LNG

Kosmos Energy, the Dallas-based company with LNG interests in the West African nations of Senegal and Mauritania and a specialist company for offshore Atlantic Margins exploration and production, has made a successful start-up of oil production at the Winterfell development in the Green Canyon area of the US Gulf of Mexico.

Woodside Energy, the leading Western Australian liquefied natural gas plant operator with North West Shelf and Pluto LNG, has boosted the economic prospects of the West African nation of Senegal by achieving first oil from the Sangomar field, Senegal’s first offshore oil project. 

Three leading US-based liquefied natural exporters, project developers and infrastructure owners, Cheniere Energy, Kosmos Energy and New Fortress Energy are testing the debt market’s appetite for LNG offerings in the form of senior notes totalling up to $2 billion.

Cheniere, the owner of the Sabine Pass export plant and the Corpus Christi facility in Texas and their expansion projects, intends to use the proceeds from the offering to retire all or a portion of the approximately $1.5 billion outstanding aggregate principal amount of Cheniere Corpus Christi Holdings senior secured notes due in 2025.

The Cheniere 2034 Notes will rank “pari passu”, or on an equal footing, in right of payment with existing senior notes at Cheniere, including the senior notes due 2028.

Kosmos Energy, which is based in Dallas, Texas, announced an offering of $300 million of convertible senior notes due 2030 by way of a private placement.

Kosmos is an exploration and production company with assets in the Atlantic Margin, including a stake in the floating LNG ventures being developed offshore West Africa in partnership with UK major BP and the nations of Senegal and Mauritania.

Africa to GoM

The company is also active in other projects, including offshore Ghana and Equatorial Guinea in West Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kosmos said it intended to grant the initial purchasers an option to purchase up to an additional $45M aggregate principal amount of notes, for settlement within a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the date on which the notes were first issued.

“The notes will be senior, unsecured obligations of the company and will rank “pari passu” with the company’s existing senior notes and the revolving credit facility,” said Kosmos.

Kosmos said it intended to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to repay a portion of outstanding indebtedness under the company’s commercial debt facility and pay the cost of capped call transactions as well as fees and expenses related to the offering.

“The capped call transactions are expected generally to reduce potential dilution to the company’s common stock upon any conversion of the notes and/or offset any cash payments the company is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes,” Kosmos explained.

New Fortress

The third offering came from New York-based New Fortress Energy (NFE) and involved a cash tender for up to $250M of senior secured 6.750-percent notes due in 2025.

NFE activities span Gulf of Mexico LNG production, imports of cargoes to terminals in Brazil linked to gas-fired power and power assets in the US territory of Puerto Rico.

“The tender offer is subject to customary conditions, including, among others, that the offeror receive gross proceeds of at least $500M from a debt financing on terms and conditions acceptable to the offeror,” said NFE.

NFE retained Morgan Stanley & Co to serve as the sole dealer manager for the tender offer.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), known as the OPEC of LNG and pipeline gas, is preparing for its 7th Summit meeting with members scheduled to start arriving at the end of February in the Algerian capital of Algiers.

The GECF, whose secretariat is based in Doha in Qatar, will attempt to put some context into the geopolitical and economic challenges facing LNG and pipeline natural gas producers.

Although the GECF counts Qatar among its members the other main LNG producers, Australia and the US, have never been members nor will they be sending observers.

The GECF meeting will have 19 countries in attendance who together represent over 70 percent of the world’s proven gas reserves, 43 percent of its marketed production, 52 percent of pipeline gas and 58 percent of LNG exports.

Algeria, which is a key supplier of LNG to Europe from its Skikda and Arzew liquefaction plants and with gas pipelines connected to Italy and Spain, said it would use the occasion to “build a consensus” between the producing states to preserve the interests of gas exporters.

Algiers Declaration

Meetings will start on February 29 and the actual summit will take place on March 2, after which the LNG nations will issue what will be known as the “Algiers Declaration”.

