Capitalising on LNG

At present, LNG vessels cannot transit the waterway because they are too wide to fit the existing locks. The new cooperation will enable ACP to learn from and benefit from the Port of Lake Charles, which is a leader in the petrochemical industry primarily due to its development of mineral resources including sulphur, oil products and gas.

After signing the agreement recently in Louisiana, ACP and the Port of Lake Charles were joined in a series of meetings by energy companies including Southern California Telegraph & Energy LNG, Magnolia LNG, Venture Global LNG, Lake Charles LNG Company, Cameron LNG, Waller Point Marine and BG Group.

Jorge Quijano, Panama Canal Administrator/CEO, said to Greenport: “The new dimensions of the expanded Canal will allow us to attract the LNG vessel market through the Panama route, that is why we are taking the necessary steps to promote the use of our locks by the industry. These types of visits with potential Canal users are very useful, because we were able to discuss the new toll proposal for 2016, which includes LPG and LNG vessels, and better understand their expectations.”

Several companies are expected to either start construction of new plants or expand their existing LNG liquefaction capacity over the coming years in the region, with the aim of exporting their product mainly to Asia through the Panama Canal.

At the Port of Lake Charles, the Cheniere gas liquefaction plant located in Cameron, Louisiana, is under construction and is expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2016. Cheniere was the first company to receive approval from the US government to export LNG.

In December 2014, the company received approval to build another liquefaction plant in Corpus Christi, Texas.