EAGC: still too early to feel impacts of U.S. LNG, Cheniere’s Walker says

U.S. LNG exports will have a “fundamental impact” on the market, however, these are still limited as only two liquefaction trains are currently in operation in the lower 48 states, Andrew Walker, Cheniere Marketing’s vice president for strategy said on Wednesday.

Cheniere’s Sabine Pass liquefaction terminal in Louisana, the first of its kind to ship U.S. shale gas overseas, started exporting the chilled fuel in February.

Since then the facility has produced about two million mt of LNG or more than 30 cargoes – so its “early days to really feel the full impact,” Walker told the audience at the European Autumn Gas Conference currently being held in the Hague.

These numbers are up to September when Sabine Pass started its scheduled maintenance period.

The bulk of these cargoes went to Latin America followed by Africa, Asia, and Europe.

The U.S. is expected to become the world’s third-largest LNG supplier by 2020 with an export capacity of 60 million mt coming from five terminals located along the Gulf Coast.

According to Walker, these LNG exports will leave a “fundamental impact” in the Atlantic Basin with the U.S.becoming the largest supplier in the Basin by 2020.

“The Atlantic Basin is supplied today by three legacy exporters. Projects from Trinidad, Nigeria and Algeria have provided almost all of the supplies between them. The U.S. in 2020 will represent some 44 pct of the supply in the Basin,” he said.

LNG helps Europe diversify from Russian gas

There have been many reports and discussions on the potential rivalry between Russia’s Gazprom pipeline gas and U.S. LNG.

However, only three Sabine Pass cargoes landed in Europe this year including one to Turkey.

“Not much has landed so far in Europe… The LNG wave to Europe has not happened yet,” Walker said.

Supplies to Europe are expected to increase as new LNG projects from Australia and the U.S. come onstream.

“Europe is going to absorb much of that additional supply,” he said.

“LNG is important to add to supply diversity in Europe, whether you truly believe that or not… policymakers do.”

LNG World News Staff