Specialist
Former divisional leader at Cheniere Energy Inc
Agenda
- Cheniere Energy's (AMEX: LNG) operating environment including secular trends
- Project development – Corpus Christi expansion and Sabine Pass liquefaction
- LNG (liquefied natural gas) growth outlook – gas-to-power applications and energy transition
- Global dynamics and longer-term outlook
Questions
1.
What is your overview of the US LNG [liquefied natural gas] market? What key market dynamics and trends should we monitor?
2.
How much US LNG capacity do you think may have been delayed or slowed by coronavirus? How do you assess LNG availability in North America where we are under-capacity, and how is this trending? Is there a limit to how much can come here?
3.
Do you think a certain percentage of planned and proposed North American projects may not ever reach FID [final investment decision], on top of the FIDs that could be delayed for 1-3 years?
4.
How much can US exports rise longer term without new units entering the market, perhaps if only 2-3 projects enter before the end of 2030?
5.
Could you describe Cheniere’s operations? What does the company do and where does it do this? How would you classify its assets, thinking about core or non-core?
6.
How do you assess Cheniere’s market positioning, not only domestically but globally, given global demand growth?
7.
Do you think Cheniere can continue securing longer-term contracts? Could you expand on the hurdles to securing these contracts in newer, more emerging markets?
8.
How would you assess the utilisation rates for Cheniere’s LNG terminals over the next few months? What factors should we monitor, perhaps beyond that time frame?
9.
What are your thoughts on Cheniere’s project development and its likely progress in the next year or so? The company has an expansion in Corpus Christi and an additional Sabine Pass train or liquefaction unit. How would you say these developments and their progress tie into the market?
10.
How do you assess Cheniere’s new timeline for the Sabine Pass Train 6? It’s estimated to come online ahead of schedule in H1 2022.
11.
Do you think Cheniere’s capacity will be needed in the shorter term when these projects come online, given we discussed growing demand? When might it be needed, given the projects come online quite soon and the LNG market is still emerging from the pandemic?
12.
What do you think would make sense for Cheniere next, expanding to further options aside from Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi’s one-dimensionality? There have been ideas such as a West Coast plant having closer access to Asian markets or an FLNG [floating liquefied natural gas] facility.
13.
Cheniere reported a record Q1 2021, noting about 133 cargoes from its LNG facility, and upwardly revised its 2021 guidance. How do you assess the quarterly growth potential of the company’s cargoes? Might there be an upper limit, especially because we are waiting for some projects to come online?
14.
What are your thoughts on Cheniere’s mix or split of longer-term, 5-10-year contracts vs the short-term capacity that’s contracted out?
15.
What is your outlook for the market development of carbon-neutral cargo, such as Cheniere’s deal with Shell, given the impending energy transition and its potential effects on LNG and Cheniere?
16.
Cheniere’s management noted its focus on reaching investment-grade debt in the coming years on a fairly straightforward path. How confident are you in its ability to get there, considering any potential risks?
17.
Is there anything else we should highlight, or anything else you want to mention around your longer-term outlook for Cheniere and US LNG?
