Webber Research Fireside Chat Series: Kirby Corp (KEX) CEO David Grzebinski – Weds, May 10th @10am EST

LNG Canada Update: Trouble Ahead For Shell’s LNG Flagship?

An Empty Module Yard & Mounting Schedule Delays

• Key Takeaways (pages 1, 5)
• Estimated LNG Canada Schedule Shifts (page 2-3)
• Satellite Image Review: COOEC Fluor Module Yard Layout (May 17, 2020) (page 4)
• Satellite Image Review: Module Layout Descriptions (page 5)
• Satellite Image Review: CFHI Module Yard Pre-Assembly Areas (page 6)
• Long-Term Thoughts & Key Questions (page 7)

Key Highlights:
• Still Moving At A Crawl. As of May, module fabrication was ~2% complete, well behind our ~11% estimate in W|EPC’s February 2020 (pre-COVID 19) schedule…
• Satellite Image Review: The COOEC-Fluor Heavy Industries (CFHI) module yard pre-assembly areas look…
• Playing Catch Up Won’t Be Cheap. The schedule slip should put even more pressure on the back-end of LNG Canada’s timeline…continued…

For access information please email us at [email protected]

W|EPC Risks: Venture Global – Keeping An Eye On Pile Design Changes

W|EPC Risks: Venture Global – Calcasieu Pass LNG – Keeping An Eye On Pile Design Changes

Key Takeaways:
• An engineering design change at Calcasieu Pass (CPLNG) required additional piling and out of sequence construction activities.
• Meaningful engineering changes during construction & fabrication can undermine the benefits of modularization, by creating cost overruns and delays.
• No Related Delays Are Visible Yet. However, we should get a better view of the actual impact as Calcasieu enters the mechanical phases of fabrication and construction – where the ramification of errors or changes becomes more evident.

Keeping An Eye Out For Material Quantity Growth. On May 22nd, 2020, CPLNG requested FERC approve eight (8) additional piles in the Pre-Treatment Common Pipe Rack 27X (PTC27X) area due to changes in the pipe stress data. Pipe stress calculations are developed to ensure the piping design and layout can support the expansions and contractions caused by processing hydrocarbons. Pipe stress data is one of the most important elementsin determining the piping layout, structural steel design, material quantities needed for the CPLNG modules, and pile layout.

The PTC27X pile construction design was previously submitted to FERC on December 30, 2019 and approved for construction on January 31, 2020. PTC27X piling submittal timeline:

• Original Submittal to FERC: 12/30/19
• FERC Approved: 1/31/20
• Revised Submittal to FERC: 5/22/20
• FERC Approved: 6/4/20

Was Module Engineering For PTC27X Finally Completed Last Month? On May 22, 2020 CPLNG requested FERC approve the PTC27X pipe rack foundations and steel construction. We believe the final PTC27X pipe rack module engineering is now complete, subject to FERC Approval. The PTC27X modules were designed per….continued

For access information, email us at [email protected]

Tankers: Moving From OPEC Trade, To Global COVID Relapse Hedge

Tanker Q120 Preview & Storage Update

• Thesis (EURN, DHT, FRO, ASC, etc) …………………Pages 1-2
• Floating Storage Scenario Analysis………………….Pages 2-5
• Tanker Rates Reactions & Implications ……………..Page 5
• Multi-Factor Supply/Demand Model……………….. Pages 6-7
• Crude Inventory & Production Cuts………………….Pages 7-9
• Valuations……………………………………………….. Pages 10-11
• Earnings Estimates……………………………………..Page 12

For access information, email us at [email protected]

Contango, COVID, & Floating Storage To Dominate Q1 Earnings: As with our Barge Preview from last week, we expect the majority of this earnings season to revolve around the simultaneous COVID+OPEC supply & demand shocks to global energy markets, which have driven down global oil demand by ~15-30mbd, introduced negative crude pricing for certain landlocked geographies, and reinforced the notion of systemic, structural and economically driven floating storage. The result: our tanker rate charts look more like seismograph readings (page 5) and our tanker group is poised to throw off record cash flow in Q2 & Q3 (and potentially longer). We believe the long tanker trade is gradually transitioning from a shorter-term OPEC trade, into a longer-term COVID-19 global relapse hedge. We believe tanker dynamics from the remainder of 2020 and 2021 will be defined by the depth and duration of the floating storage dynamics – which we believe will be increasingly driven by the shape and pace of a global economic reopening vs any remaining OPEC/policy maneuvers. Now that crisis level production levels are now more defined, we believe tanker rates and equities will have a strong negative correlation to the success of any semi-synchronized economic reopening. Hence, Long Tankers = Long An Extended And Asymmetrical Global Reopening.

