Analysts: Most proposed LNG import projects will not survive

By Sean Sullivan

Contrary to the optimism expressed by LNG developers in the face of economic and political challenges, experts said abundant natural gas supply and low prices mean it is not a good time to bet on LNG import terminals at the blueprint stage in North America.

"The pro-LNG import faction has a hard time arguing that we need to bring gas in to address a shortfall of supply," BENTEK Energy LLC Managing Director E. Russell Braziel told SNL Energy on Aug. 26. "They don't have much of a compelling case."

"All the [planned] LNG import terminals were proposed when we were supposed to be running out of domestic supply," said Kelly Bennett, a senior energy analyst at BENTEK. Bennett leads a team that is wrapping up a report on the world outlook for new LNG imports.

Their comments came after Netherlands-based LNG developer 4Gas decided to cancel its proposed MapleLNG facility in Nova Scotia, and as LNG projects in the United States face similar peril.

Projects in the United States also have faced questions about their future, including those being developed by Weaver's Cove Energy LLC in Massachusetts, Calais LNG Project Co. LLC and Downeast LNG LLC in Maine, and Oregon LNG at the mouth of the Columbia River.

More: http://www.snl.com/Interactivex/article.aspx?CdId=A-11638061-10811