This deal includes a five-percent stake in the Canadian upstream assets of Malaysian energy giant Petronas. MidOcean refused to comment on the cost of the deal, but someone familiar with the matter estimated it at slightly more than $3 billion.
LNG Canada delivered its first cargo of ultra-chilled LNG in June of this year. This opened the first direct LNG route from North America’s Pacific Coast to an enormous market of Asian buyers.
Saudi Aramco has been working to improve its position on the LNG market. Its portfolio has expanded over the last few years, and now includes large-scale projects in the United States.
LNG Canada enjoys a cost-saving advantage in supply because Canadian natural gas prices consistently trade below the U.S. Henry Hub benchmark. In the last week, they have even dropped to a record low negative level. LNG Canada will export 14 million metric tons per year once it reaches full capacity. Owners are aiming to make a final decision on investment next year, which would double the project’s capacity.
Shell holds 40% of LNG Canada. PetroChina owns 15%, Mitsubishi 15%, and Korea Gas Corporation 5%. The Canadian government estimates that LNG Canada cost C$40 billion (US$29 billion) to build.
MidOcean, the LNG investment vehicle of private equity firm EIG, is led by De la Rey Venter, a former Shell gas and LNG executive. The value of the Petronas transaction was not disclosed.
According to MidOcean, Saudi Aramco purchased a stake in MidOcean for $500 million in 2023, marking the Saudi oil giant’s first international investment in LNG. Mitsubishi also made an undisclosed MidOcean investment in 2024.
MidOcean has stakes in LNG projects in Australia and Peru, and is currently in discussions to join the Lake Charles LNG Project in the Gulf of Mexico.
The company also agreed to purchase a fifth of Petronas’s Canadian unit that holds its upstream assets, which feed into LNG Canada. (Reporting and editing by Jon Boyle, David Goodman, and Shadia Nasralla)
(source: Reuters)
