LNG

ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum have cemented the shale gale in the US, home to 80% of global unconventional oil and gas production. Yet, fracking makes inroads in Saudi Arabia, China, Argentina.

Securing project finance and offtake commitments are at the core of an in-principle agreement (AiP), signed between Cong Thanh Thermal Power JSC, Korea’s Doosan Enerbility and the PECC2 construction group for the 4,500 MW Cong Thanh LNG-to-power project. Phase 1 entails a 1.5 GW plant, to be scaled by to 3 GW at a later stage.

PetroVietnam has begun construction of the VND27.7 trillion ($1.05 billion) O Mon IV power plant in the Mekong Delta. LNG imports – through terminals in Thi Vai and potentially Son My – could serve as backup feedstock to ensure project timelines for the 1.1 GW plant, given that domestic fuel supply from Block B is delayed.

Shell Australia adamantly opposes policies forcing LNG exporters to reserve more gas for the domestic market. Redistributing exiting supply is no solution, Shell Australia’s Cecile Wake says, so “let’s make the pie bigger.”

T&T Group of Vietnam is tackling legal hurdles to get the Hai Lang LNG-to-power project built and commissioned by mid-2029. With revised capital costs of more than $2.3 billion, the project counts on backing from the Korean trio Hanwha Energy, KOGAS and KOSPO.

Constraints on feeder pipelines could coke the imminent surge in US LNG exports. “It’s not about the availability of gas, it’s about transportation. “How are we actually going to get it there?,” Cheniere’s vice president Nishita Singh told a conference in Texas.

Unfavourable market conditions for renewables and other low-carbon energy sources have prompted Shell, BP, TotalEnergies and Eni to bolster their core upstream operations. Reserve replacement should support future cash flows, Fitch Ratings reckons.

Japanese technology conglomerate IHI is set to convert selected LNG terminals into ammonia-receiving facilities before 2030. A trial is underway at JERA’s Hekinan thermal power unit 4 to pilot ammonia combustion technology.

Economics of gas production in the Appalachian Basin will become more favourable by 2030 as LNG-related demand soars. Natural gas liquefied for export could more than double to 9.8 Tcf, or almost 27 bcf/d, in 2037.

Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) terminals gain traction with global capacity set to reach 42 mtpa by 2030, climbing to 55 mtpa by 2035 – almost four times the 14.1 mtpa recorded last year, research from Rystad Energy finds.