For China - which has this year overtaken Japan as the world's top LNG buyer - the deals will be its single largest LNG trade agreement in terms of volumes without an equity stake, a senior Beijing-based gas industry source said. They will also double the volumes China imports from the United States, its sixth-ranked supplier last year with volumes at 3. Both of the year deals are sales and purchase agreements, according to the notice, which did not specify when the supplies would start, but added they were signed last month.
One is for 2. Venture Global also signed a third deal with Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec, to supply 1 mtpa of LNG from its Calcasieu Pass Facility for three years starting March 1, , according to a separate document posted on the U. Sinopec and Venture Global declined to comment. Asian spot prices last week fell to their lowest since March amid a warm northern hemisphere winter, which has reduced demand in key markets such as Japan and Korea, and a glut of supply after plant start-ups in Australia and the US.
The worsening coronavirus epidemic has already forced down crude oil prices , which will feed through to LNG contract prices. Bernstein Research said it expects the virus will have a "profound" effect on oil consumption in China this year, cutting oil demand growth to just , barrels a day, well down on the International Energy Agency's estimate of , barrels a day. The firm said the coronavirus outbreak adds uncertainty to the LNG market where China is the second-largest importer.
A slowdown in China's demand would prolong weak pricing and push out the time when the market comes back into balance. But he said Chevron, which runs the huge Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects in Western Australia, was not as exposed as some others to weak prices because of oil-linked sales contracts across much of its portfolio.
Mr Wirth said Chevron still saw growing demand for LNG and while the near-term market fundamentals were "a bit tough", it was taking a long-term view and would continue to look at opportunities to add to its LNG portfolio. Still, the projects needed to be "the very best", he said, explaining Chevron's decision late last year to write down its 50 per cent stake in the proposed Kitimat LNG project with Woodside Petroleum in western Canada and to seek to sell out.
Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer Help using this website - Accessibility statement. Companies Energy Gas Print article. The simulation of the globe morphs into a teardrop of blue liquid against the white, gridlined background.
The drop of liquid rolls downwards and disappears. We liquefy the gas by cooling it, which shrinks its volume for easier, economical and safe transportation by ship. Zoom in on a vertical cylindrical shape, a simulated pipeline, as it emerges out of the white, gridlined background. Pan down to oblique, horizontal angle of the pipeline as coloured particles flow frame left to frame right, all still against the white background with grey gridlines and shadows.
Pull back to an aerial view of a network of pipes along which particles are flowing, all stemming from one pipe, similar to the shape of a fork, but with many tines.
So, how is liquefied natural gas produced? Natural gas extracted from the ground contains impurities, water and other associated liquids. First it is processed to clean it. It goes through a series of pipes and vessels where gravity helps separate the gas from some of the heavier liquids. Pull back and pan to an aerial view of the whole plant, one of the large towers displaying the Shell logo. Zoom to another section of the plant, showing a single pipeline, through which multi-coloured particles are flowing into a tank.
Zoom to close-up of particles, showing the yellow particles, representing carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, being absorbed into the background, disappearing, leaving green, blue, turquoise and purple particles flowing from frame-left to frame-right. Blue particles, representing water, next veer towards a faint, grey circular opening in the background, disappearing from the simulated flow of particles.
Turquoise particles, representing mainly propane and butane, also veer towards yet another circular opening in the background, leaving many green and some purple particles, representing methane and ethane respectively. Pull back to rear view of green and purple particles flowing away and disappearing to the top of frame as a bright white section slowly opens up at the top of the pipeline, still indicated by the white gridlined background.
Other impurities are then stripped out. The natural gas passes through a water-based solvent that absorbs carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. These would otherwise freeze when the gas is cooled and so cause blockages. Next any remaining water is removed, as this would also freeze. Finally, remaining lighter natural gas liquids — mainly propane and butane — are extracted to be sold separately or used as a refrigerant later in the cooling process.
Traces of mercury are also filtered out. Now the purified natural gas — methane with some ethane — is ready to be liquefied. Zoom to aerial view of a stylised line animation of three heat exchangers, with pipes flowing along the white gridlined background. Zoom to a close-up of the moving particles against the white-grey gridlined background as they decrease in size and cluster together to fill the screen. Dissolve to aerial view of a beaker containing water, casting a shadow on the white surface, and panning to a front view of the beaker.
This happens in heat exchangers. A coolant, chilled by giant refrigerators, absorbs the heat from the natural gas.
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