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Chevron ( CVX ) eyes European LNG regasification opportunities

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Eastern Mediterranean region priority for Chevron's ( CVX ) future

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Chevron ( CVX ) sees long-term value in diverse global gas

contracts

By Marwa Rashad

MILAN, Sept 9 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Chevron ( CVX )

is in early-stage talks to explore opportunities in European

regasification terminals, as part of its strategy to expand its

global presence in the liquefied natural gas market, a senior

executive told Reuters.

The U.S. has become Europe's top LNG supplier since the

continent sharply reduced its imports of Russian gas following

Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Chevron ( CVX ), which is contracted to export 7 million tons per

annum of LNG from the U.S. starting in 2026, has significantly

ramped up its LNG trading operations. While not yet operating at

the scale of Shell or TotalEnergies, the

company is a major player among global energy firms.

"We see regas as more of a national security thing for

Europe," Freeman Shaheen, Chevron's ( CVX ) president of global gas told

Reuters on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Milan.

"We are in discussions with a number of European players

around regasification. We are looking at existing infrastructure

and new infrastructure," he said, declining to give further

details.

Europe's pipeline gas imports from Russia have fallen

sharply since 2022, and the European Commission has called for

member states to end their reliance on Russian fossil fuels by

2027.

With LNG playing a growing role in the continent's energy

mix, industry experts say additional regasification capacity

will be essential to meet demand.

"At Chevron ( CVX ) we want to manage all the way from molecule to

customers," he said.

He highlighted the Eastern Mediterranean region as a

strategic priority and said floating LNG (FLNG) is among the

options being considered to support the expansion of Israel's

Leviathan gas field, which supplies natural gas to Egypt and

Jordan.

"Chevron's ( CVX ) business activities in the Eastern Mediterranean

help provide critical energy to millions of people in the

region," he said.

Chevron ( CVX ) has signed long-term agreements with U.S. firms,

including Energy Transfer ( ET ), Cheniere and Venture Global LNG.

The company is "very happy with its base portfolio" and sees

long-term value in its mix of contracts, Shaheen said.

"Our diverse and global natural gas assets span Asia

Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean, West Africa, the Permian and

U.S. Gulf Coast. With expanding LNG capacity and strategic

partnerships, we're meeting rising demand," he added.