The Natural Gas Industry Gold Courses

This course addresses the technical aspects of exploration, field development and oil, gas and gas liquid production. It also addresses the detailed economic, risk, fiscal and commercial issues from the perspective of a spectrum of potential corporate participants in large and small international upstream oil and gas projects. The course materials will include videos from E&P projects across the World and exercises to reinforce learning.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the LNG value chain from upstream supply, liquefaction, shipping and regasification of LNG into downstream markets. The course is designed for new entrants to the LNG business or for those with some knowledge of the business wishing to broaden their understanding of the complete value chain. Those without prior knowledge of the LNG business may wish to familiarise themselves through the pre-study web based course.

After learning the fundamentals about LNG, the course covers the liquefaction process and LNG plants, shipping and regasification terminals with a focus on what happens along the value chain. This is followed by an understanding of the commercial issues affecting LNG projects, the players and the various drivers affecting the development of LNG projects. Key aspects such as project development, timescales and the range of Agreements and their integration will be covered. The course then moves on to the global LNG supply sources, markets and trading and the factors affecting the growth of the LNG business.

Demand for electric power can fluctuate over very short time intervals yet cannot easily be stored. Transmission over long distances may result in appreciable losses. There is an ever increasing concern for the effect of power generation on the environment. And yet increasing standards of living have to be reconciled with the related increasing consumption and fluctuating demand of electric power. This course focuses on the use of natural gas and its role in a competitive market using various fuels, technologies and sizes of plant. It attempts to produce some ideas and considerations for reconciling at least some of these factors.

This course on LNG shipping is presented in the context of the overall LNG supply chain:

• how commercial shipping arrangements sit among the range of other agreements which exist between LNG producers, liquefaction parties, terminal operators;
• how the shipping contract overlaps with GSA’s, SPA’s and import/export agreements;
• the commercial, technical, regulatory, financial, legal and security risks that extend along the supply chain and which require the harmonization with the shipping sector;
• managing and optimising risk along the supply chain.

LNG transportation accounts for 10% to 30% of total LNG supply chain costs from upstream gas production through to terminalling and regasification on the import side. It is central, both figuratively and physically, to the LNG supply chain and the safe, efficient execution of LNG supply contracts.

The LNG shipping sector has also been evolving rapidly in recent years in response to accelerated growth in the international gas markets and - as in other parts of the LNG supply chain - technological innovation is seen as the means of optimising costs and increasing cargo outturn. New players have entered the LNG shipping business and the LNG industry is increasingly looking for more flexible shipping arrangements. Larger ships, innovative ship designs, new containment and propulsion systems have been developed while safety and environmental factors remain foremost considerations in the construction and operation of these vessels.

LNG Sales and Purchase contracts generally take much longer to negotiate than equivalent pipeline gas contracts. This is not surprising in view of the very large sums and risks involved. This five-day course will give you a deeper understanding of the contractual issues as well as risks and how to mitigate them. It will also help to reduce the time (and money) spent on negotiations. The main focus of the course will be on the LNG Sales and Purchase Contract itself but it will also include the relationship to other contracts in the LNG Project from gas field to buyer-s reception and vaporisation facilities.

During the negotiation sessions delegates will have the opportunity to test their understanding of the issues involved and apply the knowledge gained during this course.

Shipping affects several aspects of a commodity including its marketing, supply, pricing, competition tactics and trading opportunities. Contracts can be complex, the legal and commercial implications profound. This one-day course provides insights into who is responsible for what, economic choices, common terminology, freight contracts and negotiations.

The vast majority of natural gas sales, including international ones, are via pipeline. Unfortunately such familiarity may lead to a less than successful approach to the negotiation of such sales and purchase contracts - as several companies have learned to their cost. This five-day course will give you a deeper understanding of the contractual issues as well as risks and how to mitigate them. It will also help to reduce the time (and money) spent on negotiations. The main focus of the course will be on large pipeline international sales and purchase agreements but it will also include their relationship to other contracts in the pipeline gas chain. In particular, it will consider how the risks and contractual provisions change as the contracting parties change along the gas chain from gas field to end-users such as electric power generators, chemical and fertilizer plant.

The principal aim of this course is to expose delegates to a comprehensive training on power and gas trading and risk management in an applied context.

The course will enable participants to gain a practical working knowledge of gas and power market structure, main players and common traded instruments. Delegates will gain a practical understanding of the various dimensions of risk in gas and power markets and the various tools to manage and transfer those risks.

We will present new approaches to hedge energy exposures with derivatives as well as useful techniques to unbundle gas and power structures in long term contracts and physical assets. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of derivatives as well as physical assets and contracts to manage price, credit, volumetric, and operations risk.