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(Upstream) OPINION: All eyes were on the oil price this week as West Texas Intermediate blend plunged below the US$20 per barrel mark and reached an 18-year low.

But Covid-19 and the Saudi-Russia oil price war are going to have a similarly severe impact on the liquefied natural gas sector.

Amid falling investment confidence, there are growing expectations that a swath of new LNG projects will be delayed or scrapped.

The developer of the Woodfibre LNG export project in British Columbia, Canada has set back the start of construction to next year, while the ExxonMobil-led Rovuma project in Mozambique and Papua New Guinea LNG expansion are also expected to be delayed.