There was a significant whiff of expectation in the air at the huge LNG2019 meeting in Shanghai last week.
Or as one shipyard chief put it: “The rice has started steaming.”
Company officials dropped extensive hints about how close they are to taking final investment decisions on their new liquefaction projects. Nigeria LNG even named the time, date and place — 11.20am on 31 October in Port Harcourt — while Mozambique LNG’s team took the prize for being barely able to contain themselves about the imminence of the milestone moment.
Expansion plans
Qatar reiterated its expansion plans that will require about 60 LNG carriers and is limbering up to issue a slot tender to yards shortly, while China spoke of its need for up to 80 vessels as its imports expand.
New start-ups will need shipping, either for the producers or the offtakers and possibly some of those in between.
So it was not surprising to see shipowners prowling the stands at the exhibition as they made their rounds at the show or drifting through the evening receptions. And where there are owners, there are also brokers who attended in numbers.
There was talk before the event that fewer people would make the trek to China, particularly with another large gas event scheduled for September in the US.
But in such a dynamic and expanding market, where China has emerged as the world’s second-largest LNG buyer, for many it was impossible not to attend.
Deals announced
There were some sales deals announced during the meeting and the memorandums of understanding, joint development agreements and approvals in principle just kept coming, particularly at the shipyard stands. However, there were no stellar announcements of the calibre to get the crowd talking.
What there was, however, was a tangible feeling that this rather niche area of the energy mix is finally coming of age, going through a rapid growth spurt and becoming a more complex and interesting sector.
The one potential fly in the ointment — the US-China trade talks — got only passing references with some even suggesting that a gas deal could be part of the eventual solution.
The rice might not be quite cooked yet but the hungry diners are beginning to gather round the table in anticipation of a good meal.
