LNG

The US Department of Energy published its latest liquefied natural gas export data with the Netherlands as the leading destination for the first 11 months of 2023 while the leadership in highest prices remained with the Calcasieu Pass export plant in Louisiana.

Cheniere Energy, the largest US liquefied natural gas exporter with its two plants at Corpus Christi in Texas and Sabine Pass in Louisiana, said that it had signed long-term contracts for 180 million tonnes of LNG and issued an upbeat message on markets, expansions and delivery.

Sept 20 (LNGJ) - The 174,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “Gaslog Greece” has entered the Mediterranean and is scheduled to discharge a US cargo this week at Italy’s largest terminal, the offshore Adriatic facility, according to shipping data. The terminal is co-owned by ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy. The “Gaslog Greece” lifted the cargo on August 29 from the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana, operated by Cheniere Energy.

Cheniere Energy is ending its boardroom links with US activist investor Carl Icahn who swooped on the company in 2015 to force boardroom changes in what he said was in the interests of shareholders.

Cheniere has just signed an agreement to repurchase about $350 million of the company’s common shares beneficially owned by Carl Icahn and certain of his affiliates.

The deal was at the purchase price of $130.52 per share, the closing price of Cheniere’s common shares on June 14.

The purchase of the shares will be funded from Cheniere’s cash on hand and is part of the company’s $1 billion share repurchase authorization. The transaction was expected to close no later than June 21.

“Pursuant to a nomination and standstill agreement entered in 2015, the company agreed to give Icahn Enterprises one board seat for as long as it continued to hold at least 7,741,412 common shares,” explained Cheniere, the owner of the Sabine Pass export plant in Louisiana and the Corpus Christi plant in Texas.

The arrival of Icahn as an investor in Cheniere saw the eventual departures of founder and then CEO and Chairman Charif Souki along with other executives.

Souki went on to start Tellurian Inc. and to develop the Driftwood LNG plant in Louisiana, which has now entered the construction phase.

Last director

“This transaction will result in Icahn Enterprises’ holdings in the company to be under this threshold and the remaining director designee, Andrew Teno, will resign from the board of directors within two business days following the closing of the agreement,” said Houston, Texas-based Cheniere.

Cheniere said the $350M repurchase reflected “efficient execution” of its long-term capital allocation plan at a time when environmental priorities and energy security have natural gas as a key focus globally.

“We appreciate Carl Icahn and his Board representatives for their support of Cheniere over these last almost seven years as we have become the world’s second-largest LNG operator,” said Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s President and CEO.

“They have provided guidance and insight which has meaningfully contributed to Cheniere’s growth and strategy over that time,” added Fusco.

Icahn said his investments in Cheniere was a key example shareholder activism efforts.

“We were instrumental in hiring CEO Jack Fusco, who has assembled a great team and unlocked the value of a fantastic asset,” explained Icahn.

“As we have said many times, when the time for activism is over, we generally take a profit on a portion of our stock. To date, we have made over $1.3 billion in realized and unrealized gains on Cheniere and, even after the sale today, we still remain sizeable owners of Cheniere stock,” he stated.

Cheniere Energy, the largest US LNG exporter from the Sabine Pas plant in Louisiana and Corpus Christi in Texas, reported annual revenues up by 70 percent to $15.86 billion, though posted a net loss from changes to the fair value of derivatives and from previous cancelled cargoes.

March 3 (LNGJ) - Two US LNG shipments are scheduled to arrive in the UK in the days ahead at the South Hook LNG import terminal in the Welsh port of Milford Haven. The 152,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Seri Balhaf” will discharge a cargo on March 8 from the Corpus Christi export plant in Texas. The 173,400 cubic metres capacity “BW Pavilion Aranda” is then due to arrive at South Hook on March 9 with a cargo from the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana.

The US Department of Energy has just published its latest liquefied natural gas export data with price differentials for the various plants showing that the Corpus Christi LNG facility in Texas was the only one with year-to-date cargo prices under $5.00 per million British thermal units, while all the plants except for Sabine Pass had prices over $6.00 per MMBtu in the reporting month.

The France-based International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL) has elected former Gaz de France and Cheniere Energy LNG executive Jean Abiteboul as its new President during its annual General Assembly.

Abiteboul succeeds Jean-Marie Dauger, who had held the position since 2016.

New President Abiteboul’s career started in 1975 with the French utility, Gaz de France, which has now transformed into Engie.

The GIIGNL constitutes a forum for exchange of information and experience among its 86 members in 27 countries with the aim of enhancing the safety, reliability, efficiency and sustainability of LNG import activities and in particular the operation of regasification terminals.

Abiteboul’s later Gaz de France positions included Executive Vice-President for Supply, Trading and Marketing, President of LNG carrier unit Gaselys and International Executive Vice-President.

In 2006, he left Gaz de France to become Senior Vice President International of Cheniere Energy and played a key role in concluding the long-term sale contracts necessary for obtaining the financing of the Sabine Pass LNG export project in Louisiana, and later of the Corpus Christi liquefaction plant in Texas.

In 2010, he was appointed President of Cheniere Marketing, a position he occupied until his retirement in November 2016.

“I look forward to serving GIIGNL, which plays a key role in advancing the LNG industry and in promoting LNG as a responsible solution for a sustainable energy future,” said Abiteboul.

Over the last 50 years, the GIIGNL has played a unique role in the development of the LNG industry, constituting a forum for exchange of views, experience and research among its members.

The GIIGNL, whose headquarters are in Paris, publishes one of the most authoritative annual reviews in the industry and in the 2020 edition noted that at the start of the year eight new floating terminals and 18 onshore terminals were under development

Global regasification capacity stood at 920 MTPA at the start of 2020 and there were 42 importing countries.

The GIIGNL report also noted that for LNG sellers and buyers, business models and contractual arrangements were becoming increasingly diversified.

Traders continue to take advantage of seasonal and local supply tensions and integrated portfolio players were displaying impressive growth, aiming to bridge the disconnect between LNG seller and buyer interests.

The review also contained the landmark statistic that the global LNG carrier fleet had passed the 600-vessel mark. 

The United States is well placed to export liquefied natural gas and other energy products to countries around the world from its growing surplus as Americans used an average of 61 million British thermal units (Btu) of energy per capita in the residential sector, a 2 percent fall from the previous year and the lowest since 1967.

The United States shipped 11 liquefied natural gas cargoes for a third week as the nation’s three facilities keep up their production rates and the newest and fourth plant, Cameron LNG at Hackberry in Louisiana, has seen its first cargo depart on a Japanese-owned carrier amid rising pipeline exports to Mexico and falling imports from Canada.