New Approaches to LNG Terminal Operations Thursday, June 3, 2010
11:30 AM
Registration
12:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM
Welcome, Introduction, Objectives
Bob Nimocks, president, Zeus Development Corporation
Nimocks has moderated more than a hundred energy conferences to investigate business opportunities and challenges presented by sudden, but often subtle shifts in markets. He will outline the agenda and objectives as well as moderate the day's discussion.
1:15 PM
The Evolution of Market-Based, Open-Access Import and Export Terminals
Thomas Warren, partner, Sutherland
As governments increasingly want to encourage more competition for their energy markets, regulators seek to achieve open access to multiple suppliers. However, LNG terminals that allow access by multiple users present operational challenges for the owners. Warren has been asked to review how the evolution toward open access has taken place, what can be learned from it by both importers and exporters, and where the market might be headed.
1:50 PM
The Modern Terminal Use Agreement
Keith Meyer, chairman and CEO, Sunthenoil LLC / former president, Cheniere LNG
As president of Cheniere LNG Inc., a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Meyer was in charge of devising and negotiating the terminal use agreements between Cheniere and its users, Chevron and Total. He is a co-patent holder of Cheniere's LNG gateway online LNG cargo slot purchasing program. Meyer has been asked to outline the key elements of a multi-user terminal and define the primary challenges operators and their clients may face, and the lessons that can be learned about multi-user access from both an importer and exporters perspective.
2:25 PM
Optimizing the Terminal Use Agreement Using an OCA
Joseph A Vaszily, president, Gas Asset Solutions
Vaszily, a gas industry consultant and formerly the vice president of gas infrastructure development at KeySpan Energy Development, will discuss a new approach to the terminal use agreement, entitled the operational coordination agreement (OCA). He describes the OCA as one commercial approach to mitigating some of the undesirable consequences of the TUA, such as late or early arrival of cargos, LNG inventory management, utilization of available berthing slots, use of other TUA services (i.e., GHV stabilization), and downstream sendout pipeline capacity. He has also been asked to contemplate how these OCA approaches might be applied to export terminals.
3:00 PM
Break
3:30 PM
Current Models for Managing Export Plants, Their Advantages and Limitations
Al Kaplan, independent consultant and former VP of major projects, Marathon Oil
Kaplan was part of the implementation teams for three world-class LNG export projects; Arun LNG, Qatargas 1 LNG, and RasGas 1 LNG, and was the executive in charge of bringing the fastest grassroots LNG project to market, Equatorial Guinea LNG. In addition, he has advised clients on numerous other LNG projects, giving him first-hand knowledge of the various business models that have been used to send natural gas flows through an export plant to multiple markets. For this presentation, he will review the various business models in place and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
4:15 PM
Evolution of Market-Based, Open-Access Liquefaction Plants
Dan Rogers, partner, King & Spalding
Developers of several new export plants are contemplating merchant approaches to their business models, where the owner/operator will sell liquefaction services to independent gas producers, which in turn have the right to pick up and market their LNG. This approach will create significant pressure on all parties to coordinate cargo loading to ensure operations continue uninterrupted. Rogers has been asked to describe some of the key elements and challenges of such contracts, and approaches to these agreements that will ensure smooth operations following startup.
5:00 PM
Reception
Zeus Development Corporation
2424 Wilcrest, Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77042, USA
Main: 713-952-9500
Fax: 713-952-9526
Toll free in the U.S.: 1-888-478-3282
