy said this Cheniere will target around $1bn per year in
week that its board of directors has approved debt repayment, saying it would aim for “invest-
a long-term capital allocation plan. The plan is ment grade consolidated credit metrics by the
aimed at bolstering the company’s balance sheet early-to-mid 2020s”. Repayment of secured call-
while returning “significant” capital to share- able or maturing project debt will be prioritised
holders and continuing to invest in accretive, in a bid to strengthen project credit metrics.
organic growth, Cheniere said in a September 7 The company is also launching a stock divi-
statement. dend for the first time in its history. The quarterly
The company said it had reached a “cash flow dividend of $0.33 per share will be payable from
Cheniere will progress inflection point”, with its 2021 financial results November 17.
Corpus Christi LNG expected to be at the high end of guidance and According to the statement, Cheniere will
Stage 3 towards a final the substantial completion of Sabine Pass Train 6 reset its $1bn share buyback programme for an
investment decision in anticipated in the first quarter of 2022. The train additional three years beginning in the fourth
2022. had previously been anticipated to reach sub- quarter of 2021. Share repurchases under the
stantial completion in the first half of next year. previous $1bn authorisation resumed in the
Cheniere now expects to generate around third quarter of the year, the company said.
$10bn of cumulative distributable cash flow On the growth side, Cheniere noted that
(DCF) between now and 2024, with annual run- it would progress Corpus Christi LNG Stage
rate DCF of $2.6-3.0bn. The plan is designed to 3 towards a final investment decision (FID)
achieve a run-rate DCF of $15-17 per share on a in 2022, once the remaining investment and
long-term basis, inclusive of the Corpus Christi commercial parameters for the project have
Stage 3 expansion project, the company added. been met.™

Week 36 10•September•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7