Statoil Mulls LNG Terminals Shortlist For Stake
Dow Jones Equity News, Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 12:48
(This updates an item published around 1450 GMT with additional market information.)
By Ian Talley
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
OSLO (Dow Jones)--Statoil ASA (STO) has a shortlist of U.S. liquified natural gas regasification terminals in which it may buy stakes to expand its U.S. import capacity, an official said Thursday."We've made a shortlist but now need to study the micro-markets,"Vice President of Natural Gas Rune Bjoernson said told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a natural gas seminar Thursday.
While he wouldn't name the terminals on the list, he said projects in the Gulf of Mexico were the most likely targets.
Regasification terminals convert liquified natural gas state back into a gaseous state for transportation along traditional pipeline networks. Natural gas is liquified to so it can be transported over long distances.
Following a review of its LNG strategy late last year, Statoil is focusing on selling its expanding natural gas output into the North Atlantic market - the fastest-growing gas market in the world.
Statoil already has a majority stake in the Cove Point LNG regasification terminal on the U.S. east coast. It plans to ship most of the output from its 190 billion cubic meter Snoehvit project in northern Norway to Cove Point, which has capacity of 2.7 BCM a year. Statoil plans to expand capacity at Cove Point to 10 BCM a year by 2008.
The Norwegian company is attempting to use its expanded Cove Point capacity as leverage for a 20% stake in Gazprom OAO's (GSPBEX.RS) 3.2 trillion cubic meter Shtokman project, which is likely to include an LNG phase. The additional capacity would give Gazprom an entry point for its Shtokman gas.
Additional regasification plants in the U.S. - where LNG terminals are in short supply relative to demand - would boost Statoil's bargaining power for entry into other large LNG projects.
Besides the Barents Sea, the company is attempting to expand international LNG production in Nigeria and Venezuela and is looking at equity stakes in LNG production projects in Qatar, Iran and Angola. It is also considering its Algerian gas prospects as possible LNG projects.
According to U.S. government data, there are five offshore and eight onshore
proposed LNG regasification terminals in the Gulf of Mexico, mostly in Lousiana and Texas. Sempra Energy (SRE), Cheniere Energy (LNG) and ExxonMobil (XOM) are the primary project developers, but few of the projects have yet to be approved by local and national authorities.
-By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; +47 22 20 10 58; ian.talley@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-21-05 1248ET |
