LNG

Royal Dutch Shell said annual LNG sales last year surged 22 percent to almost 24 million tonnes as the company benefited from higher production volumes in Nigeria and from liquefaction assets it acquired in South America and the Caribbean.

French LNG player EDF Trading and Belgian shipping company Exmar are part of a consortium that has taken over the Douglas Channel LNG project near Kitimat after the previous owners, Houston-based LNG Partners, ran into creditor problems and a court ruled in favour of the new group.

BG Group, the global LNG portfolio player, has signed an alliance with US energy project engineers KBR to boost the UK company's capacity to deliver commercially attractive LNG, natural gas and oil ventures around the world.

LNG supply from the US has provided buyers and portfolio players with exposure to the benchmark Henry Hub price. Although the hub exposure may provide diversification of pricing and supply, it may also result in pricing complications.