U.S. gas exporters rush to sell LNG to China
U.S. gas exporters and traders are aiming to grab a bigger chunk of the lucrative, growing business of exporting gas to China, the world’s third-largest buyer, when they accompany Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to China next month.
But the talk may all be hot air if the U.S. suppliers can’t compete with bargain prices agreed on long-term deals with rivals Australia, Qatar and Malaysia, Reuters reports.
According to a list seen by Reuters, 10 of the 29 companies traveling with Ross and U.S President Donald Trump are involved in energy and gas. [L4N1N228C]
Among them are Cheniere Energy Inc, which operates the only U.S. LNG export terminal and Freepoint Commodities, founded and run by David Messer, who led power utility Sempra’s vaunted commodities division. [L4N1N228C]
Their presence underscores the U.S. ambition to sell more of its excess gas abroad as the U.S. shale revolution threatens to upset the global LNG market.
China’s appetite has soared as it embarks on an audacious bid to heat millions of homes across the north by gas for the first time this winter and switch tens of thousands of industrial boilers to the cleaner fuel as part of its push to clear the skies.
Without sufficient domestic output to meet growing demand, imports have surged this year, offering huge potential for major exporting nations such as the United States.
“We’re on the mission to talk to Chinese companies to get something signed up,” said Frederick Jones, founder and chief executive of Delfin Midstream LLC, which is building floating LNG vessels that would sit 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
He’s heading to Beijing on the trip scheduled to begin on Nov. 8 with his chief financial officer Matthew Weil. Delfin has no customers yet for its new terminal, but hopes to “showcase” the company to state-owned and large private companies.
