Oslo-based Crown LNG has turned its sights to the US Gulf.
The fledgling LNG plant developer, specialising in harsh conditions offshore, plans to start a new US LNG export project offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, CEO Swapan Kataria revealed in an interview with Bloomberg.
Crown is currently working on plans to develop LNG plants in Scotland and India.
The project - still in its conception - would join a forthcoming wave of new supply from Qatar and the US that would put pressure on prices globally.
While lower prices would help open up price-sensitive markets, such as India, BloombergNEF said it expected global LNG supply to exceed demand by 2030.
Kataria claimed that Crown’s concept is unique because the export project would be directly tied to its planned import terminals in India and Scotland, both of which remain at the feasibility stage.
“Most of our customers, they do not have ability to go to the US to buy on their own - they depend on traders,” Kataria said. “They will then have access to better rates and more capacities coming to us.”
A location for the US project hasn’t been finalised thus far, and permitting hasn’t yet been filed.
Kataria said the project could cost just under $10 bill for two production units (trains) that would each have up to 5 mill tonnes per year capacity.
US LNG developers have faced multiple challenges in recent years, with only a handful of projects reaching final investment decisions (FIDs).
The permitting pause by the Biden administration was a major setback for both expansions and new projects, while a recent court ruling has revoked a key US federal permit for NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG, Bloomberg said.
