Posted by John Donovan: 5 Jan 2024
In what seems like a scene straight out of a corporate soap opera, Shell PLC has decided to buddy up with BP PLC in their ongoing tiff with Venture Global LNG. The bone of contention? Access to the apparently exclusive club of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, from which Shell and BP feel unjustly barred. This drama, worth more than a whopping $18 billion in superchilled gas exports, was recently aired out in a filing with U.S. regulators.
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass, which sounds more like a secret handshake than an export facility, has been playing the elusive host, producing and selling LNG for over 20 months. Meanwhile, Shell, BP, and their band of energy cronies, including Edison SpA, Polish state firm Orlen, and Spain’s Repsol, have been left knocking at the door, claiming they’ve been ghosted on their term-contract cargoes. Being told that the plant is still ‘getting ready’ – a.k.a. in the commissioning phase – doesn’t sit well with them.