Company 

Reason for Nomination

Cheniere 

CME Group

Excelerate Energy

ExxonMobil & Qatar Petroleum

On February 5, 2019, GPLNG was transformed from an existing LNG import terminal and pipeline to a world scale natural gas transportation, liquefaction and LNG export company as owners - affiliates of Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil - announced a positive final investment decision for the Sabine Pass, Texas facility. The approximately $10 billion decision culminated nearly seven years of design, development and permitting efforts. On the same day, Golden Pass awarded a multi-billion dollar EPC contract for the project to a joint venture of Chiyoda International Corporation, McDermott International Inc. and Zachry Group. Then, Golden Pass executed a 20-year firm transportation agreement with Enable Midstream Partners. A few weeks later, Ocean LNG entered into a binding LNG SPA with Golden Pass to offtake and market all the LNG volumes to be produced by GPLNG – and is the largest single LNG SPA ever signed. Construction began in the second quarter of 2019 on the three train, about 16 million tons per year, liquefaction plant. Operations are expected to begin in 2024. Additionally, once operational, GPLNG will be one of the largest purchasers of natural gas in the country. Golden Pass leads the second wave of US LNG exports. Collectively, the new production will move the US from the #3 global LNG producer slot to the #1 slot, thereby supporting the country’s goal of energy dominance. It will help unlock thousands of upstream jobs and generations of production of clean, reliable natural gas.

Gas Natural Acu (GNA)

As LNG supply increases, development of greenfield markets becomes increasingly important. Gas Natural Acu (GNA) is a great example of BP, Siemens and Prumo working together in a joint venture to deliver a new source of flexible lower carbon power in Brazil.

GNA is an integrated LNG-to-Power project located in the Port of Acu, Brazil, consisting of flexible LNG supply, regas and power generation. Phase I is for up to 1.3 mtpa LNG supply for a 1.3 GW power plant for a term of 23 years starting Jan 2021. Phase II adds up to 1.7 mtpa LNG supply for a 1.7 GW power plant for a 25 year term starting 2 years later. There is also potential for an additional 3.5 GW. Phase I construction is 87% complete, with the FSRU due in the port in 1Q20. The project has completed over 9 million work-hours without a lost time injury, and the workforce on site peaked in September at ~5400 workers, with more than 40% from the local municipality. GNA is having a very positive social impact on the local community with 330 students now graduated from its Professional Qualification Programme, and over half employed on site. GNA has also supported the “Ela Pode” (She Can) initiative with employment workshops, and has established a local recruitment database. World Bank recognised GNAs social and environmental programs as world class. GNA has recently been awarded Power Financing of the Year and Infrastructure Financing of the Year by Latin Finance for its complex, innovative financing structure for Phase I. On his recent visit to the project, the Brazil Minister of Mines remarked, “It is with satisfaction and pride as a Brazilian and minister to know of this LNG Terminal being developed here within the Acu complex which is fundamental for the future of our country. I leave here with a sparkle in my eyes.”

H-Energy

To become the first independent FSRU live operator in W. India. India’s gas demand is expected to rise significantly with its growing economy. With limited domestic gas production, LNG imports will be key in meeting its energy requirements. A Floating Storage and Re-Gasification Unit (FSRU) based LNG terminal offers more flexibility in operations, flexible redeployment, has lower capital requirement and has faster turnaround time. Considering the given benefits and market conditions, H-Energy pioneered in setting up India’s first FSRU based LNG terminal project. HE’s FSRU based LNG terminal is located at Jaigarh port in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. The given terminal will be first FSRU based LNG regasification project in India with a nameplate capacity of 4.0 MMTPA. The FSRU has storage capacity of 1,45,000 m3 and is capable of reloading LNG onto other LNG vessels and providing bunkering services. HE has strategically selected Jaigarh Port on the West Coast of India as location for its FSRU based LNG terminal. The Jaigarh port is an all-weather and deep water port. It has a draft of about 15 meters at the jetty and hosts a breakwater facilitating 24X7, 365 days operations. HE completed the construction of associated facilities including Jetty, Approach trestle etc in a record time of 14 months. HE’s Jaigarh FSRU project will connect the National Gas Grid at Dabhol through a 60 km tie-in pipeline which will enable it to supply gas to customers located in Western, Northern and Southern India. The project is scheduled to begin commercial operations by Q1 2020. With the given FSRU based LNG terminal project, HE strives to bring in more efficiency, agility and innovation in LNG terminal operations.

