Page 7 - GLNG Week 12 2022
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GLNG                                           AMERICAS                                               GLNG


       NFE’s Pennsylvania LNG project paused





        PROJECTS &       NEW Fortress Energy’s (NFE) $800mn LNG  was slated to expire in 2021, but was extended
        COMPANIES        plant in Pennsylvania has been paused, accord-  by state regulators until 2022. Meanwhile, NFE’s
                         ing to environmental groups opposing the  US permit to ship LNG by rail could expire on
                         project.                             November 30 this year.
                           The project, planned for Pennsylvania’s Wya-  The company had planned to liquefy millions
                         lusing Township, is reportedly now in jeopardy.  of gallons of natural gas per day from the Marcel-
                         This comes after a coalition of environmental  lus shale play. It would then have transported the
                         groups consisting of PennFuture, Clean Air  LNG from the Wyalusing plant via truck or train
                         Council and the Sierra Club took legal action and  to a proposed export terminal in Gibbstown,
                         obtained agreement from NFE to allow the pro-  New Jersey, 175 miles (282 km) away. The LNG
                         posed plant’s air quality permit to expire in July.  would have been shipped to overseas customers,
                           The environmental coalition had expressed  predominantly in the Caribbean.
                         worries about air and water pollution near the   With NFE prioritising other energy projects,
                         proposed plant, as well as the risk of an accident  particularly the deployment of floating LNG
                         during truck or train transport to an export  (FLNG) facilities around the world, the Wya-
                         terminal.                            lusing plant has been left on the backburner. In
                           The project is effectively halted because  its renewal application, the company cited the
                         NFE is now required to secure a new air permit  “pandemic, massive supply chain and workforce
                         from the state before it can begin building the  disruptions, and widespread economic and
                         proposed LNG plant. According to settlement  political uncertainties” as reasons for the project
                         documents, NFE could restart the project, but it  being delayed.
                         would be required to begin the state permitting   The settlement has also brought the viability
                         process over again.                  of the Gibbstown export terminal into question.
                           NFE’s existing air quality permit was granted  NFE has yet to publicly comment on its inten-
                         by Pennsylvania regulators in 2019. The permit  tions now for the plant.™



       NextDecade, Guangdong Energy




       sign HoA for LNG supply





        PROJECTS &       US-BASED NextDecade announced on March  with the country’s climate change goals.
        COMPANIES        24 that it had signed a binding heads of agree-  The French position appears to have since
                         ment (HoA) with China’s Guangdong Energy for  changed, as Engie agreed last year to buy LNG
                         the supply of LNG from a planned facility on the  from another US producer, Cheniere Energy,
                         US Gulf Coast.                       and expanded the scope of that deal earlier in
                           Under the HoA, Guangdong Energy will  March. Nonetheless, NextDecade has been left
                         buy up to 1.5mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG  trying to line up other buyers.
                         indexed to the Henry Hub gas benchmark from   This is despite the fact that NextDecade has
                         NextDecade’s proposed Rio Grande terminal  claimed it will produce the greenest LNG in the
                         in Texas over a 20-year period. The agreement  world at the project, using carbon capture and
                         requires the companies to finalise a sales and  storage (CCS), net-zero electricity and responsi-
                         purchase agreement (SPA) in the second quar-  bly sourced gas (RSG) to cut Rio Grande’s emis-
                         ter of this year.                    sions by more than 90%.
                           The agreement marks a step forward for   Indeed, Guangdong Energy acknowledged
                         Rio Grande LNG after NextDecade delayed a  the energy transition potential of procuring
                         final investment decision (FID) until the sec-  LNG from the Rio Grande project.
                         ond half of this year – the latest in a series of   “Henry Hub-linked LNG will be an impor-
                         delays for the project. The company also has an  tant part of our LNG portfolio as we transit to a
                         SPA with Shell, covering 2mn tpy of LNG from  greener future and optimise our resource pro-
                         Rio Grande, but had been struggling to lock  curement,” stated Guangdong Energy Natural
                         in other buyers. France’s Engie pulled out of  Gas’ chairman, Zhu Zhanfang. “We look for-
                         talks over a deal with NextDecade in Novem-  ward to a long-lasting and fruitful co-operation
                         ber 2020 amid reports of pressure from the  with NextDecade, not necessarily just in LNG
                         French government over concerns that LNG  supply, but potentially in carbon capture and
                         produced from shale feedstock did not align  storage as well.”™



       Week 12   25•March•2022                  www. NEWSBASE .com                                              P7
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