ExxonMobil considering setting up petrochem plant, LNG exports from US
KUALA LUMPUR Global energy major ExxonMobil Corp. sees new opportunities for supply of low emission natural gas to fuel economic growth and environmental progress as it mulls setting up a petrochemical plant and exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US.
In a speech at the 25th World Gas Conference in Malaysia, ExxonMobil Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson said the demand for abundant, cleaner-burning natural gas resources will increase with the growth in global energy demand.
Asia-Pacific region with its energy demand projected to grow by 50 per cent in the next three decades is poised to benefit greatly from access to the natural gas, Tillerson said.
On the other hand, North America has been the proving ground for development of unconventional gas sources such as shale gas, coal bed methane, and tight sands through hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques, confirming the enormous potential of this resource.
"The challenge now is to confirm the size of the global unconventional resource and to fully apply these breakthrough technologies to nations outside North America," Tillerson stated.
He indicated that the company, which is the largest natural gas producer in North America, is considering exporting liquefied natural gas from the country, and also looking at building the new petrochemical plant in Texas to take advantage of cheap shale gas.
Later during a media interaction, Tillerson said that ExxonMobil is studying the possibility of exporting natural gas from the US Gulf Coast and Canada in view of the fact that better technology has substantially boosted US gas reserves to the extent that it would allow for exports.
Several applications for export of LNG from various projects in the US and Canada have been filed with regulatory agencies.
Tillerson revealed that the company's 2 billion cubic feet per day Golden Pass import terminal near Beaumont, Texas, offered an option of starting exports.
Besides the Golden Pass, the other options for LNG exports include ExxonMobil's own supplies from Texas shale gas from the Barnett Shale play in North Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, apart from the Woodford Shale in Oklahoma, Tillerson said.
He also suggested that the gas industry and global governments can learn from the North American experience and can now work together to develop a legal and policy framework that encourages the safe, sustainable and environmentally responsible development of global natural gas resources.
Natural gas prices in the US have hit their lowest in a decade and are expected to remain low for years due in large part to ramped up production from shale reserves.
Tillerson also confirmed the company was looking at building the new petrochemical plant in Texas to take advantage of cheap shale gas, but said it had not decided on the level of investment nor whether it would export petrochemicals.
"We will see where the markets are for those chemicals," he told delegates at the global gas meet.
Source: United States News.Net
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