According to AIS Live ship tracking data, Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker Al Dafna is heading to the US, carrying what could be a second test cargo for the new Golden Pass LNG terminal.The AIS ship tracker on Reuters showed that the Q-Max tanker, one of the world's largest super cooled gas carriers with a capacity of 266,000 cubic meters passed the Algerian capital of Algiers.
At its current speed of just under 19 knots the vessel could arrive at the terminal near Port Arthur, Texas by October 18. The terminal operator said that Golden Pass where construction was delayed by hurricane damage sustained in 2008 would take its first test cargo from the 210,000 cubic meters Al Khuwair tanker which is expected to arrive on October 20.
Analysts said that it could need up to 5 test cargoes to prepare the terminal for commercial operation but the operator has declined to comment on expected deliveries. The Golden Pass LNG terminal said on Wednesday it had still not got permission to take in the first cargo after applying to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in late September.
The start up of Golden Pass LNG JV between Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips could absorb some LNG that is expected to enter an already well supplied global market as big Qatari production facilities open in the next few months.
Work on Golden Pass began in 2006 before the US lost much of its appetite for imported gas because of a surge in North American shale gas production.Qatari vessels now rarely deliver to the US because of a slide in prices, which has left many LNG producers scrambling for new markets and most terminals on the US.Courtesy:REUTERS
12 October 2010 PB
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