Lately, it’s not just liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices that are headed south, it’s LNG cargoes too. A few days ago, the first LNG shipment from Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass liquefaction/export terminal was sent to Brazil, where a drought has slashed hydroelectric production and boosted the need for natural gas-fired power. Today we consider what’s driving LNG and natural gas demand in Brazil, Argentina and other countries in the southern half of the Americas, and what that may mean for U.S. LNG exporters and gas producers.
Given the impact that LNG exports are expected to have on U.S. natural gas production over the next 15 to 20 years, it’s not surprising that the recent buzz about the destination of the initial LNG shipment from Sabine Pass in southwestern Louisiana rivaled interest in Kanye West’s self-promotional feud with Taylor Swift (well, almost). As we all know, the Kanye vs. Taylor brouhaha continues, and—more relevant to today’s blog—Chevron Transport’s 160,000 cubic meter Asia Vision LNG tanker left Sabine Pass on February 24, 2016 (see Commencing Countdown) and is, by now approaching the Salvador da Bahia Regasification Terminal (photo below), a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) moored at Baía de Todos os Santos (Bay of All Saints) at Salvador, in Brazil’s state of Bahia. (Golar LNG Partners owns the FSRU, which is also known as Golar Winter; Petroleo Brasileiro—Brazil’s state-owned energy company, also known as Petrobras—charters it.)
The Bahia Regasification Terminal in Brazil; Source: Petrobras
As we said in Take Me to the River, FSRUs have become the go-to approach for nations and utilities that want to start importing LNG as quickly as possible (or quickly expand their LNG-importing capacity). TRBA is Brazil’s third FSRU, and plans for several more FSRUs are in the works, not only in Brazil but also in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay (more on them in a bit). It’s not that these countries don’t have significant natural gas reserves—they do. (See our Born in the U.S.A. blogs and Drill Down report.) The problem is that the development of those reserves has not kept pace with the fast-growing demand for gas-fired power.
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About the song
“Southern Cross” was written by Stephen Stills, Rick Curtis and Michael Curtis. It appears as the third song on side one of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s fourth studio album, Daylight Again. The song is based on Michael and Rick Curtis’s “Seven League Boots,” with a major rewrite by Stephen Stills. It features Stills on lead vocals and Graham Nash on harmony vocals. Released as a single in September 1982, it went to #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It has remained the group’s last hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has been covered by Jimmy Buffett, Dave Mason, and Weedeater. Personnel on the record were: Stephen Stills (lead vocals, guitar), Graham Nash, Timothy B. Schmit (backing vocals), Michael Sturgis (guitar), Mike Finnigan (keyboards, backing vocals), Richard T. Bear (keyboards), George Perry (bass), Joe Vitale (drums), and Joe Lala (percussion).
Daylight Again was recorded in 1980-81 at Rudy Records, Devonshire Sound and Sea West in Los Angeles and produced by Crosby, Stills and Nash. David Crosby joined the album project at the 11th hour and contributed two tracks to the LP. Released in June 1982, the album went to #8 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Three singles were released from the LP.
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) was a folk-rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by David Crosby (ex-Byrds), Stephen Stills (ex-Buffalo Springfield) and Graham Nash (ex-Hollies). When Neil Young (ex-Buffalo Springfield) was added to the group, they were known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). With the members’ shared musical pasts, the pump was primed for the release of their debut album in May 1969. After their appearance at Woodstock (their second live show) in August 1969, the band’s LP exploded on the charts, resulting in 4x Platinum status by the RIAA and yielding two hit singles. They released eight studio albums, five live albums, six compilation albums, and 19 singles. CSN was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. All three members have also been inducted as members of their former bands. Neil Young has been inducted as a Buffalo Springfield member and as a solo artist. Stills, Nash and Young continue to record and tour as solo artists. David Crosby died in Santa Ynez, CA, in January 2023 at the age of 81.
