Interview
Gazprom
LNG tanker Dewa Maru moored to the LNG jetty, June 2008 – Sakhalin II
Currently there are around 15 people at GM&T who are devoted to developing the company’s
downstream LNG capabilities: eight based at GM&T’s headquarters in London. Four more are involved
in LNG marketing in Moscow and a further three in GM&T’s US office are responsible for long-term
regasification negotiations.. Running parallel with a development of the company’s downstream
marketing capabilities, Barnaud believes that over the next two years Gazprom Global LNG will expand
and may add an additional ten people to his team.
With Gazprom expected to deliver around 163 Bcm of pipeline gas to Europe this year, there is
considerable interest in looking at GM&T’s portfolio as one field of optimisation, and Barnaud believes
that GM&T has the ideal pipeline/LNG arbitrage model:
“We have a fantastic opportunity to interconnect the gas portfolio in Europe with our LNG portfolio. BG
Group has been particularly adept at playing LNG vs LNG arbitrage, but you typically have a lot of depth
in arbitrage between LNG and pipeline gas,” Barnaud said.
GM&T remains the only NOC that has a fully developed trading and marketing operation, and Barnaud
believes that in time, Gazprom Global LNG can be a model for NOCs.
“The Qataris have done a fantastic job, but they stop at the outlet gate of the regas terminal,” says
Barnaud. “Sonatrach is involved [in marketing and trading], but their operations are still in the early
stages. We cannot go to Nigeria and want to buy spot cargoes – everybody is doing that. What we need
to bring is the Gazprom value and expertise in best management. So what these countries are interested
in is our experience as a NOC.”
Nevertheless, Barnaud said that while Gazprom was part of the same ‘NOC world’ as Nigeria, Algeria and
Qatar, GM&T will: “have to be as competitive as a Shell or a BG or EdF if we are to secure supply.” And
for the Gazprom Global LNG head, the only way to achieve this is to establish a “commercial and market
based relationship.”
The purchase of a cargo from BG led Point Fortin LNG Export Company in Trinidad last month was,
according to Barnaud, a demonstration of GM&T’s competitiveness. The cargo was reported to be bought
for $18.70-18.80/MMBtu and will be delivered to Tokyo Gas.
But the biggest coup for GM&T has been the August agreement with Adgas to buy 500,000 tonnes for
Gazprom’s Sakhalin customers. The first cargo departed Abu Dhabi in late July, and GM&T is expected to
send a total of eight shipments to Japan and Korea.
LNG Business Review - OCTOBER 2008 - WWW.LNGBUSINESSREVIEW.COM 
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