Pipeline leak dampens Atlantic LNG production

Dec. 1, 2014
Atlantic LNG (ALNG) reported a 35% reduction in LNG production because of insufficient natural gas supply from Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Co. (NGC).

Atlantic LNG (ALNG) reported a 35% reduction in LNG production because of insufficient natural gas supply from Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Co. (NGC).

ALNG said it was notified by NGC that a leak was discovered on their 56-in. Cross Island Pipeline (CIP). The CIP line is owned and operated by NGC and is one of three sources of gas supply to the ALNG facility.

The company said it remained in close contact with NGC to receive status updates as they become available and will continue to carefully monitor the situation.

The news comes at a time when ALNG has already been suffering from lower production due to ongoing gas curtailment in Trinidad and Tobago.

ALNG Pres. Nigel Darlow complained that the company has been forced to operate below its nameplate capacity for the last 2 years.

Darlow said although ALNG sold LNG to more countries than any other global LNG producer, it also was starting to see its prices hurt due to falling oil prices.

“I think it is going to have a depressing or dampening effect on gas or LNG prices and I think we are already seeing that,” he said. “The LNG pricing has come off fairly significantly and a large part of that is because there are a lot of LNG contracts that are effectively oil indexed. So with the declining oil price you have seen a reduction in the LNG pricing.”

Darlow said ALNG has further reduced its sales to the US market and continues to go after the high-priced markets in South America and the Far East.