NO. 1: Chiyoda Corp. has asked a federal bankruptcy court to restart construction on the Golden Pass LNG export project in Texas, which has come to a near standstill since lead contractor Zachry Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy last month.
Chiyoda, along with McDermott International Inc. affiliate CB&I LLC, want to exercise their rights to resume work under a joint venture they have with Zachry, which laid off 4,400 people at the site. Zachry cited cost overruns at the 18 million metric tons/year Golden Pass project in its bankruptcy filing.
As the lead contractor in charge of staffing construction activities, Zachry’s financial issues and ongoing bankruptcy proceedings have prevented the remaining contractors from resuming large-scale construction. Golden Pass has also asked the bankruptcy court to reject Zachry's interest in the engineering, procurement and construction contract, noting that it threatens the construction progress.
NO. 2: Plaquemines LNG is again receiving feed gas as it works toward start-up. NGI data showed the facility nominated 998,000 cubic feet of natural gas on Wednesday and nearly 3 MMcf on Thursday. While the facility also nominated natural gas on April 24 and April 30, this week was the first time it had nominated feed gas for two consecutive days, according to NGI data.
Wood Mackenzie said its real-time monitoring showed the facility on Thursday received 2.9 MMcf/d through the Gator Express pipeline in Parish, LA. “These relatively small volumes appear to be the test of the pipeline infrastructure, as the facility is expected to start exporting in late 2024,” said Wood Mackenzie analyst Magnus Gilje.
The first phase of Plaquemines was sanctioned in 2022, and the second phase was given the green light last year. Venture Global CEO Michael Sabel has said the 2.6 Bcf/d facility could start producing liquefied natural gas as soon as this summer. The company also said earlier this week that the first of nine LNG tankers it ordered was launched during a ceremony in South Korea.
NO. 3: Abaxx Technologies Inc. plans to launch its commodities exchange Friday (June 28) after years of development.
Abaxx will list physically settled futures contracts for the three major LNG markets in Northwest Europe, North Asia and the Gulf Coast. A debate has continued within the global natural gas market over the need for a better benchmark to manage the risks and volatility associated with LNG prices, as transactions are largely based on uncorrelated pipeline index or crude prices.
Company officials told NGI that they expect the LNG contracts to start trading on Friday. Abaxx won regulatory approval to list them earlier this year. The exchange will also feature nickel and carbon futures.
