加拿大天然氣創紀錄的 3,000 英里航程為亞洲提供緩解

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Record 3,000-Mile Voyage for Canadian Gas Offers Relief for Asia

Geoffrey Morgan

Mon, February 13, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. PST

(Bloomberg) -- A stream of natural gas that’s being unleashed from British Columbia’s vast reservoirs is blazing a record-setting path through global markets, providing hope for Canada’s beleaguered drillers and relief for energy-hungry economies around the world.

Tourmaline Oil Corp., Canada’s largest natural gas producer, has started shipping the fuel on a roundabout, 3,000-mile journey from northeast British Columbia to Chicago and then southbound to an LNG-chilling facility on the Gulf Coast in Texas. From there, it’s being shipped to ports in Asia or Europe on voyages that can range from 5,000 to 17,000 nautical miles, depending on the route.

The arrangement promises higher prices for Tourmaline’s gas and a new source of the fuel for European and Asian buyers who are scouring the globe for supplies as Russia’s war in Ukraine exacerbates a global energy crunch.

The gas’s journey is believed to be the longest path from a natural gas well to a liquefaction facility in the world. It’s also the first significant amount of Canadian gas to be contracted for markets beyond North America, a milestone for an industry that has struggled with heavily discounted prices because of a lack of domestic LNG facilities.

Tourmaline’s 15-year agreement to supply 140 million cubic feet of gas per day to Cheniere Energy Inc. took effect in January, enabling the company to send the equivalent of one ship per month from North America to Asian markets, where gas prices are roughly 10 times higher than in the Canadian spot market.

Tourmaline is being paid around $20 per thousand cubic feet for its gas, minus 86 cents for pipeline transportation costs and undisclosed liquefaction and shipping costs. The current price of natural gas at Canada’s AECO hub is $2.05.

“We’re really happy to be receiving the price that we’re receiving,” said Jamie Heard, manager of capital markets at Tourmaline.

With local gas prices languishing and domestic LNG projects stalled, multiple Canadian producers have cast about for export options. ARC Resources Ltd. and Seven Generations Energy, which are now combined, have also signed supply agreements with US Gulf Coast liquefaction terminals, but those supply deals don’t begin until 2025. ARC didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Fortis Inc.’s British Columbia subsidiary operates a small LNG facility near Vancouver that supplies the fuel to the province’s coastal ferries and has shipped occasional, small batches from its own supplies in shipping containers to China. A company spokesperson said its last shipment was in January 2021.

Tourmaline’s long journey to market illustrates Canada’s “missed opportunity” in helping meet global LNG demand, said Cameron Gingrich, managing partner of markets and strategy at Incorrys, a gas consulting company in Calgary.

“It’s got to be a little disappointing for the Canadian industry,” Gingrich said in an interview.

Still, there is some hope for the industry in the decade ahead. Incorrys estimates the country’s LNG exports will rise from zero this year to 4 billion cubic feet per day when the Shell Plc-led LNG Canada project is built and expanded. A smaller LNG project called Woodfibre is also under construction.

“Canada is definitely late to the LNG party,” Raymond James analyst Jeremy McCrea said in an interview.

Translation

（彭博社）- 從卑斯省巨大的儲備中釋放出的一股天然氣正在全球市場上開闢一條創紀錄的道路，為加拿大陷入困境的鑽井工人帶來了希望，也為世界各地能源匱乏的經濟體帶來了改善。

加拿大最大的天然氣生產商 Tourmaline Oil Corp. 已經開始運輸燃料從, 通過 3,000 英里的迂回灣路,由卑斯省東北部到芝加哥，然後向南運送到德克薩斯州墨西哥灣沿岸的 LNG 冷卻設施。 從那裡，它被運往亞洲或歐洲的港口，航程從 5,000 到 17,000 海裡不等，具體取決於路線。

由於俄羅斯在烏克蘭的戰爭加劇了全球能源緊縮，該安排承諾 Tourmaline 的天然氣可賣到更高價格，並為正在全球尋找供應的歐洲和亞洲買家提供新的燃料來源。

這天然氣的旅程, 被認為是世界上最長由天然氣井到液化設施的路徑。 這也是加拿大首次為北美以外的市場承包大量天然氣，對於一個因缺乏國內液化天然氣設施而在價格大幅折扣中苦苦掙扎的行業來說，這是一個里程碑。

Tourmaline 每天向 Cheniere Energy Inc. 供應 1.4 億立方英尺天然氣的 15 年協議於 1 月生效，使該公司能夠每月從北美向亞洲市場發送相當於一艘船的天然氣到亞洲市場, 當地的天然氣價格約高出加拿大現貨市場約十倍。

Tourmaline 的天然氣賣出價格約為每千立方英尺 20 美元，減去管道運輸成本和未公開的液化和運輸成本86 美分。 加拿大 AECO 中心的當前天然氣價格為 2.05 美元。

Tourmaline 資本市場經理 Jamie Heard 表示： “對於我們收到的價格我們真的很高興。”

隨著當地天然氣價格低迷和國內液化天然氣項目停滯不前，多家加拿大生產商已考慮出口選擇。 現已合併的 ARC Resources Ltd. 和 Seven Generations Energy 也與美國墨西哥灣沿岸液化碼頭簽署了供應協議，但這些供應協議要到 2025 年才會開始。ARC 沒有回應置評請求。

Fortis Inc. 的卑斯省子公司在溫哥華附近經營一家小型液化天然氣設施，為該省的沿海渡輪供應燃料，並偶爾從自己的供應中,用貨櫃箱運送小批量燃料到中國。 公司發言人表示，其最後一批貨物是在 2021 年 1 月。

加卡里天然氣諮詢公司在 Incorrys 的市場和戰略執行合夥人 Cameron Gingrich 表示，Tourmaline的漫長進入市場旅程, 表明加拿大在幫助滿足全球液化天然氣需求方面 “錯失了機會” 。

Gingrich在接受採訪時說： “這對加拿大工業來說肯定有點令人失望。”

儘管如此，該行業在未來十年仍有一些希望。 Incorrys 估計，當蜆殼石油公司牽頭的液化天然氣加拿大項目建成和擴建後，該國的液化天然氣出口量將從今年的零增加到每天40億立方英尺。 一個名為 Woodfibre 的小型液化天然氣項目也在建設中。

Raymond James 的分析師 Jeremy McCrea 在接受採訪時表示： “加拿大在液化天然氣方面肯定遲到了。”

              So, Canadas’ natural gas has started shipping on 3,000-mile journey from northeast British Columbia to Chicago and then southbound to an LNG-chilling facility on the Gulf Coast in Texas. From there, it will be shipped to ports in Asia or Europe. It is estimated that Canada’s LNG exports will rise from zero in 2023 to 4 billion cubic feet per day when a Shell Plc-led LNG Canada project is completed. This decision will provide relief for energy-hungry economies around the world.

Note:

1. Raymond James Ltd. is a Canadian subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc. Established in 1962, the parent firm made its initial public offering in 1983 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange using the ticker symbol RJF. Raymond James Ltd. is a member of the: Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), Investment Funds Institute of Canada, Canadian Investor Protection Fund. (https://ca.linkedin.com/company/raymondjames-canada)