Capital Markets Meets Concrete:  Aligning Financial Strategy with Megaproject Delivery

This keynote speech discusses bridging capital market expectations with large-scale project delivery realities – and then understanding how CFOs can integrate financial strategy with construction execution on multibillion-dollar LNG builds.

• Balancing capex discipline with scale and speed

• Mitigating construction risk while keeping investors informed

• Financial structuring of phased brownfield expansions

• Insights into Cheniere’s financial governance model during CCL Stage 3

 

LNG Capital Outlook – Appetite, Models & Risk in a New Era

This session explores where global capital is going, what makes projects bankable now, and which commercial models still work in a cautious, climate-aware, and fragmented world. It also looks at how U.S policy changes are impacting investor risk appetite and project timelines.

• What does investor appetite look like today given regulatory and cost pressures?

• What challenges could delay the next wave of U.S LNG exports, including policy uncertainty?

• How are bankability criteria evolving amid ESG demands and tighter emissions rules?

• Can hybrid tolling or merchant models work in today’s environment

 

From Buyer to Partner: What LNG Offtakers Seek from U.S Sellers in a Risk-Aware Market

 

• What makes a U.S seller commercially attractive in the current market?

• Are 20+ year SPAs still workable, or is optionality now a greater priority?

• How can exporters align more effectively with the pressures that ESG and decarbonisation requirements place on them? 

• What factors are considered dealbreakers:  regulatory uncertainty, pricing risk, or inflexible terms?

• How does the current DOE approach to non-FTA export approvals influence buyer confidence?

 

Contracts, Credit, and the New LNG Buyer Mindset

Buyers are rethinking contract terms and seeking more flexibility, ESG transparency, and credit stability. This session looks at how project developers can respond to these new demands and manage risk in an increasingly complex global landscape.

• Are long-term contracts still viable with shifting policies and climate pressures?

• How should developers assess buyer credit, especially in emerging markets?

• Can offtake flexibility align with lender expectations for security and return?

• What are traders and aggregators prioritising in their next deals?

 

Global Capital Meets U.S LNG – International Investor Perspectives

This session will debate and explore cross-border investment trends and the growing influence that sovereign funds, ECAs, and international private equity are having on the next wave of U.S LNG buildout.

• What motivates overseas investors to back U.S LNG?

• How is the U.S Government supporting large-scale projects such as LNG? 

• Are structural or legal hurdles slowing capital deployment?

• How are Private Equity funds viewing LNG versus renewables?

 

Unlocking Demand: Financing LNG Exports into Emerging Markets with Risk Constraints

This session will explore that while emerging markets represent some of the strongest long-term growth opportunities for U.S. LNG exports, they often remain largely out of reach due to a combination of weak credit profiles, limited access to guarantees, and regulatory complexity.

• Why do many emerging market buyers fail to meet current credit and financing thresholds, and how is this constraining project owners? 

• How U.S policy and DOE export approval requirements for non-FTA countries create additional hurdles. 

• What India’s continued coal reliance reveals about LNG affordability, access, and financing gaps?

• What tools – from sovereign backstops and pooled guarantees to multilateral insurance and blended finance – can reduce investor risk and unlock long-term offtake?

 

KEYNOTE

Session Title: Industry Leaders Perspective: Resilience and Innovation in LNG Project Leadership

Topics could include: Project Design & Execution, Cost Escalation & Supply Chain Disruptions, Labor Availability & Workforce Planning, Regulatory, Legal & Environmental Developments, Technology & Design Innovation, Contracting & Partnership Strategies. 

 

CONTRACTING & PARTNERSHIPS

Session Title: Evolving Contracting & Partnerships in Major LNG Export Projects

Project stakeholders are still searching for flexible, balanced contracting paradigms that distribute commercial risk equitably and sustain competition, while protecting viability and ensuring no party is exposed to excessive risk exposure or cost overruns.

Topics include:

o   Evolving models of project delivery 

o   Breaking up EPC scopes and awarding distinct segments to different contractors

o   Impacts of the trend toward consortium & joint ventures

o   Bridging the gap between financing & evolving contracting models

o   Strategies for appropriately apportioning risk in each model

 

Session Title: Managing Complexity - Best Practice in LNG Project Coordination and Delivery

As LNG megaprojects grow in scale and intricacy, the success of project delivery hinges on the ability to coordinate multiple contractors, align stakeholder interests, and apply hard-won lessons from previous projects, all while ensuring quality and profitability in an unpredictable environment.

