Chile's ENAP and BG to ink LNG supply contract
Chilean state oil company ENAP and Britain's BG Group Plc have agreed to sign a new liquefied natural gas supply contract for 2013 to 2030 in the coming days, ENAP said late Friday, signaling an end to their dispute over volumes and prices, Reuters reports.
BG Group had said production troubles in Egypt could affect its supplies of LNG to ENAP and energy generator Endesa Chile, which both strongly opposed a potential reduction.
Chile's energy minister said earlier this month the government was closely following negotiations between BG Group and its local clients amid the contract dispute.
"This new contract has operational and economic conditions that, taken together, are more favorable for ENAP than the current contract, since it contemplates a staggered price adjustment as well as increased volumes," ENAP said in a statement.
The contract "secures natural gas supply for ENAP's refineries and energy projects, as well as for clients in the retail, industrial and thermoelectric sectors."
The details of the contract were not disclosed , and BG Group declined to comment.
With Chile seen turning further to LNG and diesel generation as courts increasingly reject coal-fired thermoelectric plants and hydropower projects in pristine Patagonia, the contract dispute between ENAP and BG was another energy headache for miners in world No. 1 copper producer Chile.
The Andean country is reeling from high power prices, as key energy projects suffer legal setbacks, and droughts and the availability of few local power sources strain supply.
"This agreement between ENAP and (BG) underscores the capacity of both parties for dialogue and a willingness to strengthen their long-term alliance," ENAP's chief executive Ricardo Cruzat said, a cc ording to the statement.
"It ensures benefits for ENAP with lower prices that give sustainability to refinery operations, lower costs for the operation of the regasification terminal at full capacity and greater volumes to be sold to third parties," he added.
The gas BG sends to the Quintero LNG regasification terminal - which is run by BG, ENAP, Endesa, Chilean natural gas distributor Metrogas and Spain's Enagas - has totaled around 1.7 million tonnes of LNG a year, according to data compiled by an industry group.