October
24, 2003
Shell
looks to clinch Venezuelan LNG project by end
of year
(International Oil Daily) - Royal Dutch/Shell
expects to sign a joint venture agreement with
Venezuela for the $2.7billion Mariscal Sucre liquefied
natural gas (LNG) project before the end of this
year, a Shell official said.
"There have
been a lot of advances on the project over the
last several months," said Leo Figarella,
Shell Venezuela's Vice President for external
affairs. "We expect to sign an agreement
before the end of the year, but are not completely
sure that there will be no further delays. However,
we are quite confident that we will sign before
February of 2004, which was the original timeframe
for the project."
The first LNG
shipments from the 4.7 million ton per year project
are expected by 2008. The gas will be destined
for the North American market, though may be shipped
through receiving terminals in Mexico. "We
have teams in Venezuela, Houston, and London working
on the project," said Figarella. "Our
activities at the moment are principally focused
on this project."