Topics include:

o   The impact of complex contracting on owner & EPC teams

o   The rise of the ‘integration manager’

o   Mitigating interface & accountability issues created by the increasing volume of contractor partnerships

o   Strategies for extracting, interpreting, and fulfilling contractual obligations

o   Best practice in project delivery & oversight framework to ensure success

 

MODULARIZATION & FABRICATION

Session Title: Maximizing Value through LNG Modularization and Fabrication

As global and domestic demand for flexible LNG solutions intensifies, the industry is seeing both mounting opportunity and increased complexity in the deployment of small-scale, modular LNG plants.

Topics include:

o   How the labor shortages, remote sites, regulatory timelines and accelerated schedules are driving the modularization imperative

o   Complications created by shifting tariffs & global supply disruptions

o   The importance of recognising project specific conditions on potential scope & application

o   Optimum time to start planning start in the project cycle

o   Aligning the owner, EPC & fabrication yard schedules

 

Session Title: Delivering Quantitative Value in Modular LNG Construction

Despite significant industry interest and robust growth in modular LNG, transparency is limited, with few developers sharing actionable quantitative data to objectively prove cost, schedule, or safety improvements compared to traditional builds, leaving developers unable to make fully informed decisions.

Topics include:

o   Stick build vs modular execution case study

o   Does it deliver on the expected cost, schedule and manpower savings

o   What broader, harder to quantify benefits such as safety & quality

 

PERMITTING, REGULATION & LEGISLATION

Session Title: Permitting & Regulation - Clearing the Path for Gulf Coast LNG Export Growth

The new Administration has resumed LNG export license approvals and accelerated federal review timelines, aiming to stimulate American energy independence, but fragmented state vs federal regulations and environmental permitting continue to create complexity and potential bottlenecks for developers.  Agencies to include DOE, FERC, USCG, TCEQ, LDEQ & MARAD.

Topics include:

o   Key updates relevant to the LNG Export community

o   Efforts to ensure regulatory continuity to enable long term planning

o   What more can be done to remove bottlenecks at a Federal & State level

o   Agency plans to meet the significant volume of demand due to expanded project pipeline

 

FEEDGAS COMPOSITION

Session Title: From Wellhead to Liquefaction: Managing Nitrogen in Permian Gas for LNG Exports

Topics include:

o   Technical & operational challenges - where in the midstream chain is nitrogen best removed?  

o   Commercial & economic dimensions - impact on LNG pricing and contracts, who pays for the nitrogen removal?  removing nitrogen vs blending with richer gas?

o   Strategic and market implications - opps for midstream companies to differentiate with nitrogen solutions

o   Collaboration & policy - midstream / upstream collaboration, partnership opps and share infrastructure models 

 

Session Title: Navigating Unstable Feedgas Composition - Technical and Operational Solutions for LNG Export Facilities

Unstable feedgas composition, particularly rising nitrogen content, declining CO₂ levels and overall leaner gas composition from sources like the Permian Basin, is creating serious operational hurdles for U.S. LNG plants. Facilities face lower efficiency, disruption of existing CO₂ removal systems, and process hazards when methane-rich streams interact with incinerator operations.

Topics include:

o   Make gas composition issues a central part of project feasibility and technology selection

o   Liquefaction plants feed gas design basis and pipeline tariff gaps

o   Impact on process design decisions

o   Deploying advanced technologies eg NRUs

o   Strategies for monetizing swing components

 

SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS

Session Title: Adapting to Supply Chain Volatility in LNG Development

LNG export project development now faces unprecedented supply chain disruptions, driven by unpredictable tariffs, shifting regulations, and global market volatility. These challenges are also coupled with growing demand from AI and data center construction, intensifying competition for key equipment such as turbomachinery and transformers.

Topics include:

o   How are OEMs and equipment suppliers addressing surging demand and delivery constraints

o   How can project owners best interface with the supply chain.

o   Importance of upfront coordination between project and supply teams

o   Strategies to hedge risk

o   The impact on early design choices

o   Adoption of multi scenario planning

o   Assessing supply and contracting alternatives deeper into the project lifecycle

 

SITE PREPARATION

Session Title: Site Preparation Best Practices - Ensuring Project Success from the Ground Up

Developing LNG export facilities inevitably means facing challenging site conditions including, poor soil stability, remote or marshland locations. If managed poorly this can introduce major risks to costs, schedule, and safety.

Topics include:

o   What must be prioritised prior to construction

o   The importance of early and comprehensive site investigation

o   Effectively deploying advanced geotechnical methods?

o   The use of experienced sub-contractors?

Keynote Session Title: An Industry Leaders Perspective: Operational Excellence and Reliability Leadership - Securing the Future of North American LNG

Topics include:

o   Strategic leadership for optimizing reliability, asset performance, and operational readiness across multi-train, high-capacity projects.

o   Navigating the rapidly evolving regulatory, environmental, and supply chain challenges specific to Gulf Coast LNG, including hurricane resilience and emissions management.

o   Driving cross-functional collaboration to ensure safe, efficient high-volume exports while mitigating risks and maintaining profitability as global market, technology, and stakeholder expectations change.

o   The role of continuous improvement, innovation, and best practice sharing for long-term operational success in one of the world’s most dynamic LNG regions.

