LNG

US developer Glenfarne has selected Baker Hughes to supply refrigerant compressors for the Alaska LNG terminal and power generation equipment for the North Slope gas treatment plant. Baker Hughes also pledged a “strategic investment” in the project.

Baker Hughes has secured a contract from Bechtel Energy to supply liquefaction equipment for Phase 2 of Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG project in Jefferson County, Texas. The new equipment supports a nameplate capacity of 13 mtpa.

Black & Veatch (B&V) will use Baker Hughes’ LM9000 gas turbine and compression technology as part of a standard module capable to produce up to 2 mtpa of LNG. The intention is to utilize PRICO technology to produce up to 2 mtpa of LNG per train.

Baker Hughes, the US liquefied natural gas equipment-maker and energy services company, reported a surge in net profits and revenues amid growth in orders including for gas field services in Algeria and LNG in Australia.

Baker Hughes, the US liquefied natural gas equipment-maker and energy services and technology company, has won a major contract from Brazil’s Petrobras.

Baker Hughes, the US liquefied natural gas equipment-maker and energy services and technology company, was awarded a contract from Algerian state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach for a gas-boosting project to supply Italy and the European Union.

The project is in the Hassi R’Mel gas field in Laghouat province of central Algeria, which produces and supplies over half of the North African nation’s natural gas.

The giant Hassi R’Mel field had been in long-term decline but this new venture is aimed at increasing gas volumes.

The project will also increase and stabilize feed-gas supplies to the Mediterranean Coast from the Hassi R'Mel hub to the port of Arzew where one of the nation’s two LNG exports plants is located. in Algeria.

System support

Baker Hughes is part of a consortium with Italian engineering company Maire Tecnimont that will supply Sonatrach with 20 compression trains to enhance the resilience of Algeria’s energy system.

“The agreement strengthens Italy-Algeria bilateral relations as Baker Hughes and Tecnimont will leverage their Italian industrial expertise to deliver on the project,” said a statement.

The contract is part of a broader order awarded to the consortium.

The signing ceremony for the contract took place in Algiers in the presence of the three company Chief Executives Rachid Hachichi of Sonatrach, Lorenzo Simonelli of Baker Hughes and Alessandro Bernini of the Maire Tecnimont group as well as Mohamed Arkab, Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines.

The part of Baker Hughes award comprises the supply of the 20 compression trains based on the US company’s Frame 5 gas turbine and BCL compressor technology, which will be installed across three gas boosting stations within the Hassi R’ Mel gas field.

The field is located 550 kilometres south of Algiers and is the largest gas field in Algeria and will a key source of energy supply for Algeria and the EU.

Key project

Baker Hughes CEO Simonelli said the agreement is part of an historic collaboration with Sonatrach for key energy projects.

“We have long believed that it is critical to increase gas within the overall global energy mix,” added Simonelli.

“This project helps to solve for energy producers the multi-faceted challenge of driving sustainable energy development as energy demand increases,” the CEO explained.

“ We are proud to support such a critical energy project in partnership with Tecnimont,” Simonelli stated.

Algeria became the second-largest gas supplier to Europe in 2023, further strengthening the country’s role in enhancing the energy security of the continent, particularly in Italy where Algeria represents the biggest single source of import.

The Hassi R’ Mel project is part of a broader strategic collaboration between Algeria and Italy, which includes recently signed agreements to foster bilateral cooperation and for Italy to provide financial support for Algeria’s gas production.

Baker Hughes, the US liquefied natural gas equipment-maker and energy services and technology company, has received an order relating to gas technology for Saudi Arabia Oil Company (Aramco) as the Middle East Kingdom moves to boost its natural gas production.

Baker Hughes, the US liquefied natural gas equipment-maker and energy services company, said the United States was in danger of surrendering market share in the production and export of LNG to replace coal in Asia and elsewhere to make a cleaner environment.

March 15 (LNGJ) - Texas LNG, the liquefied natural gas export project to be constructed by the New York-based Glenfarne Group at the fully permitted site at the Port of Brownsville, has received sufficient “expressions of interest from leading project finance banks” to move to the execution phase of project financing. Glenfarne said it had also appointed Latham & Watkins as Borrower’s counsel and Milbank as Lenders’ counsel for the issuance.

   The firm noted that these lenders have been key supporters of Glenfarne, having led over $4 billion of financing to Glenfarne’s businesses over the last 10 years for various energy transition-focused assets. “Texas LNG’s financing consortium will be comprised of the world’s leading institutions that recognize the attributes of the project and Glenfarne’s excellent history of building energy transition infrastructure,” said Brendan Duval, Chief Executive and Founder of Glenfarne Energy Transition. The first LNG exports from Texas LNG are expected to be shipped in 2028.

Tellurian Inc., the developer of the Driftwood liquefied natural gas export plant near Lake Charles in Louisiana, has moved to agree an amendment to the terms of certain debts after a month of various key decisions.

Tellurian said the amendment was expected to enhance near-term liquidity and provide the company with flexibility to successfully complete the sale of its upstream assets. 

Among other items, the amendment provisions include a reduction in Tellurian’s minimum cash balance requirement and the ability for the company to make its upcoming interest payments in-kind.

“This amendment to our debt agreement is pivotal towards establishing a sustainable capital structure and accelerating our strategic priority, Driftwood LNG,” explained Chief Executive Octávio Simões.

“It also provides us the time and flexibility to complete the sale of our upstream assets in a manner that maximizes value for our shareholders while we maintain our focus on the intensive negotiations associated with the commercialization of Driftwood LNG,” stated Simões.

Capacity

The Driftwood project involves constructing 20 mid-scale processing Trains, each with 1.38 MTPA of capacity and built as five blocks of Trains.

The Phase One development would include the first two of these blocks for 11 MTPA of output and two of three planned 235,000 cubic metres storage tanks and the first of three planned loading berths for LNG carriers.

Analysts note that it has been a busy February 2024 for Tellurian as it also said it was exploring the sale  of Haynesville Shale basin upstream natural gas assets.

Tellurian has engaged the investment bank Lazards to explore opportunities for the sale of the gas assets.

The Houston, Texas-based company said that it had concluded that there were alternative gas supply strategies available to Tellurian from various basins and its ownership of upstream gas wells was not necessary at this stage of the liquefaction plant’s development.

Tellurian’s natural gas assets include 31,149 net acres, interests in 159 producing wells and over 400 drilling locations in the Haynesville Shale.

On the regulatory front, Tellurian was also told in mid-February that the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had issued an extension to its order authorizing the construction of Tellurian’s plant.

Building deadline

As extended, the order requires construction to be completed by April 18, 2029. 

Tellurian applied for the extension back in 2023 to ensure it had enough time to complete the construction of all five LNG Trains for the facility with a nameplate capacity of  27.6 MTPA.

Tellurian’s main contractor for the Driftwood construction is the US engineering company Bechtel Energy.

In September 2023, Tellurian signed an agreement with US LNG-equipment supplier Baker Hughes to secure a delivery schedule for eight LM6000PF+ gas turbines, main refrigerant compressors and control units required for Phase One construction.

Tellurian said the Baker Hughes agreement supported its aim of having the Driftwood venture achieving initial LNG production in four years’ time.