Pass

Britain’s Centrica plc has struck a 20-year sale and purchase agreement with Cheniere Energy Partners LP’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC for 1.75 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with deliveries to begin as early as 2018. The contracted amount is equivalent to 91,250,000 MMBtu/year and with Sabine’s contract with Total Gas & Power North America Inc. (see NGI, Dec. 24, 2012), brings Train 5 contracted volumes to 3.75 mmtpa. Centrica, Sabine’s sixth LNG export customer, is to buy LNG on a free on board basis at a Henry Hub indexed price, plus a fixed component,. The 20-year contract, contingent on regulatory and financing approvals, begins on the date of first commercial delivery from Train 5 and has an extension option of up to 10 years. Centrica businesses include British Gas, which serves about 12 million homes in Britain, nearly half of the country’s homes, and Direct Energy, which has businesses in natural gas production, power generation and distribution in North America.

Britain’s Centrica plc has struck a 20-year sale and purchase agreement with Cheniere Energy Partners LP’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC for 1.75 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with deliveries to begin as early as 2018.

Apache Corp. said operations have been completed at a well at Main Pass 295 in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico that had an uncontrolled flow of natural gas fluid flowing underneath. The operator detected the flow on Feb. 4 and activated a blowout preventer, but tests indicated that the hydrocarbon had migrated from the bottom of the 8,300-foot hole to a shallower sand formation 1,100 feet below the sea floor (see Daily GPI, Feb. 19). A relief rig was sent to the location in case a separate well had to be drilled. The bottom of the well has been plugged and cemented, and the gas migration has been stopped, Apache said. Management still is evaluating the next steps for the well, which is in 218 feet of water.

Exporting liquefied domestic natural gas to world markets would generate a net benefit to the U.S. economy, and the more liquefied natural gas (LNG) that’s exported, the greater the benefit, according to a macroeconomic analysis of the impact of LNG exports commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and released for public comment Wednesday.

America’s energy security risk is bad and getting worse under current policy and regulatory framework, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.

House and Senate Republicans last week stepped up efforts to pass legislation proposing more lease sales on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) during 2012-2017, but the action may turn out to be more show, given that the odds of legislation being voted out by both houses of Congress this session are slim.

Global gas producer BG Group plc said net profits for the second quarter were hobbled by a $1.3 billion post-tax charge against its shale assets in the United States and that it would reduce drilling activity there in response to continuing low natural gas prices.

President Obama Friday called on the Senate to pass comprehensive legislation aimed at protecting critical national infrastructure, including energy facilities, from cyber attacks prior to leaving for its August recess.

President Obama Friday called on the Senate to pass comprehensive legislation aimed at protecting critical national infrastructure, including energy facilities, from cyber attacks.