LNG

Commonwealth LNG, the export venture proposed for Cameron Parish in the US Gulf Coast state of Louisiana, has overhauled its management and named the former Chief Executive of Sempra’s Cameron LNG project, Farhad Ahrabi, to serve as Commonwealth’s new President and CEO.

Ahrabi joins Commonwealth following a seven-year tenure at Cameron during which he oversaw the development, construction and subsequent operations of a 14.5-million tonnes per annum liquefaction and export facility at Hackberry in Louisiana.

Commonwealth’s plan is for an export plant consisting of six liquefaction Trains, each with a nominal production capacity of 1.4 MTPA and totalling 8.4 MTPA.

The project is also proposing to construct six LNG storage tanks, each with capacity of 50,000 cubic metres and one marine berth capable of accommodating vessels of up to 216,000 cubic metres capacity.

The liquefaction plant requires about 182 acres to construct and would occupy about 107 acres during operations.

The Commonwealth project’s founder and Chairman, Paul Varello, said he was delighted to recruit Ahrabi to head the team.

Leadership

“The depth of Farhad’s leadership experience, both at Cameron and the preceding 28 years with BG Group, will be of immeasurable value to our team as we move through the final stages of development and into construction and operation,” said Varello.

“Projects of this magnitude involve a complex convergence of technical, financial, political and community support elements that require the kind of high-level thinking and pragmatic solutions that Farhad can bring,” Varello added.

Ahrabi said he was particularly attracted to the Commonwealth opportunity because of the company’s engineering-focused approach.

The new CEO said that Commonwealth’s advantage is that it will keep liquefaction costs low and ultra-competitive in the global market at a time when there is a growing demand for US-sourced gas.

“Commonwealth has staked its ground by securing an excellent location, developing a highly modularized approach to provide clean and affordable energy, and offering creative and flexible commercial terms,” said Farhad.

“I’m humbled and excited to have the opportunity to lead the organization in delivering its promise in a way that not only serves the interests of this company, its employees, the local communities and all other stakeholders, but is part of the overall advancement of the next generation US LNG facilities,” he stated.

BG veteran

In addition to his prior roles at Cameron LNG and BG Group of the UK, Ahrabi has also served over the past two years as an Independent Director at ARC Resources Ltd, a leading Canadian energy company with a diverse asset portfolio focused on responsible energy development.

Ahrabi holds a PhD in Reservoir Engineering from the University of Exeter (England) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wales.

Commonwealth said its remaining pre-final investment decision activities were underway for a projected start of construction in 2023.

The project is expected to have an accelerated schedule that will allow building to be completed in three years using a predominantly modular approach for a projected start of commercial operations in 2026.

Chart Industries, the US LNG equipment maker, said it received full notice to proceed for the production of cold boxes and brazed aluminum heat-exchangers for Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas export project.

Calcasieu Pass will produce more than 10 million tonnes per annum of LNG and is expected to come on stream in 2022, along with associated facilities, including the TransCameron Pipeline.

Arlington, Virginia-based Venture Global is also advancing with the Plaquemines LNG export venture sited near river mile-marker 55 on the west side of the Mississippi River, 30 miles south of New Orleans.

Chart noted that this week Venture Global announced the final investment decision and the closing of the project financing for its Calcasieu Pass facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

At the end of March 2019, Chart booked the full equipment order of $135 million for the Calcasieu project from Baker Hughes-GE.

BH-GE had been awarded a contract and granted notice to proceed on the construction of a comprehensive LNG technology solution for the Calcasieu Pass project.

Chart will deliver the equipment on a multi-year schedule in conjunction with BH-GE and Kiewit.

“We are proud to be part of Venture Global’s unique and innovative Calcasieu Pass project and overall LNG model,” stated Jill Evanko, Chart’s President and Chief Executive.

“In conjunction with our strong partners on this project, we will provide the highest quality cold boxes and heat exchangers on schedule from our Wisconsin and Louisiana facilities,” added Evanko.

Venture Global is controlled by former investment banker Michael Sabel and lawyer Robert Pender, who act as joint chief executives.

They are additionally making progress with a third project, the Delta plant with a site also on the Mississippi River.

The Delta liquefaction facility and its associated pipeline would have output capacity of 24 MTPA.

The proposed Delta and Plaquemines plants are stand-alone projects with no shared facilities and are under different development schedules.

Commonwealth LNG filed a formal application with US regulators yesterday for a permit to build an 8.4 mill tonnes per year export terminal and affiliated feedgas pipeline interconnect in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

Venture Global LNG has confirmed the closing of the project financing for its Calcasieu Pass LNG facility and associated TransCameron pipeline in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

The Commonwealth LNG project in the US, a liquefaction and exports plant proposed for the west side of the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Johnson Bayou in Louisiana, has signed a preliminary supply deal with Singapore-based commodities trading firm Gunvor.

Commonwealth said it signed a heads of agreement with Gunvor Singapore outlining the principal details of a future firm accord for the supply of 1.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG for a term of 15 years.

The project has a schedule to make a final investment decision in 2020 and to start commercial operations by 2024.

