European chemicals company INEOS has signed a 20-year contract with Sempra Infrastructure for the supply of about 1.4 million tonnes per annum of LNG from the US Port Arthur project under development in Texas.
INEOS added that under the agreement it had signed up for 1.4 MTPA from Phase 1 of the project and also signed a non-binding heads of agreement for the potential purchase of an additional 0.2 MTPA from the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project under development.
The first deliveries from the US Gulf Coast plant are expected in 2027.
INEOS noted that it also signed a contract for long-term regasification capacity in a proposed German onshore LNG terminal at Brunsbüttel on the Elbe River north of Hamburg.
“These agreements mark INEOS’s entry into the global LNG market. The company is a first mover among European corporates as it secures competitive sources of energy to meet its own needs and those of its customers in Europe,” stated the company.
The agreements come at a critical time for energy markets and will provide much needed security of supply for Europe.
Brian Gilvary, Chairman of INEOS Energy, said the agreements were very important for the company.
Atlantic corridor
“This long-term contract with Sempra and the agreement of regasification capacity in Brunsbüttel secures the key areas of the value chain for INEOS across the Atlantic corridor and represents a major step forward in the INEOS Energy journey at a time of significant transformation in the energy industry,” explained Gilvary.
The Port Arthur LNG project is a fully permitted facility on a 3,000-acre site in Jefferson County, Texas.
It is expected to include two natural gas liquefaction trains and LNG storage tanks and associated facilities capable of producing up to 13.5 MTPA from an initial two liquefaction Trains.
The Brunsbüttel import terminal near the Kiel Canal is being developed by the company, German LNG Terminal GmbH.
It will have initial an annual throughput capacity of 8 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year and may be expanded to at least 10 Bcm.
