Page 8 - GLNG Week 34

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Cheniere approved to start up new train
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
US LNG export pioneer Cheniere Energy has received regulatory approval this week to bring the second train into commercial service at its Corpus Christi LNG export project on the US Gulf Coast.
In an order issued on August 28, the US Fed- eral Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said Cheniere had shown that the train and asso- ciated facilities had been constructed according to their approved design and standards and could be expected to operate safely. e regu- lator added that it was satis ed with how reha- bilitation and restoration of areas affected by construction of the facility were proceeding.
Cheniere has been ramping up deliveries of feedstock gas to Corpus Christi LNG over the past week. The terminal has been in service since December 2018, when shipments began from the rst train. Each train at the facility has a capacity of 4.5mn tonnes per year of LNG. A third Corpus Christi train is currently under construction, and will bring the plant’s total capacity to 13.5mn tpy when it comes online. Completion of construction on Train 3 is
anticipated during the second half of 2021.
A note from Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. said the investment bank expected Cheniere’s volumes to be up by over 50% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2019. e company also brought Train 5 into service at its Sabine Pass export terminal earlier this year. Construction of Train 6 at the facility – the rst LNG export plant in the Lower 48 US states – is underway and the train is due to come online in the rst
half of 2023.
Also this week, Cheniere received a positive
environmental review from the FERC for a proposed expansion of the marine berth infra- structure at Sabine Pass. e expansion pro- ject, which consists of adding a third marine berth and supporting facilities, would allow Cheniere to add 180 LNG cargoes per year from the facility, raising the total to 580 LNG cargoes per year.
e terminal currently has a single marine basin with two vessel berths, each able to accom- modate LNG carriers with capacities of up to 266,000 cubic metres.™
India expands gas infrastructure, mulls LNG price review
INDIA’S e orts to spur consumption of natural gas is helping to attract billions in investment, but a growing reliance on foreign supplies is driving the government to review its long-term import contracts.
INR5tn ($69.95bn) is being invested in boost- ing the country’s gas sector, Minister of Petro- leum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said at an industry event on August 26. He noted the money was going to upstream developments, city gas distribution (CGD) projects and build- ing new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facilities.
Pradhan predicted that domestic gas produc- tion would expand from 32.87bn cubic metres in financial year 2018-2019 to 39.3 bcm by 2020-2021. is will help feed a rapidly growing demand for the fuel, driven by a government tar- get to increase gas’ share of the primary energy mix to 15%.
With demand growth outpacing that of pro- duction, however, India has become increas- ingly reliant on foreign supplies and Pradhan projected that LNG import capacity would grow from 38.8mn tonnes per year to 52.5mn tpy within the next three to four years.
While he said long-term LNG import con- tracts had been signed, the minister noted that the government would seek to review the pricing structure of these deals.
“Long-term contracts are supposed to be honoured. We will look at an appropriate time [to review]. In the past also we had renegotiated the deals,” Pradhan said, referring to supply deals his government had previously renegotiated with Qatar, Australia and Russia.
His comments come at a time of persistently low prices for spot cargoes into Asia. Prices at the start of August dipped below $4 per mil- lion British thermal units ($110.64 per 1,000 cubic metres) for the rst time in several years. Although they have since regained ground, with cargoes for October delivery reportedly com- manding $4.70 per mmBtu ($130 per 1,000 cubic metres), this is still a far cry from the $11.40 per mmBtu ($315.32 per 1,000 cubic metres) seen a year ago.
In addition to India’s upstream and import investments, the country is also in the midst of a major expansion of its gas pipeline network, working to add 14,788km further lines to the current 16,788km of the operational grid.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 34 29•August•2019