April 5, 2016

Active rigs:

	4/5/2016	04/05/2015	04/05/2014	04/05/2013	04/05/2012
Active Rigs	29	94	192	187	208

RBN Energy: The Challenge of LNG/Gas Specification Compatibility.

As if the international market for liquefied natural gas weren’t complicated enough, add the facts that 1) the LNG shipped from various export terminals differs in chemical composition, and 2) the specifications for the natural gas consumed by various countries around the world differ too. In other words, you can’t assume that the heating value and other important characteristics of the super-cooled gas in the LNG shipped from exporting country A will align with the gas specs enforced in importing country B. That’s a big deal to LNG exporters and traders who would like to be able to ship their LNG to wherever it would make the most money, but who need to consider a lot more. Today, we look into the increasing significance of LNG/gas spec differences as the old rules of the LNG market break down.

We’ve been giving increasing attention to the international LNG market, mostly because the first liquefaction/LNG export facilities in the Lower 48 states are coming online (Train 1 at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass is already up and running, and Train 2 is nearing completion) and because natural gas flows to these facilities are starting to affect U.S. gas markets.

Our Drill Down report LNG Is a Battlefield provided a big-picture view of things, and our Begin the Sabine and Commencing Countdown, Engines On series described the pipeline infrastructure feeding Sabine Pass and the initial gas flows to the liquefaction/LNG export facility.

More recently, in There Will Be an Answer, L-N-G and Southern Cross(ing), we looked at how a glut of LNG supply (mostly from new Australian and U.S. liquefaction/export facilities) continues to reshape the international LNG trade, and makes Europe and South America more likely recipients of U.S.-sourced LNG than many would have thought just a few months ago.

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Her Reward For Cleaning The Oven

The before picture was here.

This is her reward -- Sophia loves chili on a baked potato at McAllister's.