Oil giant Saudi Aramco is in talks with Commonwealth LNG to buy liquefied natural gas from the U.S. company’s proposed facility in Cameron as it seeks to strengthen its position in the market for the superchilled fuel, Reuters writes.
The talks are for 2 million tons per annum (mtpa), sources tell Reuters. Aramco and Commonwealth LNG did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
If a deal is struck, it will bring Commonwealth LNG closer to the 8 mtpa it plans to sell out of the plant’s capacity of 9.5 mtpa. So far the company has 4 mtpa in signed sales and purchase agreements, and one nonbinding heads of agreement deal for 1 mtpa.
The site would be the nation’s first integrated LNG export facility that will see Commonwealth LNG’s major shareholder, Kimmeridge, selling gas from its Eagle Ford shale production to the plant.
Commonwealth LNG has said it plans to get to a positive financial decision on construction of the Cameron plant by the end of the year. It could contribute to the U.S. remaining the world’s largest exporter of LNG.
