LNG weekly round-up

This week in the LNG industry has seen a focus on North America, particularly the US, where support for fast-tracking LNG exports has been abundant.

US

We witnessed the reaction from politicians and industry experts, many of whom supported the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s decision to approve H.R. 6, the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act, by a bipartisan vote of 33 to 18.

Jack Gerard, API President and CEO, Representative James Lankford, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements, and Bill Cooper, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas President all welcomed the vote, stressing that the US was the world’s top producer of natural gas, and that LNG exports would bring a number of political and economic benefits including energy security at home, aiding allies wean themselves off reliance on Russian natural gas and domestic job opportunities. All three figures expressed the need for LNG projects awaiting approval from the Department of Energy (DOE) to be permitted exporting licences as soon as possible.

At the end of the week, US Senator John Barrasso announced that he will introduce an amendment to the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2014. This amendment will require the DOE to approve LNG exports to all World Trade Organization member countries, including Ukraine.In other news, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in favour of the Cameron LNG export facility. Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr. welcomed this decision saying that it represented a key step.

Canada

Elsewhere in North America, Shell Canada Energy (Shell), PetroChina Corp., Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) and Mitsubishi Corp. signed a joint venture agreement to develop a proposed LNG export project – LNG Canada. Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) approved Aurora LNG and Oregon LNG for 25 year natural gas export licences, whose exports sites both lie in British Columbia (B.C.). B.C. Premier Christy Clark has been in the news as she announced a fifth international trade mission to Asia in a bid to encourage investment in B.C. LNG. The Premier also met with Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad, Chief Sharleen Gale and the Fort Nelson First Nation Council to discuss B.C.’s LNG strategy and implementation.

Management changes

The beginning of the week also witnessed the resignation of BG Group CEO Chris Finlayson, who said that his decision was made due to personal reasons, and the appointment of Tadashi Urata as the new CEO of Ebara International Corp. (EIC).

Q1 2014

Companies also reported Q1 2014 results. Petronet and Cheniere reported losses compared to figures this point last year while others such as Dominion announced that net profits had improved.

Written by Ted Monroe

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/02052014/highlights_this_week_from_the_lng_industry/