LNG

Premiums are being paid to secure scarce LNG carrier yard slots as shipyards in South Korea and China struggle to keep up with surging demand for newbuild vessels, according to market sources. Deferrals of 17 LNG carriers linked to the Mozambique LNG project, freed up sought-after slots at Samsung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Samho.

Delivery of 17 LNG carrier newbuildings tied to the TotalEnergies-led 12.8 mtpa Mozambique LNG project has been delayed, with shareholders asking shipyards Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries to defer declaration dates to September 2026.

Air Products, the leader in supplying US liquefied natural gas technology and equipment to the world, has successfully passed the processing capacity test for the floating LNG plant offshore Mozambique that turned the southeast African nation into an energy exporter.

Chart Industries, the US LNG equipment-maker and industrial gases company, has received a key order from the Cedar floating LNG project being developed in the Canadian Pacific province of British Columbia.

The Ksi Lisims LNG Partnership, a development joint venture of the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG and Western LNG LLC for a floating liquefaction and export plant near the port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia, has signed a 20-year sale and purchase agreement with the Shell subsidiary, Shell Eastern Trading.

Under the SPA, Shell will purchase 2 million tonnes of LNG per annum from the Ksi Lisims project on a free-on-board basis in what is the first LNG offtake agreement executed by the Ksi Lisims venture.

The Ksi Lisims FLNG platform will receive feed gas from the prolific shale-gas basin of northeast BC. The venture proposes to produce 12 MTPA at Wil Milit, located north of Prince Rupert and near the Nisga’a tribal village of Gingolx.

Ksi Lisims LNG’s governance structure provides each project proponent, the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG and Western LNG, with input into project development, management and operations.

Innovative

“The Ksi Lisims LNG project is an innovative development for North America” said Davis Thames, President and CEO of Western.

The project will use a floating production units built by Samsung Heavy Industries and an all-electric process technology developed by Black & Veatch.

“The strong fundamentals of our project have earned the confidence of some of the most established companies in the LNG industry. We look forward to continuing to work with Shell and our other customers as we move toward reaching a final investment decision,” Thames stated.

“Ksi Lisims LNG will play an important role in the long-term economic growth of the Nisga’a Nation and other nations with which we work and we remain committed to being good partners with them,” he explained.

Thames noted that the work with the Nisga’a Nation and Rockies LNG had produced a “unique value proposition” for customers.

Steve Hill, Executive Vice President of Shell Energy, said that LNG was a critical pillar of global energy security and global demand is set to increase in the years to come.

Diverse portfolio

“We are pleased to sign this agreement with Ksi Lisims LNG which will help Shell to continue providing diverse and flexible LNG supply to its customers,” Hill stated.

Eva Clayton, president of the Nisga’a Lisims Government said her people had been striving to grow economic opportunities.

“Ksi Lisims LNG is the cornerstone of a brighter future for our people. As the project continues to pick up momentum, evidenced by this agreement with Shell, the Nisga’a people are now able to envision the opportunity and prosperity that Ksi Lisims LNG will bring,” Clayton declared.

Ksi Lisims LNG said it was represented by international law firm Baker Botts LLP in the drafting and negotiation of the SPA.

“We’re proud to be working to deliver the world’s cleanest natural gas to markets that need it most,” said Charlotte Raggett, President and CEO of Rockies LNG.

“Canada is an ideal global energy supplier, producing the world’s most responsible and lowest-emission natural gas at the shortest distance from Asia in the Americas,” she added.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), the South Korean shipbuilder, has put a value of US$1.5 billion on the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility recently ordered for the Canadian Cedar LNG joint venture in the Douglas Channel near Kitimat in British Columbia and modelled on an African FLNG vessel.

South Korean shipbuilders, the global leaders in the construction of liquefied natural gas carriers, ranked second in 2023 in terms of new global orders for all types of vessels for a third straight year, though increased their share of the LNG newbuilds market.

Pembina Pipeline Corp., the leading Canadian energy pipeline and midstream company with a network of gas gathering, processing and energy export terminals in North America has given a business update including spending plans and a final investment decision date for the planned Cedar LNG project in British Columbia.

South Korean shipbuilders are still leading their Chinese counterparts in orders for liquefied natural gas carriers, though China’s yards are well ahead in overall orders for newbuilds even as the shipbuilding market was weaker than in 2022.

The Canadian native American Haisla Nation of British Columbia and Pembina Pipeline Corp., who are partners in the development of Cedar LNG, have signed an accord with third parties to move forward with the venture proposed for the Douglas Channel.