LNG

Technip Energies, the leading European energy and liquefied natural gas project engineers, reported solid profits and its backlog surged as it pledged to strengthen its leadership in 2024 in the low-carbon LNG sector.

April 4 (LNGJ) - Technip Energies, the LNG engineering company, was awarded a contract in China for a small-scale LNG production plant with annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes. The facility is being built in northwest China by Shaanxi LNG Reserves and Logistics Co. The French company will supply a Process Design Package (PDP), front-end engineering and design and liquefaction equipment.

   “This award strengthens our positioning in the mid-scale LNG market in China. By being all-electric motor-driven, this LNG plant will be a reference for low-carbon LNG in the industry,” said Technip Energies.

Cheniere Energy, the largest US LNG exporter, posted 2022 revenues of $33.4 billion as it shipped 638 cargoes worldwide because of soaring demand, 13 percent more than last year, and outlined its plans for adding 20 million tonnes per annum more to the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana and further expanding the Corpus Christi plant in Texas.

Beach Energy of Australia said an agreement had been reached with Webuild SpA, the Italian industrial group, for the completion of the Waitsia Stage 2 project for LNG feed gas from the onshore Perth Basin subject to finalisation of the bankruptcy administration of previous engineers Clough Limited.

Technip Energies, one of the leading LNG project engineering companies, has signed an accord with US energy services company Baker Hughes to cooperate on developing mid-scale and modular onshore liquefaction plants.

Technip Energies, a leading European-based liquefied natural gas engineering company, reported increased first-half net profits and revenues even as it made “an ongoing orderly exit” from the Arctic LNG II project in Russia.

The liquefied natural gas export expansion project in Papua New Guinea has launched the first phase of front-end engineering and design studies for the Papua LNG project's upstream production facilities.

ConocoPhillips, the US major with expanding liquefied natural gas volumes, has signed an accord for long-term offtake and a 30 percent equity stake in Sempra Infrastructure’s proposed Port Arthur LNG project in Texas.

Japanese LNG industry participants, export plant operator Inpex Corp. and engineering company JGC Holdings are teaming up with the Thai national energy provider, which has increasing natural gas and LNG stakes, to develop a carbon-capture and storage (CCS) project in Thailand.

Thailand’s Public Company Exploration and Production (PTTEP) has stakes in Malaysian floating LNG as well as in Mozambique LNG and is taking over the operatorship of the main natural gas field in neighbouring Myanmar.

While all three companies are heavily involved in the energy transition on fuels in their promotion of LNG and pipeline gas, with Inpex operating the Ichthys LNG plant near Darwin in Australia and JGC being a builder of LNG plants and terminals, they are now exploring Southeast Asian CCS prospects.

They said the potential development of the CCS project in Thailand would help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and accelerate the decarbonization of Thai industries and the country as a whole.

Studies and solutions

Inpex, JGC and PTTEP have now signed an accord on the Thailand Carbon-Capture and Storage Initiative, which aims to study the potential development of CCS solutions to help industries including the oil and gas sector, hard-to-abate industries and power generation reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions.

CCS involves capturing CO2 from industrial processes before it enters the atmosphere and transporting the CO2 for underground storage in geological formations where they will be appropriately managed and monitored.

“The collaboration will involve identifying and evaluating facilities as well as procedures and technologies concerning CCS to build economically viable CCS solutions for Thailand,” said a statement.

PTTEP said the initiative reflected its determination to take part in regional efforts to manage and mitigate GHG impacts.

“We have the potential to help industries and Thailand reduce carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality goals,” the Thai company added.

Reforms

Inpex said it was proactively engaging in energy structure reforms towards the realization of a net-zero carbon society by 2050 while responding to the energy demands of Japan and other countries.

“The company aims to create clean energy business opportunities centred on CCS in Thailand with a view to expanding these opportunities to other parts of Asia,” said Inpex, whose headquarters are in Minato City in Tokyo.

JGC, based in Yokohama, noted that among the three it had “a rich track record” of building CCS facilities not only in Japan, but also in Algeria and Australia.

“The company also provides technical consulting services with energy and environmental themes, combining various methods such as surveys, analysis and evaluation, simulation, and risk assessment, and contributing to the realization of CCS through the provision of a wide range of solutions,” it explained.

This Japanese corporate collaboration on the Thailand CCS initiative is linked to the Asia Energy Transition Initiative (AETI), a plan unveiled by the Government of Japan in 2021 that aims to help achieve sustainable economic growth and carbon neutrality in Asia through energy transitions. 

The US Department of Energy has issued two long-term orders authorizing more liquefied natural gas shipments from the existing liquefaction and export facilities owned by Cheniere Energy at Sabine Pass in Louisiana and Corpus Christi in Texas.

The two DoE orders allow Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi more feed gas to liquefy and export. Sabine Pass started operations in February 2016.

The Cheniere plants can now have the additional flexibility to export the equivalent of 0.72 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas as LNG to any country with which the US does not have a free trade agreement, including all of Europe.

When US LNG export plants were being developed for the first time in the lower 48 states the DoE was tasked with making sure there were export limits that protected US domestic natural gas needs as well.

“While US exporters are already exporting at or near their maximum capacity, with the issuances, every operating US LNG export project has approval from DoE to export its full capacity to any country where not prohibited by US law or policy,” said the DoE.

Top exporter

The statement noted that the US was now the top global exporter of LNG and exports are set to grow an additional 20 percent beyond current levels by the end of 2022 as additional capacity comes on stream.

In January 2022, the US supplied more than half of the LNG import needs of Europe.

“With the expected rise in LNG exports, the DoE is particularly focused on driving down methane emissions in the oil and gas sector both domestically and abroad,” added the statement.

It declared that US LNG remained an important component in global energy security.

“The DoE remains committed to finding ways to help our allies and trading partners with the energy supplies they need,” said the statement.

Cheniere announced in early February 2022 the completion of Train 6 at Sabine Pass in Cameron Parish in Louisiana, formally taking nameplate capacity to 27 million tonnes per annum.

The Corpus Christy facility has nameplate capacity of 13.5 MTPA from three Trains.

Cheniere recently initiated a lump sum, turnkey, engineering, procurement and construction contract with US LNG and energy engineering firm Bechtel Inc. for the Corpus Christi LNG plant expansion.

Bechtel has started early engineering, procurement and other site work for the Corpus Christi expansion, known by Cheniere as the Stage III Project.

The expansion will add up to seven mid-scale Trains, each with an expected liquefaction capacity of around 1.49 MTPA with a total production capacity of more than 10 MTPA.