Exports
By the end of 2022, the USA will have the world’s largest LNG capacity. About 71% of its exports go to Europe, the top destination being the Netherlands. Exports to Europe were being stepped up even before the war in Ukraine, and President Biden’s promise of an additional 15 cu m of LNG for Europe this year is likely to be surpassed. US export capacity has expanded rapidly since November 2021, with new trains at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass and Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass. Cheniere is planning two more trains and a storage tank at Corpus Christi, with construction slated for 2024-2031. The Cameron LNG expansion in Louisiana has been awarded to JGC America and Zachry Industrial, who will add a fourth train.
In Mozambique, Baker Hughes has secured a new service contract for Eni’s Coral Sul FLNG. The FLNG will be ready to achieve its first LNG cargo in the second half of 2022, adding Mozambique to the LNG-producing countries. Eni is also working on a second FLNG, which will likewise be located offshore Mozambique. Tanzania is also mulling an LNG project with a consortium of Shell, ExxonMobil, Equinor and Ophir Energy. A final investment decision is expected in 2025. In the Middle East, QatarEnergy is engaged in an ambitious expansion of North Field East and North Field South, both of which source LNG liquefaction. The country’s LNG output is expected to expand from just under 80 to 126 metric tonnes per annum by 2027. Four new LNG trains will be constructed. Shell, Totalenergies, Exxon Mobil and Eni are all investors.
After a huge build-up of its export capacities in recent years, Australia faces a gas shortage! Australia allows so much LNG to be exported that it has neglected its own needs. Australia considered export curbs last summer, before ruling them out.