The meeting is expected to support emerging African LNG nations and existing producers in their fight to alleviate energy poverty, in particular through better access to financial resources for gas development as well as improved energy security.

GECF Secretary General, Mohamed Hamel, who is himself an Algerian outlined what is on the agenda for the 12 nations who are members and the other seven countries who will attend as observers.

“This summit presents an opportunity for leaders to engage in comprehensive discussions encompassing geopolitical, economic and policy developments, providing an avenue to delve into both the immediate and long-term prospects and challenges in the natural gas sector,” explained Secretary General Hamel.

“Moreover, the summit will reiterate the important role of our Forum in strengthening cooperation among member countries, advocating for natural gas as a pivotal element in achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals, ensuring stability in natural gas markets and addressing energy security, affordability, and sustainability,” he added.

Prior to the March 2 summit, a high-level working group will meet and an Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting will be held to “prepare essential documents” for the summit, including the Declaration.

The summit will be complemented by a series of side events such as the inauguration of the Headquarters in Algiers of the newly established GECF Gas Research Institute.

Global Gas Outlook

Additionally, the delegates will approve and issue the latest edition of the “Global Gas Outlook”, one of the GECF's flagship publications.

Finally, there will be a signing ceremony for Memoranda of Understanding with the African Energy Commission (AFREC) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Preparations for the summit have been undertaken by the Algerian National Committee in collaboration with the GECF Secretariat and “all of the necessary resources have been mobilised to ensure ideal conditions for a successful and productive” summit.

“I am confident that this summit will go beyond discussions and collaborations, providing delegates the opportunity to immerse themselves in Algeria's distinctive culture and warm hospitality,” Hamel stated.

The 12 GECF members are Algeria, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

There are also seven observer members: Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique and Peru.

Seatrium of Singapore, a leader in LNG project and ship conversions as well as platforms for conventional oil and gas ventures, was awarded a contract by Shell Offshore to construct and integrate the hull, topsides and living quarters of the Sparta semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) to be deployed in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Seatrium’s Shell contract includes the installation of Shell-furnished equipment and follows a letter of intent signed by both parties in August 2023.

The Sparta FPU will be situated in the Garden Banks area of the US Gulf of Mexico, about 275 kilometres (171 miles) off the coast of Louisiana.

Seatrium said the platform would feature a single topside bolstered by a four-column, semi-submersible floating hull and would be designed to produce 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

LNG record

Seatrium, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, had previously in November 2023 successfully delivered the Greek “FSRU Alexandroupolis” to be deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.

The Singaporean company also in November handed over the LNG production unit for the BP-led FLNG project offshore Senegal and Mauritanian in West Africa and also involving Dallas-based Kosmos Energy.

Analysts note that the combined Seatrium group is becoming better known in marketing terms as a single unit and provider of engineering solutions to the marine, offshore and energy sectors, particularly in assembling topsides safely and efficiently at ground level.

Seatrium said that the two-level topside for Sparta would be integrated and lifted to the hull using Seatrium’s Goliath twin cranes capable of lifting up to 30,000 tonnes.

“We are deeply honoured that Shell has awarded Sparta, the third FPU newbuild, to Seatrium, following the successful deliveries of the Vito and Whale FPUs,” said
William Gu, Executive Vice President and Head of Oil & Gas International at Seatrium.

Affirmation

“It is a strong affirmation of our team’s capabilities and the long-standing partnership between both parties. We are fully committed to executing the project well, including the single lift operation and fabrication of the FPU to meet its 20,000-psi design for use in harsh weather conditions, and delivering the unit to Shell safely and efficiently,” Gu explained.

Seatrium added that the Sparta FPU was conceived as a replicable project between Shell and Seatrium to leverage the group’s topsides single lift integration methodology, following the Vito and Whale newbuilds.

“With an extensive experience in complex offshore projects, Seatrium is well-positioned and equipped with cutting-edge technology to deliver high-quality engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) services for fixed and floating production platforms and subsea developments,” the company stated.

