July 2, 2015 – Platts Gas Daily
Five US LNG terminals expected by 2020 (pgs 5-6)
By: Jim Magill
Bentek expects five LNG export projects to be completed by 2020, boasting a total liquefaction capacity of just over 10 Bcf/d. However, due to an impending global glut in LNG supply, Bentek expects much of this capacity to go underutilized through 2020.
As such, many of the projects which have not yet have reached FID are not expected to go forward between now and 2018 at the earliest.
Cheniere’s announcement of an FID on Train 5 indicates that the Sabine Pass project has won the confidence of investors and the global LNG market, Sandy Fielden, an analyst with RBN Energy said in an interview with Platts Wednesday.
“This indicates that they continue to be confident that they can effectively get the contracts needed to underwrite this investment,” Fielden said. “Effectively, they’re not going to make the FID unless they’ve got some buyers lined up.”
As the first LNG export project to open up on the US Gulf Coast, Sabine Pass will begin to see a return on its investment more quickly than competing projects. “The incremental cost of opening a new train is going to be less significant than a new start-up,” he said.
