Thailand's PTT to buy 1 million mt/year of LNG from US Cheniere starting 2026

Thailand's PTT has agreed to a 20-year deal to buy 1 million mt/year of LNG from US exporter Cheniere starting from 2026, the companies said in a joint statement July 26.

The agreement, which is tied to Cheniere's Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal in Texas and includes a combination of delivered ex-ship and free-on-board cargoes, continues the robust commercial activity surrounding US volumes since the fall of last year amid persistently high spot LNG prices -- a turnabout from record lows in 2020.

Offering relatively low fixed liquefaction fees and destination flexibility for cargoes, US LNG exporters and project developers including Cheniere, Venture Global LNG, NextDecade and Energy Transfer have announced new long-term deals with Asian and European buyers in recent months.

The purchase price for LNG under the PTT-Cheniere agreement is indexed to the US Henry Hub price, plus a fixed liquefaction fee.

In the companies' statement, state-owned PTT said it is aiming to become a bigger LNG player by managing a portfolio of 9 million mt/year by 2030. By the end of 2022, PTT's LNG receiving terminals will be able to accommodate regasification capacity of up to 19 million mt/year, it said.