“For LNG, we still expect 100 mtpa of FIDs (final investment decision) between 2024 and 2026, a level that would increase global capacity to our long-standing forecast of 800 mtpa by 2030,” Simonelli said during the fourth-quarter earnings call on Friday.
Last year, there were 17 mtpa of project FIDs.
“Accordingly, we anticipate more than 80 mtpa of FIDs in 2025 and 2026,” he said.
“Our strong FID outlook is supported by a record year of offtake contracting last year, which totaled 92 mtpa and exceeded the prior record of 84 MTPA set in 2022,” Simonelli said.
$2.1 billion in LNG orders
Baker Hughes booked a record $5.6 billion of LNG equipment orders in 2023 and $3.5 billion in 2022.
The company booked only $700 million of LNG equipment orders in January-September last year, as near-term project FID sequencing was disrupted by the US moratorium on non-FTA LNG export approvals.
However, US President Donald Trump recently lifted the moratorium by the former Biden administration on non-FTA export permits.
“In the fourth quarter, we secured orders for multiple LNG projects, bringing total LNG equipment bookings to almost $2.1 billion for 2024,” Simonelli said
He noted that Baker Hughes received an order from US LNG exporter Venture Global to provide modularized LNG systems and a power island.
Additionally, Baker Hughes received an award from compatriot Bechtel for the first phase of Woodside’s Louisiana LNG project.
This phase will include two Baker Hughes liquefaction compression trains with a capacity of 11 mtpa.
Discussing the LNG orders later during the call, Simoneli said that “we’re going to see LNG come back. And obviously, LNG orders increasing over 2024.”
