US shale gas producer Chesapeake Energy has signed a heads of agreement with Geneva-based trader Gunvor to supply the latter with liquefied natural gas from a liquefaction plant in the US.
Under the deal, Chesapeake will supply up to 2 million tonnes of LNG per year to Gunvor with the purchase price indexed to Japan Korea Marker (JKM) for a period of 15 years, according to a statement by Gunvor.
Also, Chesapeake and Gunvor will jointly select the “most optimal liquefaction facility” in the US to liquefy the gas produced by Chesapeake and deliver LNG to Gunvor on a free-on-board basis with a targeted start date in 2027, the statement said.
“This agreement reflects the powerful combination of the premium rock, returns, and runway of our competitively positioned Haynesville natural gas assets combined with the strength of our balance sheet and financial position to securely supply global LNG markets,” Nick Dell’Osso, Chesapeake president and CEO, said in the statement.
He added that this marks an “important initial step on our path to being LNG ready and we look forward to entering into additional agreements while export capacity continues to come online.”
Last year, Chesapeake entered into a deal to deliver natural gas to the Golden Pass LNG terminal.
QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil are building the $10 billion Golden Pass LNG export terminal on the Gulf Coast near Sabine Pass, Texas, and plan to launch the facility in 2024.
On the other hand, trader Gunvor signed a long-term deal last year to buy LNG from Energy Transfer, the developer of the proposed Lake Charles LNG export facility in Louisiana.
Gunvor also signed a deal with US LNG firm Tellurian for Driftwood LNG volumes, and this deal had a deadline until the end of February. Tellurian did not provide further updates.
In addition, Gunvor renewed a $1.565 billion loan facility in January to support its growing LNG business.
“We are excited to establish this partnership with Chesapeake which will further enhance our global LNG portfolio,” Kalpesh Patel, co-head of LNG trading and a member of the executive committee of Gunvor, said in the statement.
“Our trading expertise together with our robust shipping fleet will not only contribute to the competitive shipping costs but also ensure reliable offtake operations for Chesapeake and the liquefaction facility which we will jointly select,” he said.