Baker Botts to discuss latest international gas and LNG trends at Gastech

Programme highlights include:

• On 5 April, Jay Alexander – a London-based senior trial partner and co-chair of Baker Botts’ global international arbitration practice – and Jason Bennett – a partner in the Houston office and the co-head of the Global Projects Group at Baker Botts – will present a paper titled, ‘In Defense of Take or Pay’. This will look at the role of take or pay contracts in the LNG industry, and the future for those terms.
• On 6 April, Steven Miles – Baker Bott’s Energy Sector Chair and head of the 50+ lawyer LNG Practice – will present a paper titled ‘Reducing Regulatory Risk to Stimulate Long-Term Investment in Projects: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?’ This will look into the effects of regulations globally on the growth of the LNG industry.

Jay Alexander said: “As market liquidity expands, the LNG trade is evolving, including shorter-term and lower-volume contracts, and contracts with greater degrees of flexibility. The world’s biggest LNG buyers in Asia, meanwhile, are coming together to form an alliance to pursue their commercial objectives, including more flexible supply contracts with greater destination flexibility. But as always, the market will continue to change and what is certain is that nothing is certain.”

Jason Bennett added: “The LNG industry is going through growing pains right now and is in a period dominated by low prices and challenges to developing projects. As a result, however, the industry is more creative now than it has been in a very long time. LNG companies are growing and creating demand – there are companies out there that are finding ways to expand markets and to open up new markets. New LNG importing markets will provide for the growth of the LNG industry going forward. Places like Africa, South America and South East Asia, will all become long-term consumers of LNG, in gas importing markets that have not existed previously. This will be very good for the long-term health of the industry.”

Steven Miles said: “The global LNG market is going through a period of transformation, with key factors such as global economic growth, changing trade dynamics, emerging suppliers in Australia and the US, and new technologies all predicted to play a key role through to 2020. Small scale liquefaction projects and new forms of delivery (including FSRUs and containers) will alter the existing project landscape and new LNG supply chain technologies will help to contain costs.”

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/03042017/baker-botts-to-discuss-latest-international-gas-and-lng-trends-at-gastech/