Energy giant signed 20-year contract – seven years ago – to receive million tonnes of US gas per year
Portuguese energy company GALP has received its first shipment of American LNG (liquified natural gas) today, as part of a 20-year contract to receive a million tonnes of gas per year.
In a statement, the company said: “This first shipment marks the start of the take-or-pay rights and obligations established in the 20-year SPA signed on May 2, 2018 with Venture Global LNG for 1 mtpa (one million tonnes per annum) from the Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana, USA”.
Back in 2018, there was no hint of the current ‘trade war’ launched by America, but now that the Trump administration is “demanding that Europe buy more north American gas to balance trade between the two blocs”, the agreement “had yet to be fulfilled”, explains Público.
At the press conference presenting GALP’s 2024 results, there was no apparent expectation that the US LNG would be arriving imminently. Co-chair Maria João Carioca said that GALP was not counting on volumes coming from the Calcasieu Pass this year. “If these volumes arrive, they will be a potential benefit”, was what she said.
GALP filed a formal complaint, along with BP and Shell against Venture Global in 2022 (the year of the energy crisis prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), accusing the company of failing to honour supply contracts, in order to profit from selling its gas to buyers willing to pay on the (more lucrative) spot market.
This appears now to be ‘water under the bridge’, as the statement today sent out to newsrooms by GALP refers to this “successful delivery (strengthening) GALP’s position in natural gas and LNG, diversifying and adding flexibility to its portfolio.”
GALP has also emphasised that this agreement is part of its strategy to “ensure a balanced and competitive long-term supply for international natural gas activities, contributing to the development of efficient and environmentally sustainable energy solutions”.
This is not GALP’s only contract with a North American supplier. According to Lusa, following the agreement with Venture Global, GALP signed a similar agreement with NextDecade. This agreement will result in the delivery of one million tonnes per year for 20 years from 2027, from the Rio Grande LNG project in Texas.
Source: Público/ Lusa/ ECO online
