Pacific Energy in talks with NextDecade, Tellurian on U.S. LNG

(Bloomberg) – Pacific Energy is in talks with Tellurian Inc. and NextDecade Corp. for natural gas cargoes from planned export terminals along the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to people familiar with the matter.

The discussions involve liquefied gas to be produced at Tellurian’s proposed Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana and NextDecade’s Rio Grande terminal in Texas, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing non-public information.

Pacific, a subsidiary of Indonesian tycoon Sukanto Tanoto’s RGE Pte Ltd, is backing the Woodfibre LNG development in Canada that’s intended to produce 2.1 million metric tons of the fuel annually. According to Pacific’s website, the company has operations in Canada’s Montney Basin and 25% stake in the Jiangsu Rudong LNG terminal in China.

NextDecade “does not comment on rumors or speculation,” a spokesperson said. Tellurian didn’t respond to a request for comment. As for Pacific, spokesman John Morgan said “we do not comment upon market speculation.”

The first phase of NextDecade’s Rio Grande development is under construction near Brownsville, Texas. Meanwhile, Tellurian’s proposed Driftwood LNG project has so far failed to attract sufficient financial backing to get it off the ground. The company hired a financial adviser to explore a sale of assets and in recent months faced a leadership shake-up following the ouster of co-founder Charif Souki.

The Biden administration in late January enacted a pause on granting new license approvals to future LNG projects. However, both the Driftwood project and expansion plans at Rio Grande have been permitted by the U.S. Energy Department.

Founded by Indonesian entrepreneur Tanoto in 1973, RGE — also known by full name RGE (Royal Golden Eagle) — is involved in businesses spanning from energy and palm oil to pulp and paper, according to its website.