Liquefied

The gas-thirsty U.S. market is drawing comers from around the world, with another consortium at work to export Bolivian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the U.S. West Coast. France’s TotalFina Elf, Spain’s Repsol YP, Britain’s BP and British Gas, and Bolivia’s Yacimientos Petroli feros Fiscales Bolivianos are considering plans to export some of the country’s 6,000 Bcf in proven gas reserves to California markets.

Shell Gas & Power and El Paso Global LNG announced plans to build Mexico’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, a 1.3 Bcf/d facility in Altamira, Tamaulipas on Mexico’s northeastern coastline. Initial investment costs are estimated to be up to $300 million, and the regasification terminal is expected to start importing LNG in the first half of 2004.

Following a stream of industry announcements, Cambridge Energy Research Associates has now put its stamp on liquefied natural gas growth, predicting that the “fundamental” changes worldwide in natural gas availability and potential shifts in pricing, downstream markets and available capital will position LNG to become a “major global energy player over the coming 20 years,” with demand as much as tripling by 2020.

Following a stream of industry announcements, Cambridge Energy Research Associates has now put its stamp on liquefied natural gas growth, predicting that the “fundamental” changes worldwide in natural gas availability and potential shifts in pricing, downstream markets and available capital will position LNG to become a “major global energy player over the coming 20 years,” with demand as much as tripling by 2020.

As long as prices remain near the current level, the liquefied natural gas market will play a “big role” in both Europe and the United States in the coming years, and with a current growth rate of 8%, LNG will be a “key growth engine” for many of the world’s majors, according to Deutsche Bank analysts, who offered their global assessment of the marketplace Wednesday.

Cabot LNG, currently the only active liquefied natural gas importer on the East Coast, has entered into a second 20-year charter agreement with Norwegian shipping giant Bergesen for a 138,000 cubic meter LNG carrier. Cabot’s first carrier agreement was completed in November 2000 and both vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2003.

Mexico’s Comision Reguladora de Energia (CRE) said several international corporations are planning liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Mexico, and the CRE has formed a work group to identify necessary regulatory changes to grant permits and facilitate the development of the LNG plants. The country is expecting a 9% annual increase in gas demand, and LNG supply is expected to help meet some of that growth, CRE said in a statement. The probable sites for the LNG facilities include Altamira in Tamaulipas and Ensenada in Baja California. “The characteristics of each project are different and must be evaluated in order to identify the advantages that each of them pose to cover the growing demand of natural gas, demand fostered by a plan to develop electricity generating plants and projects of transport and distribution approved by the CRE.”

As long as prices remain near the current level, the liquefied natural gas market will play a “big role” in both Europe and the United States in the coming years, and with a current growth rate of 8%, LNG will be a “key growth engine” for many of the world’s majors, according to Deutsche Bank analysts, who offered their global assessment of the marketplace Wednesday.

In keeping with the recent buzz of increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) activity across the country, Texaco revealled last week that it is studying the development of a new LNG receiving and regasification terminal in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, while Shell International Gas Ltd. said that it has acquired up to 3.7 million tons of LNG from the North West Shelf (NWS) project in Australia for delivery to the Americas. Meanwhile, United Kingdom-based BG Group reported that it recently inked a 22-year contract with CMS Energy Corp.’s subsidiary, Trunkline LNG Co., for all of the current uncommitted capacity at CMS’s Lake Charles, LA, LNG terminal.