ConocoPhillips has a 60-year history of leadership in LNG and LNG technology. While LNG is still considered part of our traditional oil and gas business, its prominence is increasing in global energy markets. We view LNG as an important component of responsibly meeting energy transition demand in the coming decades.  

The use of natural gas in place of coal and refined products represents a specific opportunity for significant reductions in end-use GHG emissions across the globe and it is a key contribution to the energy transition. We expect LNG to play an increasingly important role in the global energy mix, as it has lower GHG emissions than traditional hydrocarbon resources like coal used for electricity generation. ConocoPhillips will leverage its existing strengths in natural gas marketing and trading in support of its growing global LNG portfolio to meet transition demand and energy security needs.  

In 2022, we grew our LNG portfolio in several key areas. In February 2022, we completed the purchase of an additional 10% shareholding interest in APLNG from Origin Energy, expanding our total equity share to 47.5%. This additional stake demonstrates our commitment to provide a reliable and efficient supply of natural gas to the growing Asia Pacific market and to Australia’s east coast gas market. In early 2023, we entered into an agreement to purchase up to an additional 2.49% shareholding interest for a total interest of up to 49.99%.¹⁰  

In July 2022, we invested in a new large-scale LNG facility under development by Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, in Jefferson County, Texas. We entered into an agreement to acquire a 30% direct equity holding in Port Arthur Liquefaction Holdings, LLC, as well as 5 Mtpa LNG offtake from the Port Arthur LNG project. The first phase of the project is expected to include two liquefaction trains, LNG storage tanks and associated facilities. Our position as one of the largest natural gas marketers in North America enables us to provide feedstock supply. Entering this agreement with Sempra provides us with a ground-floor opportunity to participate in a premier LNG development, reinforcing our commitment to help solve the world’s energy supply needs and seeking to strengthen U.S. and global energy security as we transition to a lower carbon future. Further, equity ownership in the Port Arthur LNG project provides options for ConocoPhillips to participate in future expansions and lower carbon activities, including CCS, in line with our own strategic initiatives as we continue to monitor the energy transition pathway. The project reached final investment decision in early 2023, and we finalized our equity investment in the project. 

In the second half of 2022, ConocoPhillips signed agreements forming two new joint ventures with QatarEnergy that will participate in the North Field East (NFE) and the North Field South (NFS) LNG projects. As of December 2022, following the satisfaction of the conditions precedent, we have a 25% shareholding interest in Qatar Liquified Gas Company Limited (8) (QG8), which has a 12.5% interest in the NFE project. In early 2023, subject to regulatory approvals, we expect to complete the acquisition of a 25% interest in Qatar Liquified Gas Company Limited (12) (QG12), which has a 25% interest in the NFS project. In November 2022, ConocoPhillips and QatarEnergy announced an agreement to responsibly and reliably supply secure, long-term LNG to Germany. First delivery from NFE is expected in 2026 to the recently announced German LNG Terminal at Brunsbüttel.  

In addition to these specific projects, we are one of the largest natural gas producers and marketers in North America, and we have licensed our liquefaction Optimized Cascade® Process in 27 trains around the world. This liquefaction process simplifies modularization and reduces liquefaction equipment counts, resulting in a smaller facility footprint and lower GHG emissions. 

In 2022, we supplied Asian markets with approximately 0.36 trillion cubic feet (or nearly 1 billion cubic feet per day) of natural gas and LNG. To put this in perspective, if all the natural gas and LNG we sold to Asia in 2022 had been used to replace coal for electricity generation, GHG emissions would have been reduced by approximately 22 million metric tonnes, almost 1.5 times more than the company’s combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for the year, based on EPA GHG emissions factors.