LNG

May 11 (LNGJ) - Three LNG carriers were heading for the UK this week with cargoes from the US and Peru as the UK National Balancing Point benchmark wholesale natural gas price hit a 10-month low at the equivalent of $18.00 per million British thermal units. The 177,000 cubic metres capacity “Marvel Heron” was berthing on May 11 at the UK Isle of Grain terminal in Kent with a cargo from Cameron LNG in Calcasieu Pass in Louisiana, shipping data showed.

The 174,100 cubic metres capacity carrier “Flex Volunteer” was then scheduled to deliver a cargo on May 13 to the UK South Hook terminal at the Port of Milford Haven from the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana. A third shipment onboard the 167,400 cubic metres capacity “Methane Mickie Harper” was due to be discharged on May 14 at the UK Dragon terminal. The cargo was lifted on April 15 from the Pampa Melchorita plant on the Pacific Coast of Peru.

The Sempra Energy-led Cameron LNG export project in Hackberry Louisiana has formally asked the federal Energy Regulator for permission to begin the facility's first shipments of commissioning cargoes to free trade agreement countries and non-FTA states as authorized by the Department of Energy.

“Commissioning activities are progressing well for Train 1 and Cameron LNG anticipates exporting LNG produced during commissioning according to the schedule provided,” the Cameron project told the FERC.

“To meet the schedule provided, Cameron LNG is requesting authorization for the commissioning cargoes on or before May 16, 2019,” said the Sempra joint venture.

“With the first production of LNG from Train 1, Cameron LNG will file weekly commissioning reports as requested by the Commission,” the company added.

Sempra, the San Diego, California-based utility has also said it expected to begin posting earnings from the first processing Train by mid-2019.

Sempra has also increased its projected share of full run-rate earnings from the first three Trains at Cameron to be between $400 million and $450M annually, up from the previous projection of $365M to $425M.

The Cameron project’s first phase includes three Trains with export capability of almost 15 million tonnes per annum.

At least two of the three Trains are expected to be producing LNG by the end of 2019.

The Cameron project is jointly owned by Sempra, French major Total, Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co and Japan LNG Investment, a venture owned by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and the shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, known as NYK Line.

When Cameron ships its first cargo it will be the fourth US LNG export plant to begin commercial operations after Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants and Dominion Energy’s Cove Point facility.

Sempra has a strategy to achieve around 45 MTPA of LNG production by the mid-2020s through three plants it is developing, the Cameron facility, Port Arthur LNG in Texas and the Costa Azul terminal on the Pacific Coast of Mexico.