Its plant will have a total liquefaction capacity of 8.4 MTPA and LNG storage capacity volumes of 240,000 cubic metres and has chosen a modular construction format, according to filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

A total of eight liquefaction Trains are planned with each having production capacity of just over 1 MTPA.

There would additionally be six LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 40,000 cubic metres.

An adjacent electric plant would be powered by an 80-megawatt gas turbine and there would be boil-off gas handling systems, utilities, and communications system.

A 3.7-mile natural gas receiving pipeline for feed-gas is also proposed, extending from existing pipelines operated by Kinetica Partners and Bridgeline Holdings.

The marine berth would have the size to accommodate LNG carriers with capacity up to 215,000 cubic metres.

“The agreement with Commonwealth LNG is a significant step in executing Gunvor’s overall strategy of uncovering and securing low-cost resources and seamlessly delivering them to high value markets,” said Kalpesh Patel, Gunvor Co-Head of LNG Trading.

“We look forward to working with the Commonwealth team as they continue to progress their project,” added Patel.

Paul Varello, Commonwealth’s President and Chief Executive, said he was delighted at securing the first step towards a firm supply deal.

“We are proud to be entering into an agreement for a portion of our LNG offtake with the Gunvor Group, one of the world’s premier commodities trading houses,” explained Varello.

“Our mantra is to develop LNG solutions for the next generation and in Gunvor we have found a commercial partner who not only shares that vision, but through its creativity and innovation exemplifies it,” stated the CEO.

Arup Group, the UK-based global engineering company, has been appointed by a US LNG export project planned for Cameron Parish to advise on the installation of the region’s first modular LNG storage tanks.

The Arup energy unit has been asked by Commonwealth LNG to provide specialist engineering services for the development of the storage tanks at its project site on the West Bank of the Calcasieu Ship Channel at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico.

The innovative design of the modular tanks, an original concept by Arup, allows them to be constructed offsite at a dedicated fabrication yard in parallel with foundation construction at the site itself.

Arup said that this approach significantly reduces onsite labour and shortens completion time by up to one year.

“These benefits result in capital cost savings and overall project risk reduction,” said the engineering firm.

Commonwealth LNG has a schedule to construct its facility in Cameron Parish for exports to begin by 2024.

The plant will have a total liquefaction capacity of 8.4 million tonnes per annum and LNG storage capacity volumes of 240,000 cubic metres.

Arup is also supporting Commonwealth’s permit process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by providing structural, mechanical and naval architecture engineering services in relation to the design of the modular storage tanks.

Once the FERC approves the latest Louisiana venture for LNG exports construction is expected to start in 2021.

“This is a great step for the LNG industry and could lead the way for new mid-scale storage options,” said Brian Raine, head of Arup’s Energy Structures unit.

“The innovative design brings great benefits and we look forward to working with Commonwealth throughout the project to make those benefits a reality,” added Raine.

Rob Powers, Senior Vice President for engineering at Commonwealth LNG, said he was pleased to have Arup on his team.

“Their broad experience, depth of resources, technical creativity and responsiveness to our requests have made them valued partners on our project,” stated Powers.

Kinder Morgan, the US pipeline company, has placed into service its Louisiana natural gas pipeline system serving the Cheniere Energy Sabine Pass LNG export plant to provide additional feed-gas volumes for the fifth liquefaction Train now being commissioned.

Cheniere Energy has closed two of the five storage tanks at the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana after fuel leaked into a space between inner and outer walls and some gas escaped.

Commonwealth LNG, the US liquefaction and export plant proposed for the west bank of the Calcasieu River in Cameron Parish in Louisiana has named Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. as its financial advisor to help raise capital and advance the venture.

“We are pleased to be partnered with this global financial leader as we move forward with our innovative LNG investment,” said Commonwealth LNG President and Chief Executive Paul Varello.

“SMBC’s experience and reputation in capital asset advice and management will help ensure the stability and predictability of our development project in southwest Louisiana,” he added.

The US project developers noted that SMBC was one of only four banks to have played a primary role in each of the LNG liquefaction project financings closed to date in North America.

“SMBC is very happy to be associated with such an innovative project as Commonwealth LNG,” said Nobuyuki Kawabata, CEO of the Americas Division of the Japanese bank.

Commonwealth LNG was accepted into the FERC “pre-filing” process in August 2017 and current plans are for construction to begin as early as 2019, with operations to commence by 2022.

At full capacity, Commonwealth LNG is expected to produce 9 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

The facility would be located along the South Prong of Grand Bayou in Cameron Parish, where several other projects are being built.

Commonwealth said it intended to file a formal application for the project with the FERC no later than August 2018.

Its industry partners for equipment include, compressors and drives maker, Siemens of Germany, and US-based consultants CH-IV, a subsidiary of Australian engineering group Clough Ltd.

The project company said it planned to construct eight single mixed-refrigerant LNG liquefaction Trains, one marine loading berth with three loading arms, six 400,000 cubic metres capacity LNG storage tanks and four miles of pipeline to connect to inter-state feed-gas supplies.

The Commonwealth project has already been worked on for almost three years by the management team and its LNG consultants, advisors and vendors.

Delfin LNG, the most advanced US floating export development proposed for offshore Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico, has had its permit approved by regulators to reactivate and construct facilities on its onshore pipeline in Cameron Parish.