Novatek

On 5 September at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, NOVATEK announced the final investment decision, or FID, to proceed forward with Arctic LNG 2. The project will consist of three (3) liquefaction trains using gravity based structures, or GBS, with overall LNG capacity of 19.8 million tons per annum, or 6.6 million tons per GBS. The scheduled launch of the first GBS is 2023, with the second and third GBSs’ launched in 2024 and 2026, respectively. The estimated capital expenditures to launch the project at full capacity is $21.3 equivalent. Arctic LNG 2 is the largest FID decision in 2019. Using innovation and technology, we have reduced our capital costs by approximately 30% from our Yamal LNG project, as well as reduced our geographical and environmental footprint to one-quarter of the size for each GBS train. The partners for Arctic LNG 2 include NOVATEK (60%), Total (10%), CNPC (10%), CNOOC (10%) and Mitsui/JOGMEC (10%). Each participant will offtake long-term volumes in proportion to their equity holdings either FOB Murmansk or FOB Kamchatka. The prolific hydrocarbon resources on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas presents NOVATEK with the potential to build an LNG platform of 70+ million tons per annum. Our LNG platform represents one of the most cost-competitive LNG options globally. Moreover, we have clearly demonstrated our ability to deliver LNG to all corners of the world, and we have delivered our natural gas modules to more than 26 countries since commencement of Yamal LNG. With the optimization of our logistical model and our ability to utilize the Norther Sea Route for eastbound cargos, we have already made an impact on global LNG trade.

Pavilion Energy

While Pavilion Energy had well-defined markets in Asia-Pacific, a clear supply base in Singapore as well as some inroads into LNG trading, it lacked the critical mass to fully maximise its potential as a portfolio player. In assessing the organisation’s strategy in early 2018, the company not only identified the necessity of having access to the European market, but also perfectly captured the opportunity for Pavilion Energy to meaningfully expand internationally by growing its LNG portfolio. The resolute determination to include access into Europe resulted in the June 2019 announcement of Pavilion Energy’s acquisition of Iberdrola’s LNG assets. As part of the deal, Pavilion Energy would take over a portfolio which comprises 4 mtpa of long-term LNG sale and supply contracts. The portfolio also includes long-term regasification capacity of about 2 mtpa at Britain’s Grain LNG terminal, access to regasification capacity in Spain and on a pipeline between Spain and France, as well as a time charter of a newly built LNG vessel. In a related transaction, Pavilion Energy also concluded a gas sales agreement with Iberdrola Generacíon España to supply natural gas into Spain. Effectively, this deal was in many ways a transformative step for Pavilion Energy as it pushed the organisation in a unique niche in the market. Specific to Europe, the gas sales agreement for supply into Spain elevated Pavilion Energy into a position as a mid-scale portfolio player with firm access and supply into Europe.

Another key achievement was the establishment of a fully-operational Energy Financial Solutions (EFS) business unit within a span of nine months. The company identified a clear gap in the Asian energy risk market and an entry point for Pavilion Energy to extend its integrated energy offerings with energy risk management solutions. Today, Pavilion Energy is providing EFS as a value-added offering to existing downstream customers, LNG trading partners and beyond. The unit has set in place 10 ISDAs with key counterparts and executed several trades, most notably having done the first JKM-brokered trade during Asian hours – setting what could be a precedent of Asian players taking the lead in the energy risk market.

