LNG

EQT Corp., the largest shale-gas operator in the US Appalachian Basin and a future LNG market stakeholder, has completed the acquisition of Equitrans Midstream earlier than expected after the Equitrans-operated Mountain Valley Pipeline came online in June 2024.

TC Energy, the North American natural gas pipelines operator with US and Mexican pipelines and the Coastal GasLink to supply Canadian LNG projects, is now counting the cost of the Biden Administration’s 2021 cancellation of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the US Midwest.

ExxonMobil Corp. the US major and prominent LNG market player has been become the latest oil and gas company to warn on expected adjustments in second-quarter earnings.

Egypt, the nation with oil and gas reserves and which imports and exports LNG, is now planning to secure large quantities of US ethane made from shale gas to avoid shortages of fertilisers and a food crisis because of an acute shortage of natural gas in the domestic market.

ExxonMobil Corp. and its partners in the huge oil and gas discoveries offshore the tiny nation of Guyana in the northeast corner of South America are moving forward on an LNG export project.

US company Argent LNG, with plans to develop a liquefaction plant at Port Fourchon in Louisiana, has selected Chart Industries to supply modular processing equipment.

Argent is proposing a facility at a 144-acre site west of Belle Pass on the Louisiana Gulf Coast with an initial capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum which could be doubled.

The Argent plant will feature modules and the volumes produced would be targeted at the LNG maritime fuel market.

These include the next-generation of LNG-powered Offshore Supply Vessels (OSVs) in the Gulf of Mexico.

Atlanta, Georgia-based Chart will be supplying its Integrated Pre-Cooled Single Mixed Refrigerant (IPSMR®) processing technology to the Louisiana plant.

Advantages

“Chart’s IPSMR sets a new standard for efficiency and performance in liquefaction, surpassing conventional technologies and enabling Argent LNG to tailor its liquefaction systems precisely to site-specific conditions,” explained Chart.

Chart said that its equipment has the capability to optimize the matching of gas turbine power with single cold box capacity, ensuring maximum operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

“We are excited to embark on this transformative journey with Chart Industries,” said Jonathan Bass, CEO at Argent LNG.

“Their mid-scale modular model perfectly aligns with our vision for an agile and efficient LNG facility,” stated Bass.

“The technology's superior performance will empower us to optimize operations and deliver a compelling, competitive solution to the market, which is scheduled to come online in 2029-2030,” added Bass.

Chart has listed the advantages of its technology including cost and the ease of fine-tuning system configuration while maintaining high performance standards.

Engineering start

“We are excited to partner with Argent LNG to provide our IPSMR® technology, brazed aluminum heat exchangers, coldboxes and air coolers,” stated Jill Evanko, Chart’s Chief Executive and President.

“Argent is strategically optimising a 20 MTPA LNG facility by moving entirely to modular, resulting in a smaller footprint, higher efficiency and less cost, and therefore offering their customers the most efficient and effective solution,” Evanko added.

Chart said it had begun engineering work related to the Argent project and anticipated booking an IPSMR® technology and equipment order in 2025.

US major ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire Marathon Oil Corp., the US company and main shareholder in Equatorial Guinea LNG in West Africa as well as a key operator in the major US shale basins.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has introduced reforms to ensure the US transmission grid can meet the nation’s growing demand for reliable electricity with a new rule that outlines how to plan and pay for facilities that regions of the country will need to keep the lights on and power the American economy through the 21st Century.

TC Energy, the leading North American natural gas pipelines operator, is moving to complete final works surrounding the link to the LNG Canada project in British Columbia while selling a pipeline gas connection to a First Nation-run venture amid an increase in US natural gas flows.

Tellurian Inc., the developer of the Driftwood LNG export project in Louisiana, continues to be the focus of takeover speculation while losses have just doubled in the first quarter of 2024 and revenues halved from natural gas production assets in the Haynesville Shale basin.

Tellurian earlier in 2024 hired the investment bank Lazards to explore a sale of its Haynesville gas production business in East Texas and Louisiana as part of efforts to raise new capital to continue the Driftwood project with full permits to produce 27.6 million tonnes per annum.

Tellurian then added that it would consider offers for the whole of Driftwood LNG after unsuccessfully pursuing long-term sales and purchase agreements to finance the development.

The Driftwood project as it currently stands involves constructing 20 mid-scale processing Trains, each with 1.38 MTPA of capacity and built as five blocks of Trains.

According to the regulatory permits and building schedules the Phase One development would include the first two of these blocks for 11 MTPA of output and two of three planned 235,000 cubic metres storage tanks and the first of three planned loading berths for LNG carriers.

Tellurian’s natural gas assets include 31,149 net acres, interests in 159 producing wells and over 400 drilling locations in the Haynesville Shale.

Latest earnings

Tellurian’s latest balance sheet showed that income from natural gas sales halved in the first quarter of 2024 to $25.47 million from $50.93M in the same three months of 2023.

Net losses also surged to $42.02M from $27.49M of losses in the same quarter of 2023.

Executive Chairman Martin Houston made no comment on the takeover speculation nor on gas assets sales and said in the earnings statement that Tellurian continued making progress on Driftwood LNG phase one construction with contractor Bechtel Energy of the US.

“Over the past few months, our senior team has sharpened its focus on stability, financial discipline and execution and we are laser-focused on bringing Driftwood to final investment decision,” Houston explained.

“To this end, we continue to take important steps to improve our balance sheet and liquidity position, and we continue to benefit from our strong regulatory standing,” he added.

“In addition, we have better aligned our commercial offerings to meet the needs of potential customers and we are highly encouraged by our ongoing commercial discussions,” Houston stated.

Permit extension

The Chairman noted that Driftwood LNG received an extension through 2029 to both the order authorizing construction from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and its Section 404 permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

As of the end of March, Tellurian said it had $1.3 billion in total assets, including around $51.8M of cash and cash equivalents.