USA: United LNG, Petronet Reach Main Pass Energy Hub Agreement

United LNG, LP and Petronet LNG Limited, India’s largest LNG importer, announced a conditional agreement has been reached to supply LNG from the Main Pass Energy Hub™ LNG project in the Gulf of Mexico.

The agreement was signed by Petronet LNG Managing Director & CEO, Dr. A.K. Balyan and Stephen Payne, Chairman & General Partner of United LNG, of the United States.

The parties said they would continue working toward a final Sales Purchase Agreement to conclude the purchase and sale by the year’s end. The agreement will provide for United LNG to supply a minimum of 4 MTPA (million tons per annum) of LNG with the potential for additional supply, for a 20-year term thru the Main Pass Energy Hub™ which is being jointly developed by United LNG and Freeport McMoRan Energy.

Additionally, Petronet is exploring the possibility to purchase a stake in United LNG’s liquefaction facilities located in the Gulf of Mexico and partner with United LNG, as this has become the industry standard in recent years in order to reduce project risk. The parties said the commercial details are confidential.

Petronet LNG Managing Director & CEO, Dr. A.K. Balyan said, “Petronet LNG is delighted to have executed our first USA based LNG supply off take agreement and looks forward to moving ahead with United LNG and their strong JV partner Freeport-McMoRan Energy. As both a reliable and low cost LNG supplier, the USA is now the world’s prime target to secure LNG, and this agreement with United is another big step forward to meeting India’s growing demand for clean energy.”

Stephen Payne, Chairman & General Partner of United LNG, LP said, “Petronet is our largest single LNG buyer and our second customer on the Sub-Continent, and we are proud to be working with them. United LNG now has supply agreements totaling 12 mtpa, which represent half of our total off take capacity. At this week’s LNG conference, we made significant progress negotiating with 12 potential customers on 3 continents and we expect to be fully subscribed very soon.”

Furthermore, Freeport-McMoRan Energy LLC, a subsidiary of McMoRan Exploration and United LNG are engaged in a JV effort to utilize McMoRan’s Main Pass Energy Hub™ (MPEH™) as a facility/terminal to receive, store and condition natural gas for off loading to Coastal Liquefaction Storage and Offloading vessels for export. Main Pass has received a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) LNG export license from the U.S. Department of Energy for the facility to export 24 million tonnes per annum (which is the single largest LNG export license granted by the DOE); a Non-FTA application has also been filed and is awaiting DOE approval.

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LNG World News Staff, April 25, 2013