 

Session Title: Maintenance Methodologies for LNG Export Facilities - Integrating Reliability, Proactivity, and Asset Performance

Driven by the industry’s need for enhanced reliability, safety, and operational efficiency, LNG export facilities face a critical challenge in developing and implementing robust, integrated maintenance strategies including Asset Performance Management (APM), Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM) and Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM).

Topics include:

o   Building fully integrated maintenance organizations, developing proactive and responsive routines

o   Real-world approaches for optimizing maintenance costs, improving asset uptime, applying condition-based and risk-based methodologies

o   Integration of maintenance planning with asset management systems and strategic supplier contracts

o   How and where to implement digital tools

 

Session Title: Standardizing Operations for Scalable LNG Growth

As owner/operators expand their LNG export capacity through new sites, brownfield projects, and upgrades, it is essential to harmonize training, leadership, technologies, and operating procedures across all assets. Inconsistent processes can undermine workforce transferability, causing operational inefficiencies, duplication of effort, and uneven performance. Whilst standardization can also unlock significant gains in efficiency, safety, and cost control, allowing organizations to more effectively leverage best practices and technological innovation across their portfolio.

Topics include:

o   Strategies for developing and implementing robust operational standards

o   Approaches to overcoming barriers to standardization including legacy systems, cultural resistance, and diverse site conditions

o   Leveraging industry-specific standards to drive consistency and safety across LNG facilities

o   The role of continuous improvement, lessons learned, and cross-site collaboration in achieving sustainable project outcomes and maintaining best-in-class LNG operations

o   Integrating digital tools and data-driven management systems for monitoring, compliance, and optimization of standardized practices across the portfolio

 

Session Title: Advancing Turnaround Excellence in Gulf Coast LNG Operations

Turnaround procedures in the Gulf Coast LNG sector are still evolving, shaped by the relative youth of the region’s export industry compared to upstream oil and refining. As facilities transition from greenfield construction to ongoing operations, project owners face complex challenges: modifications and upgrades must now be precisely scheduled and executed in live plants, where continuous production puts new constraints on timing and scope. Effective, well-coordinated turnarounds are essential to minimize downtime, ensure safe upgrades, and support facility growth and operational reliability.

Topics include:

o   The challenge of maturing turnaround procedures for a relatively new LNG industry and lessons learned from upstream oil and refining

o   Approaches to forecasting, contingency planning, and adapting to evolving industry conditions and regulatory requirements

o   Strategies for scheduling modifications, upgrades, and maintenance in live facilities

o   Difficulty of applying standardized planning to terminals with unique processes, equipment, and operational constraints

 

Session Title: Comparing Clean Handover and Integration Models in LNG Commissioning and Start-Up

With increasing variability in LNG export development contracts, optimizing the interface between owner and EPC teams during commissioning and start-up is more critical than ever. Two principal models have emerged for this phase: the traditional “clean handover” and the “true integration” model. This session will examine both models, exploring their respective strengths and challenges in supporting project-specific needs, knowledge transfer, and smooth transitions to full operation.

Topics include:

o   Understanding the operational differences between the clean handover and true integration models during commissioning and start-up.

o   The potential for hybrid approaches and their benefits

o   How project-specific challenges, including unique site characteristics and contractual variability, influence the choice and adaptation of handover models

o   Benefits and challenges of owner/operator staff shadowing versus embedding within EPC teams for daily coordination, troubleshooting, and readiness

o   Exploring the impact of each approach on schedule, knowledge transfer, safety, and operational reliability as LNG facilities transition from construction to live operation

 

Session Title: Aftermarket Strategy for LNG Export Facilities - Navigating Complexity and Unlocking Value

Developing and executing an aftermarket strategy in LNG export facilities is marked by multiple layers of complexity. Operators must manage evolving operational risks, fragmented relationships between EPCs, OEMs, and aftermarket vendors, and the challenge of integrating new agreements with legacy contracts. Visibility and control can be hampered after EPC involvement concludes, making it difficult to secure timely support, spare parts, and service.

Topics include:

o   Navigating complex relationships between operators, EPCs, OEMs, and aftermarket vendors, including legacy contracts and integration of new agreements

o   Building robust partnerships and negotiating effective service agreements to ensure long-term reliability and responsiveness

o   Developing strategies for greater visibility and control over aftermarket activities post-EPC, including digital solutions and data integration

o   Optimizing logistics, inventory management, and cost control for spares, repairs, and support across complex multi-train LNG sites

o   Managing regulatory changes and market volatility that impact aftermarket procurement, compliance, and operations