Mitsubishi's DGI expects Cameron LNG expansion FID and LNG Canada startup in 2024

Diamond Gas International Pte. Ltd., or DGI, the Singapore-based LNG trading subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp., expects a final investment decision for the expansion of Cameron LNG project in the US in 2024 and LNG Canada to also start production next year, Jun Nishizawa, group CEO, Natural Gas Group, Mitsubishi, said at DGI's 10th anniversary celebration Nov. 15.

"So, expansion is coming next year. Of course, we need to have a construction period," he said.

The Cameron LNG project is a three-train export facility on the US Gulf Coast with a capacity of 12 million mt/year. It is operated by Sempra with a share of 50.2%, TotalEnergies 16.6%, Japan LNG Investment (a joint venture of Mitsubishi Corp. 70% and shipping company NYK Line 30%) 16.6%, and Mitsui & Co. the remaining 16.6%.

Cameron LNG was Mitsubishi's first LNG project investment on the US mainland, according to the Japanese conglomerate's website. Mitsubishi has the rights to use capacity equivalent to one liquefaction train and is selling around 4 million mt/ of LNG to customers in Japan and other countries.

Cameron LNG's expansion project will add another 6.75 million mt/year of capacity, but its current authorization means it has to start exports by May 2026, which is a tight timeline. The project has requested authorities for this deadline to be extended.

Meanwhile, Nishizawa said LNG Canada, which is already under construction but has faced hiccups due to COVID-19, has now completed construction of the 685 km Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, which goes past the Canadian Rockies to the West Coast of Canada, from where LNG would be exported.

"That was completed mechanically last month. This is one good news. And the second good news is we have finished construction of more than 200 modules of the LNG plant in China," Nishizawa said.

He said the modules had already been shipped to Canada and are now being connected, and the larger LNG plant is taking shape. "We expect production start in the year to come," he said.

Mitsubishi has a 40% stake in the Montney shale gas development project that will be supplying gas to LNG Canada, and its majority owned subsidiary Diamond LNG Canada Partnership has a 15% stake in LNG Canada. Other stakeholders in the project are Shell (40%), Petronas (25%), PetroChina (15%) and Korea Gas Corp. (5%).

Mitsubishi's equity share of production offtake from LNG Canada is 2.1 mt/year, and it expects to bring cargoes directly to North Asia, without needing to go through the Panama Canal.

"We've been chasing other projects to make DGI's equity portfolio to more than 10 million in some years to come," Nishizawa said.

DGI executives said at the event that they expect the portfolio to build up by the early 2030s when volumes from Australia, the US and Canada ramp up.