Shell agrees term lease of PipeChina's LNG receiving terminals
SINGAPORE, July 28 (Reuters) — Shell said on Friday it has agreed to lease liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals operated by state energy infrastructure firm PipeChina under a medium- and long-term basis.
Shell is the first international oil and gas major to sign such an agreement with PipeChina, it said on the official WeChat account of its China unit.
The statement did not provide detail on when the lease would begin, its duration or the capacity of gas it would handle.
In early 2021 Shell became one of the first global gas players qualified to use PipeChina’s terminal facilities, the company added.
Established in late 2019, PipeChina operates seven LNG terminals along China’s eastern and southern coast with a total annual capacity of nearly 28 million metric tons.
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.