由于成本通脹和融資競爭加劇，美國十多個擬議中的LNG出口項目可能會停滯

自地緣政治沖突、買家放棄管道天然氣以來，歐洲LNG的需求量飆升

未來五年，開發商可能會啟動價值1000億美元的新LNG項目，但爭取長期買家和融資的競爭加劇是阻礙該項目發展的重要因素

據油價網4月17日消息，成本通脹以及爭取長期買家和融資的競爭加劇，可能會阻礙美國擬議的十多個LNG出口項目中的一些項目。

目前全球對LNG的需求很高，因為歐洲國家急于建造進口終端并購買LNG，以彌補管道天然氣供應極低或完全缺乏的影響。

盡管LNG需求激增，美國天然氣儲量豐富，但美國下一個LNG出口熱潮可能會停滯，因為成本飆升，且融資隨著利率的上升而變得更加復雜。

美國最大的LNG出口商切尼爾能源公司（Cheniere Energy）的創始人Charif Souki對英國《金融時報》表示：“天然氣價格大幅上漲。”他在2015年之前一直擔任Cheniere Energy的首席執行官。

Souki說：“能真正處理這種龐大工程的專業建設公司越來越少。”他現在領導著Driftwood項目的開發商Tellurian，該項目近年來在籌集資金和獲得主要長期客戶方面遇到了障礙。

除了項目成本飆升和利率上升外，美國LNG出口項目開發商還面臨許多買家不愿承諾20年供應協議的問題。

能源咨詢公司伍德麥肯茲在今年早些時候的一份報告中表示，價格高企和能源安全需求為LNG的長協簽訂需求創造了強勁動力，美國LNG出口設施的開發商可能在未來五年內啟動價值1000億美元的新工廠。

然而，價格波動、成本和融資問題可能意味著，在這10年內開始運營的項目可能比此前預計的要少。

工業市場情報提供商工業信息資源公司(IIR)上個月在研究中表示，美國和加拿大新的LNG出口項目顯示出加速的跡象，但天然氣價格的波動讓未來供需的押注變得困難。

何勝男 編譯自油價網 

原文如下： 

Competition And Costs Are Threatening The U.S. LNG Boom 

More than a dozen proposed LNG export projects in the United States could stall due to cost inflation and increased competition to secure financing. 

Demand for LNG has soared since the war and buyers spurned  pipeline gas. 

Developers could launch $100 billion worth of new LNG projects over the next five years, but securing long-term deals and financing is a major hurdle. 

Cost inflation and increased competition to secure long-term buyers and financing could hold back some of the more than a dozen proposed LNG export projects in the United States.  

Demand for LNG globally is currently high, as European countries rush to build import terminals and purchase liquefied natural gas to offset the very low, or complete lack of  pipeline gas supply.  

Despite the surge in LNG demand and the abundance of natural gas in the United States, America’s next LNG export boom could stall as costs have surged and financing has become more complicated with the higher interest rates. 

“It’s dramatically more expensive,” Charif Souki, who founded Cheniere Energy and was the CEO of what is now the top U.S. LNG exporter until 2015, told the Financial Times. 

“There are fewer and fewer construction companies that can actually handle these kinds of loads,” said Souki, who now leads Tellurian, the developer of the Driftwood project that has hit snags in its ability to raise funds and secure major long-term customers in recent years. 

Apart from soaring project costs and rising interest rates, U.S. LNG export project developers face the issue with many buyers’ reluctance to commit to 20-year-long supply deals.  

Developers of U.S. LNG export facilities could launch $100 billion worth of new plants over the next five years as high prices and the need for energy security create strong momentum for long-term LNG demand and contracts, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a report earlier this year. 

Yet, price volatility and the cost and financing issues could mean that fewer projects could see the start of operations this decade than previously thought.   

New U.S. and Canadian LNG export projects show signs of accelerating but volatile natural gas prices are making bets on future supply and demand difficult, industrial market intelligence provider Industrial Info Resources (IIR) said in research last month.