Tokyo Gas

For leadership in introducing LNG as a choice for downstream customers looking for net-zero emission energy options. Providing energy for everyone, while reducing its negative impact on the planet and the air we breathe, is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The 2015 Paris Agreement marked a step-change in the global effort to tackle climate change. To limit the negative impacts of climate change, society must get to a state of net-zero emissions in the second half of this century . In a netzero world, remaining emissions are offset by efforts such as reforestation and large-scale industrial facilities built to capture and store CO2. Overall, no additional greenhouse gas emissions enter the atmosphere. As the cleanest burning hydrocarbon, natural gas has become a cleaner choice for those looking to reduce emissions and improve air quality. However, there are still concerns that while it burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels (emitting lower levels of emissions such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides), there are still emissions from the production, transport and end-use of LNG. With businesses and people increasingly looking for ways to achieve a net-zero carbon footprint, LNG, while being cleaner than other fossil fuels, is at risk of not being a fuel of first choice for them. Tokyo Gas had the foresight to identify the growing need for carbon neutral energy products and take steps to address this need proactively. Working with Shell, Tokyo Gas signed up for the world’s first carbon neutral LNG cargo, which used nature-based credits to offset the ‘end to end value chain’ emissions (from exploration and production to transportation, regasification and end use). Nature-based projects protect, transform or restore land and enable nature to add oxygen and absorb more CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. Each carbon credit is subject to a third-party verification process and represents the avoidance or removal of 1 tonne of CO2. Using nature-based offsets in conjunction with LNG provides a unique ‘first of a kind’ clean energy solution. Securing the supply of carbon neutral LNG, Tokyo Gas identified downstream demand for this and has recently signed a deal for Japan’s first carbon neutral city gas supply. From next fiscal year , carbon neutral gas will be used for Gas Co-generation System in district heating and cooling plant inside Tokyo’s Otemachi Park Building and for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell in the Marunouchi Building. For the LNG industry, this is an outstanding contribution as it opens up an entirely new sector of demand for LNG and gives a new option to customers as they progress in their energy transition journeys. For hard to decarbonize sectors like manufacturing and transport, this is a great breakthrough which will enable the world to tackle climate change yet meet the growing energy needs.

Total

In 2019, Total has finalized some operations that will bring its LNG portfolio from 22 Mt/y in 2018 to over 50 Mt/y in 2025. Such a growth sustains Total's strong position in a fast growing LNG market. Three operations will strengthen the position of TOTAL in the key areas for future LNG supply: Mozambique, Russia and the US:

• In September 2019, Total announced the closing of the acquisition of Anadarko’s 26.5% operated interest in the Mozambique LNG project (12.9 M/t, FID in June 2019, production to start by 2024).
• In September 2019, Total, Novatek and the other project shareholders approved the final investment decision (FID) for Arctic LNG 2 (19.8 Mt/y, first LNG by 2023).
• In June 2019, through an agreement with Toshiba, TOTAL will take over a 20-year tolling agreement for 2.2 Mt/y of LNG from Freeport LNG train 3 (commercial operations to start by Q2 2020).

Total has also been very active in developing new outlets for its LNG portfolio. Two announcements in October 19 are iconic in that respect:

• Total has expanded its partnership with the Adani Group to contribute to the development of the Indian natural gas market. Total will bring its LNG and retail expertise and will supply LNG to Adani Gas Limited. Total and Adani will also establish a joint venture to market LNG in India and Bangladesh.
• Total’s first large liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker vessel has been launched, following the signature of a long-term charter contract between Total and Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) in February 2018. After delivery in 2020, the bunker vessel will operate in Northern Europe, where it will supply LNG to commercial vessels, including 300,000 tons per year for CMA CGM’s nine ultra-large newbuild containerships in Europe-Asia trade, for a period of at least 10 years.

Total Mozambique LNG

For bringing the greenfield Mozambique LNG project to FID which required a huge effort across a number of areas - not least of which was Marketing. Achieving 11 MTPA of long term sales to predominantly end-user buyers was perhaps the project’s most critical success factor, especially in light of current market circumstances. Mozambique LNG may be one of the last examples of a large greenfield project to be developed in the traditional fashion. The Area 1 Operator and its Partners successfully navigated a myriad of technical, commercial, financial and political challenges to reach alignment with the Government of Mozambique in support of positive FID. The decision to proceed with the construction of Mozambique’s first onshore LNG project is further evidence of the opening up of a major new global gas supply region and ensures Mozambique will become a major player in the global LNG industry.

Venture Global LNG

Venture Global LNG will produce the lowest price LNG from the USA from 3 sites: Calcasieu Pass, Plaquemines and Delta. In August 2019, Venture Global took FID on its first site, the Calcasieu Pass LNG facility in Louisiana, USA. Calcasieu Pass is unique in global LNG: VG has dramatically reduced cost, schedule risk and construction time by manufacturing standardized 0.6MTPA LNG trains in proven factories in Italy. Calcasieu Pass will use trains No.1 through No.18; Plaquemines will use trains No.19 through No.54 (all identical). Their supply partners are: Shell, BP, PGNIG, Repsol, Edison and GALP. Their Engineering partner, using proven technology is Baker Hughes and their EPC contractor is Kiewit. Their equity partner on Calcasieu Pass is Stonepeak. The site is on budget and on time to produce the first commercial LNG cargos in 2022.