竞争和成本正阻碍着美国LNG产业发展

由于成本通胀和融资竞争加剧，美国十多个拟议中的LNG出口项目可能会停滞

自地缘政治冲突、买家放弃管道天然气以来，欧洲LNG的需求量飙升

未来五年，开发商可能会启动价值1000亿美元的新LNG项目，但争取长期买家和融资的竞争加剧是阻碍该项目发展的重要因素

(资料图片仅供参考)

中国石化新闻网讯 据油价网4月17日消息，成本通胀以及争取长期买家和融资的竞争加剧，可能会阻碍美国拟议的十多个LNG出口项目中的一些项目。

目前全球对LNG的需求很高，因为欧洲国家急于建造进口终端并购买LNG，以弥补管道天然气供应极低或完全缺乏的影响。

尽管LNG需求激增，美国天然气储量丰富，但美国下一个LNG出口热潮可能会停滞，因为成本飙升，且融资随着利率的上升而变得更加复杂。

美国最大的LNG出口商切尼尔能源公司（Cheniere Energy）的创始人Charif Souki对英国《金融时报》表示：“天然气价格大幅上涨。”他在2015年之前一直担任Cheniere Energy的首席执行官。

Souki说：“能真正处理这种庞大工程的专业建设公司越来越少。”他现在领导着Driftwood项目的开发商Tellurian，该项目近年来在筹集资金和获得主要长期客户方面遇到了障碍。

除了项目成本飙升和利率上升外，美国LNG出口项目开发商还面临许多买家不愿承诺20年供应协议的问题。

能源咨询公司伍德麦肯兹在今年早些时候的一份报告中表示，价格高企和能源安全需求为LNG的长协签订需求创造了强劲动力，美国LNG出口设施的开发商可能在未来五年内启动价值1000亿美元的新工厂。

然而，价格波动、成本和融资问题可能意味着，在这10年内开始运营的项目可能比此前预计的要少。

工业市场情报提供商工业信息资源公司(IIR)上个月在研究中表示，美国和加拿大新的LNG出口项目显示出加速的迹象，但天然气价格的波动让未来供需的押注变得困难。

何胜男 编译自油价网

原文如下：

Competition And Costs Are Threatening The U.S. LNG Boom

More than a dozen proposed LNG export projects in the United States could stall due to cost inflation and increased competition to secure financing.

Demand for LNG has soared since the warand buyers spurned pipeline gas.

Developers could launch $100 billion worth of new LNG projects over the next five years, but securing long-term deals and financing is a major hurdle.

Cost inflation and increased competition to secure long-term buyers and financing could hold back some of the more than a dozen proposed LNG export projects in the United States.

Demand for LNG globally is currently high, as European countries rush to build import terminals and purchase liquefied natural gas to offset the very low, or complete lack ofpipeline gas supply.

Despite the surge in LNG demand and the abundance of natural gas in the United States, America’s next LNG export boom could stall as costs have surged and financing has become more complicated with the higher interest rates.

“It’s dramatically more expensive,” Charif Souki, who founded Cheniere Energy and was the CEO of what is now the top U.S. LNG exporter until 2015, told the Financial Times.

“There are fewer and fewer construction companies that can actually handle these kinds of loads,” said Souki, who now leads Tellurian, the developer of the Driftwood project that has hit snags in its ability to raise funds and secure major long-term customers in recent years.

Apart from soaring project costs and rising interest rates, U.S. LNG export project developers face the issue with many buyers’ reluctance to commit to 20-year-long supply deals.

Developers of U.S. LNG export facilities could launch $100 billion worth of new plants over the next five years as high prices and the need for energy security create strong momentum for long-term LNG demand and contracts, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a report earlier this year.

Yet, price volatility and the cost and financing issues could mean that fewer projects could see the start of operations this decade than previously thought.

New U.S. and Canadian LNG export projects show signs of accelerating but volatile natural gas prices are making bets on future supply and demand difficult, industrial market intelligence provider Industrial Info Resources (IIR) said in research last month.