US LNG Second Wave Needs to’Really Up Its Game to Be Successful’

摘要

The heady rise of the North American LNG sector,which stands to be delivering over 80 million tons per year of LNG-around 11 billion cubic feet of gas-once projects already sanctioned get under way,should be a key demand driver for US producers in coming years.But the question remains,how many more projects will be sanctioned as the key competitive advantage the US enjoys wanes.Even more important than its huge gas resource base and the promise of a steady long-term $3 per million Btu price is the fact that the US had a fleet of idle LNG import terminals that could become export terminals for less than $ 1,000 per ton per year-substantially lower than green-field costs worldwide.But this advantage has nearly run its course with the final investment decision(FID)for Golden Pass by Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum(NGW Feb.11T9).Besides expansion opportunities at existing export terminals,two major import terminals are left for development: Lake Charles LNG in Louisiana and Gulf LNG in Pascagoula,Mississippi,with a combined planned export capacity of roughly 3.5 Bcf/d,although neither is close to FID(p8).The availability of world-class brownfield projects helps explain US success to date,said David Strickland,a partner with law firm White & Case in Houston.”But what's next? How do we differentiate North America from all the other international greenfield projects....That's the question of the day.”