LNG

Tellurian’s LNG supply accord with India’s Petronet lapses

Tellurian Inc., the developer of the Driftwood LNG plant in Louisiana, has confirmed that a memorandum with Petronet LNG has lapsed. Though the MOU was not renewed when it expired at the end of May, Tellurian stressed, talks with the Indian company were continuing. Tellurian’s accord with Petronet, first signed in Houston in September 2019, covered a possible equity investment in the project of up to $2.5 billion as well as 5 mtpa of supplies. It was seen as a landmark deal for Driftwood LNG to reach FID on the proposed 26 mtpa project on the west bank of the Calcasieu River. However, the Petronet-Tellurian agreement suffered its first setback in February 2020 when it was announced that the informal agreement would become a formal transaction by the start of June 2020. Driftwood LNG still has other supply agreements in place with Total and the global commodities trading house Vitol. As a principal investor, Total agreed to purchase 1 mtpa of LNG from Tellurian ventures and an additional 1.5 mtpa from Tellurian’s offtake volumes from Driftwood. Total's aggregate investment in the Tellurian portfolio will be around $907 million once a FID will be taken, though this looks likely to be delayed. Construction for the Driftwood plant has already been contracted to Bechtel.