Corridor natural gas terminals target Japanese market

Published Sep 21, 2011 at 6:00 am (Updated Oct 12, 2011)

One liquefied natural gas terminal along the Interstate 10/12 corridor has gotten approval to ship fuel to Japan, and another is seeking clearance for exports to the country, Bloomberg News reports. The news service says Cheniere Energy, the Houston-based Blackstone Group–backed owner of the Sabine Pass terminal, got approval to ship fuel to Japan in May. The Lake Charles facility is also seeking clearance for exports. Liquefied natural gas prices are surging to a three-year high as demand from Japan, China and India outpaces supply increases. Record Japanese imports to replace nuclear power after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi disaster, plus a 27% jump in China’s first-half purchases, may send prices to about $20 per million British thermal units this winter, up 71% from 2010 and the highest since 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The world’s spare production capacity shrank about 50% this year as consumption grew, and will continue to decline through 2014, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. tells Bloomberg. To read the rest of this week’s 10/12 Corridor Weekly, click here.