Majors raise the bar on project approvals

摘要

The majors have scaled back final investment decisions (FIDs)this year as their drive to improve financial disci-pline forces them to scrutinise potential projects more closely before committing capital. Shell reached FIDs on nine projects last year,including two LNG plants designed to supply transport fuel in North America.But it has since shelved the LNG-for-transport plans and ruled out FIDs on LNG projects in Asia-Pacific until next year at the earliest(WPA,18 July,p11).Shell recently began initial engineering for the 500mn bl of oil equivalent Appomattox field in the US Gulf of Mexico and the 12mn t/yr LNG Canada project in British Columbia.But it has made just one FID so far this year,on the Total-oper-ated Maharaja Lela South development in Brunei.