UPDATE 1-
(Adds Wood Mackenzie comment)
The next wave of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects will be “tougher” to bring online, as companies with existing facilities take advantage of lower costs to expand capacity in coming years, the chief executive of Blackstone Energy Partners said on Wednesday.
Blackstone CEO David Foley said at the Gastech Energy Conference in Houston that only one or two new startup projects may reach a final investment decision (FID) in the next wave of U.S. LNG export projects.
“In terms of liquefaction capacity that gets FID from the U.S., the hit rate will be a lot higher on projects either sponsored by major oil companies or expansions of existing facilities,” Foley said.
The energy-focused private equity group, a unit of Blackstone Group, has owned a stake in Cheniere Energy, the nation’s biggest LNG exporter, since 2012. Cheniere was the first company to build a large LNG export terminal in the lower 48 states, which started shipping to other markets in February 2016........MORE
