|
Imports of LNG could rise as Asia cools Wood Mackenzie predicts U.S. will import more LNG in the next few years because of declining Asian economies Allen Baker For Petroleum News
A new report from Wood Mackenzie predicts a near-term increase in U.S. imports of liquefied natural gas as demand sags in Asia.
“The medium-term outlook for LNG in North America is not as dire as other commentators are suggesting, despite the success in developing shale gas,” says Murray Douglas, North American LNG Analyst at Wood Mackenzie.
The Scotland-based energy consulting firm predicts U.S. imports of LNG will rise for the next six years, putting pressure on domestic prices — and new North American projects.
U.S. terminals will import 620 billion cubic feet of gas as LNG this year, Douglas expects, nearly double the 350 bcf imported in 2008. By 2014, the number would rise to 1,530 bcf under his scenario.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects smaller numbers — about 416 bcf this year and 507 bcf in 2010.
New liquefaction projects coming on line in the next three years will provide nearly 4 trillion cubic feet worth of annual LNG capacity, Douglas estimates, and some of that is likely to find a home in the U.S., which has extensive storage capacity that other countries lack.
Woodside surrenders Meanwhile, Australia’s Woodside Petroleum pulled the plug on its proposed LNG import terminal off Southern California. Sempra Energy’s Baja California terminal appears to have won the race on the West Coast, at least for now. Terminal capacity in the U.S. is ample, with most of it on the Gulf Coast.
Woodside’s billion-dollar plan called for a terminal about 27 miles offshore, with regasification done on the ships themselves. The plan met opposition in California despite the fact that the ships would moor so far offshore that they would be out of sight. It was canceled Jan. 19 due to ample supplies from domestic shale projects, the company said.
A couple of California terminals and two more in Oregon are still in planning stages on the West Coast.
Terminal approved As the Bush administration was winding down, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved an LNG import terminal at a former shipyard near Baltimore. The AES Sparrows Point terminal could import 1.5 bcf daily. That’s just a bit less than the amount Wood Mackenzie expects to arrive in the United States this year. The Jan. 15 approval includes an associated 88-mile pipeline.
| 