Commodity trading house Trafigura has signed a long-term natural gas offtake agreement with NuVista Energy, giving the mid-size Canadian producer exposure to international liquefied natural gas (LNG) market pricing, the companies said on Friday.
NuVista will supply 21,000 metric million British thermal units per day (MMbtu/d) of natural gas to Trafigura with the purchase price indexed to the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) for a period of up to 13 years beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The JKM is the LNG benchmark price assessment for spot physical cargoes in Asia and the deal opens up access to global LNG markets for Calgary, Alberta-based NuVista at a time when Canadian gas prices are struggling.
“For over a decade of growth, we have prioritized ensuring significant diversity in our North American natural gas sales locations to maximize returns on our condensate-rich natural gas,” NuVista CEO Jonathan Wright said in a statement.
“We are extremely pleased to now make our first entry to the world LNG markets.”
NuVista produces around 83,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from Canada’s Montney region, one of North America’s top shale plays.
The deal with Trafigura continues a recent trend of Montney producers signing deals to increase exposure to LNG markets. Canada does not yet have any LNG export terminals, although the Shell-led LNG Canada project is due to start operating next year and two other smaller terminals are under construction.
Trafigura also signed a seven-year offtake agreement with Canada’s largest natural gas firm Tourmaline Oil Corp in January, while producer ARC Resources entered into a supply agreement with LNG company Cheniere Energy last year.
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia Additional reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Sherin Varghese in Bengaluru Editing by Frances Kerry)