Europe: the Official New Market for U.S. LNG
LONDON, June 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
At the beginning of this year, Energy Union VP Šefčovič and Commissioner Cañete from the European Commission for Climate Action & Energy presented their Energy Security Package updates which highlighted natural gas as the cornerstone of Europe's energy transition. As well as meeting the requirements of COP-21 the critical issue underpinning the European Commission's mandate is security of supply. VP Šefčovič and the Energy Union, in particular, pledge total support for supply diversity and have encouraged new LNG supply from the United States.
The U.S. natural gas revolution has gathered pace in recent years as vast shale supplies have now created a viable market for the country to become a net exporter of energy. More than 30 projects totalling 40 bcf/d in export capacity have been proposed in the U.S. and what seemed inconceivable to most less than a decade ago has now become a reality. The evening of April 26th 2016 will be remembered as an historic milestone in America's natural gas evolution as Cheniere Energy's first European shipment of LNG from America's abundant shale reserves was received by Portugal's Galp Energia when the Creole Spirit docked at Sines. Although much of Cheniere's LNG is expected to be brought to Europe over the next few years, liquidity in spot-price markets have seen several other countries snap up LNG from the Sabine Pass terminal including Brazil, Argentina, India and Dubai.
Cheniere's arrival on European shores is pertinent to this November's European Autumn Gas Conference | EAGC for several reasons, not least because Jean Abiteboul, President, International, Cheniere Energy will be delivering a Keynote Presentation at EAGC's latest host city of The Hague. Galp's spot gas deal demonstrates that European spot gas prices are the most competitive because of low prices in other parts of the world. Europe also has both regasification capacity and available LNG storage. The European transportation netback price is a further driver given that higher costs may come from having to ship LNG longer distances. But is there a hungry market for natural gas in Europe? How can demand growth be stimulated? From November 14th-16th the EAGC will deliver both the Traders Day and Main Conference programs to debate critical issues and challenge ideas on natural gas trading, security of supply, demand advocacy and building new markets following COP-21. Comprehensive updates can be found at: http://www.theeagc.com
SOURCE European Autumn Gas Conference, EAGC
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