Shell, BP Call On US-EU Task Force to Intervene in LNG Dispute - Bloomberg
Shell, BP Call On US-EU Task Force to Intervene in LNG Dispute - Bloomberg
Shell, BP Call On US-EU Task Force to Intervene in LNG Dispute
- Europe majors say US supplier reneging on long-term contracts
- Venture Global says accusations false, request is outrageous
An LNG tanker makes its way near the site of Venture Global LNGs facility at Cameron Pass in Cameron, Louisiana.Source: The Washington Post/Getty Images
European oil majors have asked a cross-Atlantic government task force to intervene in a dispute with Venture Global LNG Inc., warning that the US supplier “reneging” on contracts to supply liquefied natural gas threatens Europe’s energy security and undermines the US as a reliable supplier.
In separate letters, Shell Plc and BP Plc accuse Venture Global of “misconduct” for withholding fossil-fuel cargo agreed under long-term contracts and instead opting to sell LNG on the spot market at higher prices. The letters Bloomberg News has seen were sent by the companies in October to an energy-security task force set up by the US and European Union.
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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.