American oil giant ExxonMobil is well on track to doubling its trading volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to 40 million tons per annum (mtpa) by the end of this decade.
Despite being one of the largest oil companies in the world, ExxonMobil, which also makes the Mobil Pegasus gas engine oil, has been a relatively minor player in LNG, at least compared to rivals TotalEnergies and Shell.
The target for LNG trade was set in 2020, and the company is already half way to achieving it after increasing trading volumes from 20 mtpa to just under 30 mtpa.
The senior VP for global LNG at ExxonMobil, Peter Clarke, said that the company is aiming for different elements of the value chain, so its portfolio will not look like those of Shell or TotalEnergies.
Instead of buying and selling LNG on the open market, Exxon believes there is more profit in producing and liquefying the LNG itself, especially as 80% of the world’s trade in LNG is based on long-term contracts.
Clarke said about this:
“The big component in LNG is obviously the commercialisation of the LNG itself. We want to have the leading LNG portfolio in the world in terms of its financial robustness and financial returns. I would say we’re well on the way to doing it.”
Clarke also said the company sees the greatest potential growth for LNG demand in Asia. He said that three-quarters of the world’s energy demand would be in the Asia Pacific region by 2050.
