S&P Global Platts: Contractors Express Caution On Bidding For New US LNG Export Projects

Facing unprecedented “pressure to sign engineering, procurement and construction deals for the lowest possible amount,” engineering, procurement, and construction firms (EPCs) are reported to vocalize their concerns.

“From my perspective, the way we hear about dollars per ton this and dollars per ton that. The answer is not the lowest dollar per ton. The answer is we have collaborated and innovated to make sure we have the best possible cost, the best possible schedule and the best possible certainty of outcome.
-Bechtel President Aladair Cathcart”

Forbes: Next Wave Of U.S. LNG Projects Lurks But Market Fistfight Is Inevitable

Weighing the United State’s LNG boon against an increasingly competitive global market, Forbes delivers a quiet warning - burgeoning production capacity does not guarantee the market’s success. The numerous pending American LNG plant projects awaiting environmental permits final investment decisions are far from secure:

“The entry of the U.S. as a marginal producer has changed the game. But it’s easy to get caught up in the market euphoria and forget that U.S. exporters are not the only game in town. American exports are (and will be) toughing it out with Australian and Qatari exports. It’s extremely challenging to get long-term high volume offtake agreements to support the construction of these facilities.”

— David Lang, law firm Baker McKenzie's Global Head of LNG

FERC Issues Environmental Schedules for 12 LNG Terminal Applications

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on August 31, 2018 issued a news release highlighting the approval of environmental schedules for the following 12 outstanding LNG terminal applications: Freeport Train 4, Port Arthur, Driftwood LNG, Corpus Christi, Texas LNG, Gulf LNG, Rio Grande LNG, Jacksonville Eagle, Annova LNG, Plaquemines, Jordan Cove, and Alaska LNG. 

“Thanks to the tremendous work of our Office of Energy Projects and Office of the General Counsel, the Commission has made significant strides in streamlining our regulatory processes to adapt to the increasing number, and greater complexity, of the LNG applications we have received. These process improvements have shortened projected environmental schedules in some cases by 9 to 12 months. There is widespread acknowledgement that the United States is poised to play an important role in serving worldwide LNG demand, and its ability to serve that demand quickly will serve the nation’s national security and economic interests. Because sufficient LNG export capacity is a necessary gateway to the global gas markets, the FERC’s efficient processing of LNG facility applications will put the US in a more competitive position.

-FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre.”