"Golden Pass (also referred to as Port Arthur LNG, I believe) is a local hot topic right now. It is located within 3 miles of Cheniere LNG, just across the Louisiana border, in Texas. It is already pre-constructed as an import facility, just as Cheniere and Cameron LNG both were, so these facilities seem to make most sense to convert to export facilities, since import to the US will likely NEVER be needed again"
Qatar, Exxon to proceed with $10 billion Texas LNG project
Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil Corp are expected to announce plans next week to proceed with a $10 billion project that will expand a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Texas, three people familiar with the transaction said.
ConocoPhillips, the third partner in the existing import terminal, plans to sell its 12.4 percent stake and does not plan to participate in the expansion, the people said.
LNG demand is soaring. Worldwide consumption of the fuel is expected to more than double to 550 million tonnes a year (mtpa) by 2030, triggering a race among oil and gas companies eager to dominate the market.
Golden Pass LNG began as a receiving and regasification facility in Sabine Pass, Texas able to handle up to 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas imports per day.
However, as U.S. gas production has soared to new records, bolstered by shale production, the demand for export capacity has increased. The potential $10 billion expansion, first announced in 2014, would focus on this new market dynamic.
It is part of Qatar Petroleum’s plans to invest some $20 billion in the United States as the company seeks to increase its overseas oil and gas footprint.
The most likely buyer for ConocoPhillips’ stake is Exxon Mobil, two of the people said, adding that the existing partners do not want to bring in another participant, as plans for the project are in advanced stages.
Currently, Exxon has a 30 percent stake in the LNG export project, and Qatar Petroleum holds a 70 percent stake. The two have been strengthening a global alliance across LNG projects from the United States to Mozambique.
Exxon expects this year to “sanction” the Golden Pass export terminal and another LNG project in Mozambique, Chief Executive Darren Woods said Friday on a conference call with analysts.
The company has been “working very closely with QP (Qatar Petroleum), our partner in Golden Pass, to advance that investment and look forward to announcing something here in the very near term,” Woods said.
Qatar was the world’s largest LNG producer in 2017 and has annual output of 77 million tonnes.
ConocoPhillips’ stake sale led to delays in announcing the final decision to proceed with the project, one of the people said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private. The move comes as ConocoPhillips hones its focus on international projects.
The Golden Pass project is one of many that could be approved this year. Firms are expected to make final decisions on projects that could add more than 60 million tonnes per annum of LNG capacity this year.
That’s well above the previous record of about 45 million tonnes in 2005 and triple last year’s 21 million tonnes, Wood Mackenzie’s research director for global gas and LNG, Giles Farrer, said last month.
More than 320 million tonnes of LNG was shipped globally in 2018, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data.
Qatar left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last year, allowing it to expand in the United States without concerns about proposed legislation that could limit OPEC members’ investments in the country.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-g...llion-texas-lng-project-sources-idUKKCN1PQ4OZ
LNG giant Qatar Petroleum and US energy juggernaut ExxonMobil are reportedly pushing forward its plans for the development of the Golden Pass LNG export project in Sabine Pass, Texas.
The two companies aim to expand the existing LNG import project in which ConocoPhillips also owns a stake. However, ConocoPhillips is not planning to take part in the import project.
Citing sources, Reuters reports ConocoPhillips intends to sell its 12.4 percent stake in the existing LNG import project, with ExxonMobil being the likely buyer.
The planned LNG export portion of the project is headed by Qatar Petroleum (70 percent) and ExxonMobil (30 percent).
The pair proposed to build and operate three liquefaction trains with a total production capacity sufficient to produce 15.6 million tons per annum at the at the existing import terminal onshore at the Sabine-Neches waterway, on the existing Port Arthur ship channel.
The project has already received an export permit for up to the equivalent of 2.21 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) to non-FTA nations.
www.lngworldnews.com/qp-exxonmobil-to-advance-golden-pass-lng-export-project/
