LNG

Australian LNG and energy company Santos said that the Barossa natural gas field joint venture aiming to supply backfill feed-gas for Darwin LNG has taken another step towards a final investment decision in early 2020 with the award of the gas pipeline contract.

Australian LNG stakeholder Santos said it would concentrate on continuing to supply feed-gas to the Darwin LNG plant, operated by partner ConocoPhillips since 2006, as well as developing other Australian natural gas assets and expanding Papua New Guinea LNG output to meet rising Asian demand.

The average price of spot LNG contracted in August 2018 for shipment to Japan was given by the government as $10.70 per million British thermal units, an increase of 7 percent on the previous month and more than 84 percent higher than the contracted price in August 2017.

Papua New Guinea LNG stakeholder Oil Search posted lower revenues from liquefied natural gas and other sales because of the effects of recovering from the earthquake that struck PNG in February, though production was now back to normal amid progress on LNG expansion.

Cheniere Energy has formally applied to US regulators for permits to expand the liquefaction and export plant in Corpus Christi in Texas with the addition of seven mid-scale Trains with 9.5 million tonnes per annum of production, taking the total output of 23 MTPA.

The surge in liquefied natural gas spot prices in the past year is shown in the latest Japanese government data, with contracted shipments valued at $9.30 per million British thermal units compared with $5.70 per MMBtu a year ago.