LNG projects in the pipeline, page-3

SP007

I'm not really looking or speculating as to where this 3rd project might be. Just trying to present information about what is happening in the US. However since you mentioned Mexico, here is a blog entry from Platts in regards to possible Mexican LNG export. It is about 6 months old but I don't think much has changed. Draw your own conclusions

cheers

Mexican LNG exports will not come soon

By Michael Rieke | October 7, 2014 12:01 AM
Recent reports say Japan wants to import LNG from Mexico after 2020. While Mexico could add liquefaction facilities at one or more of its three LNG import terminals, it would need to overcome some hurdles before it could export LNG. Sempra’s Energia Costa Azul terminal on the Pacific Coast of northern Baja California rarely imports cargoes, but the hurdle for exports from Costa Azul would be access to gas. This import terminal would not have been built 15 miles north of Ensenada if there had been enough gas production nearby to meet demand. And the Mexican gas pipeline system is not built to deliver gas to the Costa Azul area. So pipeline gas would need to be brought in from the US, California and Arizona specifically, but both of those states need out-of-state pipeline gas supply to meet their own demand.
The Mazanillo terminal, on the Pacific Coast of southern Mexico, is a big importer because it serves markets that US pipeline gas cannot reach, like Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city. Comision Federal de Electricidad, Mexico’s state-owned power company, did a spot tender early in the summer last year for 31 LNG cargoes to be delivered to Manzanillo from September last year through the end of this year.
As a result of that spot tender, Mexican imports grew 47% year over year during the first half of 2014, according to data from Bentek energy, a unit of Platts, totaling 8.12 million cu m of LNG or 174.58 Bcf of gas, up from 5.52 million cu m of LNG during H1 2013. The supply goes to CFE for its power plants and to Pemex, which needs more supply to meet growing industrial demand. Historically, Pemex spends its money drilling for more valuable oil rather than for gas, so it isn’t meeting domestic demand.

CFE and Pemex demand for gas can probably be met by a combination of supplies from CFE’s long-term contract with Peru LNG for cargoes delivered to Manzanillo and US gas when the necessary pipelines are built to the area now served by the Manzanillo LNG terminal. Mexico does have plans to build that pipeline link from the US — dubbed the Los Ramones pipeline — to its southern pipeline system. Los Ramones could be completed in a year or two, possibly lowering demand at Manzanillo.

The Altamira LNG terminal, on the Gulf of Mexico, serves markets that are being reached by US pipeline gas, so LNG demand should drop there, possibly creating an opportunity to turn it into an LNG export project. Pemex is interested in floating liquefaction and has reportedly been talking with Golar LNG about it. But before Mexico can export LNG, it needs to produce enough gas to meet its own demand and to supply an export project. According to the US Energy Information Administration, Mexico ranks third globally in shale gas reserves, mostly in eastern Mexico. But producers, including Pemex, are going to drill for oil and gas liquids before they drill for gas because prices are much higher for oil and gas liquids. They’ll probably get associated gas too, but would it be enough to meet domestic demand and for LNG exports?
We know from our recent reports that the Japanese are interested in LNG exports from Mexico, but are Japanese producers going to concentrate on drilling for high-priced oil or lower-priced gas, or both?
Those are the reasons Japan is talking about importing LNG after 2020. It’s going to take time to build necessary gas pipelines and find enough gas to meet domestic gas demand before it would export LNG.