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Monday, 01 December, 2008, 22:10 GMT | more >>

Woodside on Singapore LNG call list



By Damon Evans 

Photo by Reuters


Woodside Energy said today it had been short-listed for stage 2 of Singapore’s liquefied natural gas aggregator project that could see the Australian giant tie up long-term supply deals for either its Pluto or Browse developments.

Perth-based Woodside was well placed to take the contracts due to the close proximity of its fields to Singapore and its ability to offer “a reliable, safe and secure supply of LNG”, Woodside chief executive Don Voelte told a press conference today.

If successful in the final stage of the selection process, Woodside will be given exclusive rights to import LNG into Singapore up to a maximum of 3 million tonnes per annum – or the full phase 1 capacity – and sell re-gasified volumes.

“We will either bring gas from Pluto, Browse or Sunrise. Browse is the main target for this,” Voelte said.

The Australian outfit has already agreed to negotiate sales contracts with Petrochina and Taiwan’s CPC for 2 million tonnes of gas each per annum, possibly stretching to 3 million tonnes per annum.

This would absorb about 40% of Browse’s resource said Voelte.

“Singapore fits perfectly for 20% of the gas as we are looking for a total of five parties for Browse,” he said.

Voelte also said the Pluto project, set to come on stream by 2012, will have about 1 million tonnes of LNG available per year that could land on Singapore’s doorstep.

Last May Singapore introduced a special 5% tax rate through to 2017 on income from LNG trading as part of its plans to make the city a regional gas-trading hub.

As an aggregator, arbitrage opportunities are appealing to Woodside, but the company's first major focus will be to supply LNG into Singapore, the company said.

“We trade LNG at Woodside – know how to do that – no big trick. There is a lot of arbitrage coming into the world,” said Voelte.

Woodside also said that they may be willing to take investments from Singaporean sovereign wealth funds for liquefaction plants, pipelines, ships or regasification terminals, but added no resource equity would be offered.

The terminal’s 30-hectare site allows for expansion to six million tpa and proposals from potential terminal partners outlining such an expansion would be welcome, Singapore’s Minister for State and Industry S Iswaran, said last year.

Singapore is looking to initially import one million tpa in 2012 and envisages ramping up supplies to 3 million tpa over the next five years.

At present, Singapore receives pipeline gas from neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia via sales contracts linked to the price of high sulphur fuel oil.

Singapore's Energy Market Authority last year appointed Singapore Power subsidiary PowerGas to build and operate the LNG plant.

The LNG import terminal will be built on the south-western part of Jurong Island, which is home to refineries and petrochemical plans. Site works are expected to be ready by the end of this year, with building to start next year.


Thursday, 06 March, 2008, 04:53 GMT  | last updated: Thursday, 06 March, 2008, 07:54 GMT

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