Shell exits US Lake Charles LNG project on ‘difficult’ market conditions

摘要

Shell said March 30 that it will not move ahead with its planned equity interest in the Lake Charles LNG project in Louisiana, citing difficult market conditions. Its partner, Energy Transfer, will take over as the project’s developer, and is considering options including scaling back the southwest Louisiana export terminal. The oil major cast the action as aligned with Shell’s overall plans to trim capital expenditures. Shell is among dozens of oil-and-gas exploration-and-production companies, including many in North America, pursuing steep cuts to capital spending as they come under pressure from record-low crude oil prices. “This decision is consistent with the initiatives we announced last week to preserve cash and reinforce the resilience of our business,” Shell’s director of integrated gas and new energies Maarten Wetselaar, said in a statement. Shell last week said it would cut its 2020 capex to $20 billion from the roughly $25 billion previously envisaged and operating costs by $3 billion to $4 billion over the next 12 months.