Côte d'Ivoire has celebrated the ramp-up of the Baleine oil and gas field as part of a world-class hub of oil, pipeline natural gas and LNG exports and imports being built out to improve economic prosperity in West Africa from Mauritania in the North to Angola in the South.

The President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, and Claudio Descalzi, the Chief Executive of Italian major Eni, met in the African nation’s economic capital, Abidjan, to mark the production ramp-up at the Baleine field.

The Baleine project is offshore block CI-101 and is believed to hold up to 2.0 billion barrels of oil in place and 2.4 trillion cubic feet of associated gas located at water depth of 1,200 metres.

Largest discovery

Baleine was discovered in 2021 as the largest commercial discovery in the country in the last 20 years and is now set to contribute substantially to energy production in the Côte d'Ivoire after starting production in September.

The Côte d'Ivoire’s regional neighbours to the North, Senegal and Mauritania, are currently developing floating LNG projects, while among its southern neighbours, Nigeria is an established world-scale LNG and oil exporting nation, while Cameroon has a small FLNG project in operation, Ghana plans LNG imports and Angola is a major oil and gas nation.

The Côte d'Ivoire’s mainly oil production has varied significantly over the past two decades as existing fields have become depleted, closed for maintenance or development works and as new discoveries have been made but have needed further investment and development.

Eni’s partner in the Baleine project and other ventures is the African nation's state energy company, Société Nationale d'Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d'Ivoire (Petroci).

In addition to the CI-101 block, Eni owns stakes in four other blocks in the Ivorian deepwater. They are CI-205, CI-501, CI-504 and CI-802, all with the same partner Petroci.

Output

“Oil production from Baleine stands at 20,000 barrels per day, far exceeding the initial anticipated 12,000 barrels per day,” Eni explained.

“The project is set to reach its plateau of 50,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of 2024. Upon completion of the second development phase and full field development it is then  expected to enable the production of up to 150,000 barrels per day,” Eni added.

“Baleine's gas production is entirely destined for the domestic market, strengthening access to energy in Côte d'Ivoire,” stated the Milan-based company.

Eni said that the meeting between President Ouattara and CEO Descalzi covered other initiatives that Eni is carrying out to advance economic diversification in addition to contributing to the country's energy needs and prosperity.

Bio-refineries

“Among these, it is worth mentioning the production of vegetable oil to supply Eni’s bio-refineries, an operation that recently began in Côte d'Ivoire and which leverages waste from rubber production,” CEO Descalzi explained.

“This project will feed our bio-refineries with sustainable feedstock, while at the same time integrating Côte d'Ivoire in the value chain of biofuels, generating a positive impact for the families of local farmers with whom we collaborate through long-term agreements,” Descalzi stated.

“This initiative offers additional income for 100,000 families that have already joined the program,” he added.

Seatrium Group of Singapore, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, has successfully delivered the converted floating LNG production vessel for the BP-led FLNG project offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

Kosmos Energy, the Dallas-based company developing the much-anticipated floating liquefied natural gas projects offshore Mauritania and Senegal in West Africa,has made an oil discovery in the US Gulf of Mexico.

May 9 (LNGJ) - Kosmos Energy, the developer with UK major BP of the Mauritania and Senegal floating LNG project and natural gas hub, said phase one of the venture called the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project continued to make good progress. “First gas is targeted at the end of 2023 with continued progress across the four major work streams,” said Dallas, Texas-based Kosmos.

   “Hub construction work is complete and activity is focused on progressing the final commissioning for handover to operations around the end of the second quarter of 2023,” Kosmos explained. “The laying of the deepwater section of the pipeline from the field to the FPSO is currently underway. This will be followed by the installation of the infield flowlines and subsea structures. Timely execution of this subsea work scope is the critical path to first gas by the end of the year,” stated Kosmos.

Saipem, the Italian offshore energy and LNG feed-gas specialist, was awarded a new drilling contract worth €400 million ($424M) in the Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa where the Baleine Phase 1 project for offshore oil and associated gas is currently moving forward to maintain the country's status as an African energy hub.