NO. 1: Feed gas nominations at Freeport LNG continued rising on Thursday along with power supply as the facility slowly ramps back up after it was shut down more than a week ago ahead of former Hurricane Beryl’s landfall.
NGI data showed the facility’s feed gas nominations were at 473 MMcf on Thursday, or about 18% of the pipeline capacity feeding the facility. While that number could be revised lower in the next nominating cycle, it was well above the 4% nominated on Monday. Bloomberg also reported that power supply to the terminal was rising for a second consecutive day Thursday.
Freeport was shut down on July 7 ahead of the storm. A plant spokesperson said Monday damages caused by Beryl were being repaired and one train would be restarted this week, followed by the other two sometime after that. Five liquefied natural gas tankers were floating offshore near the facility and one was scheduled to berth there on Friday, according to Kpler data.
Kpler also said the prolonged outage may ultimately impact 16-20 cargoes. Asian and European natural gas prices have largely traded sideways this week, but the outage has helped keep them elevated. “The facility’s longer-than-expected closure has restoked some concern over global LNG supply risk, despite the remaining U.S. liquefaction capacities being largely unaffected by the hurricane,” said Rystad Energy analyst Wei Xiong.
NO. 2: Sempra Infrastructure has selected Bechtel Energy as its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the second 13 million metric tons/year (mmty) phase of its Port Arthur LNG project in Texas. The companies signed a fixed-price EPC contract.
Bechtel would also conduct the commissioning, start-up, performance testing and operator training work for the second phase. The contract also allows for pre-final investment decision work to help with costs and the schedule.
[In the Eye of the Storm: North American LNG project developers continue to grapple with the Biden administration's pause on non-FTA permits. Has the pause given impetus to other projects? How are Mexico LNG projects advancing? Tune in to hear from LNG industry analyst Sergio Chapa in the latest episode of NGI's Hub & Flow.]
Bechtel is currently working on the first 13 mmty phase of the project, which was sanctioned last year. It is expected to come online by 2028.
NO. 3: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said this week the country would cancel rolling blackouts through the end of the summer after it was able to secure LNG on the spot market.
The government has imposed power cuts for up to three hours daily. They will be scrapped from Sunday (July 21) until mid-September, Madbouly said during a press conference on Wednesday. Egypt secured 21 spot cargoes and recently received five of them, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
The country has halted LNG exports and turned to the spot market in recent years as it has contended with declining domestic production and soaring temperatures.