Exxon, Qatar & Golden Pass: Something’s Gotta Give

Analyzing Project Costs & Logistics In The COVID Era
(Part 1 of 2 – Satellite Image Analysis Later This Week)

• Golden Pass: 4 Key Takeaways……………………………………Page 2
• EPC: Monthly Progress Evolution……………………………….. Page 3
• April 2020 Project Update…………………………………………Page 4
  • IP & Construction Activity ……………………………………Page 5
  • Labor Logistics In The COVID Era ………………………….Page 6
  • Cost Analysis – Significant Overruns Already?……………Page 8
  • COVID-19 Impact …………………………………………….Page 9
• December 2019 Baseline
  • Partner Organization, Key Participants ……………………Page 10
  • EPC Roles: MDR, Zachry, Chiyoda …………………………Page 12
  • Variance Analysis …………………………………………….Page 14

For access information, please email us at [email protected]

Key Takeaways:

1) What’s Eating Golden Pass? QP & XOM Get Squirrelly In Press. On April 6th, the NYT ran an exclusive quoting Saad al-Kaabi (former QP CEO & current Qatar Energy Minister) as saying Golden Pass (GPX) was proceeding and on schedule. However, that was quickly followed by QP’s 30% partner Exxon (XOM) cutting $11B of 2020 CAPEX, delaying FID for Rovuma LNG (Mozambique), reiterating Coral LNG’s development, while ignoring GPX altogether. Since then, the NYT took down the article, energy markets are upside down, & questions mount. Based on actual EPC progress, we believe the reaffirmed GPX schedule falls somewhere between…..continued (Pages 2-3)
2) Is Golden Pass In Trouble? Monthly Progress Analysis. We believe GPX’s engineering has remained well behind schedule. Data suggests GPX has been attempting (unsuccessfully) to ramp labor earlier than planned…continued (Pages 9 & 13-14)
3) Labor Logistics In The COVID Era…On 4/17/20, GPX requested additional on-site parking amid challenges with safely busing craft workers to the site amid a global pandemic, however busing craft workers wasn’t supposed to begin for another year (2021). This minor, intuitive disclosure actually offers a few significant read-throughs for the project, as well as its path moving forward…continued (Pages 6-8)
4) Cost Overruns Poised To Accelerate From Here? Over the next 6 months we believe the project is already looking at construction cost overruns (relative to its baseline schedule) of at least…continued (Page 7)

Click here to buy this report

Renewable Energy: The Next Generation

Initiating Coverage Of ENPH, TPIC, REGI, & ENS

Executive Summary ……………………………………………….Page  5
Industry Overviews………………………………………………..Page 9
Near-Term Drivers.…………………………………………………Page 11
Solar …………………………………………………………………Page 14
Wind …………………………………………………………………Page 20
Biofuels ……………………………………………………………..Page 25
Energy Storage …………………………………………………….Page 30
Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) …………………………………….Page 33
TPI Composites, Inc. (TPIC) ………………………………………Page 47
Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (REGI) ………………………….Page 59
Enersys (ENS) ………………………………………………………Page 70
Disclosures ………………………………………………………….Page 81

Rolling Out Our First Wave Of Renewable Energy Coverage: We are initiating coverage of REGI (Outperform, PT: $36), ENPH (Market Perform, PT: $33), TPIC (Market Perform, PT: $17), and ENS (Market Perform, PT: $55). As our historical energy infrastructure coverage has evolved, we’ve watched renewables consistently gain market share and play an increasingly competitive role in energy trade dynamics – particularly in the emerging markets, where we’ve seen prices come down, viability rise, and competitive flash points between traditional fuels, LNG, and renewables. Rather than focus solely on incumbent fuels and infrastructure, or solely on a potential bridge like LNG, we think it’s more prudent to cover energy transitions from every angle – hence our expansion into renewables.

Why These Names? We’re establishing a footprint in several renewable verticals: solar, wind, biofuels, and energy storage, creating a well-rounded platform that we can continue to expand. Within those verticals, ENPH, TPIC, REGI, and ENS were among the stocks most commonly highlighted by our clients as either underfollowed, misunderstood, or both. Although oil and gas (which remains the focal point of our legacy
coverage) still dominate global energy markets, it’s increasingly clear the future of energy is here – and it’s decarbonizing, innovating, and quickly becoming price competitive. We also think the group dovetails nicely with our skill-sets: analyzing SMID energy and infrastructure names with asymmetric risk/return profiles.

How Are We Tackling Renewables? There’s a reason why we were both drawn to and pushed toward this space – each company has a strong core business, at least one (or several) growth drivers, and the kind of significant shifting dynamics that can create particularly compelling risk/reward profiles.

COVID-19 Disclaimer: We continue to highlight our gratitude for health care providers and first responders during this time, and while our primary focus continues to be with the safety and well-being of our families, associates, and employees, the pandemic has certainly complicated our plans for initiation, however we think it’s important to have coverage through this period of uncertainty – rather than simply waiting for smoother seas. Each of our names have been and will continue to be greatly affected by the outbreak and associated economic downturn. Countries around the world have delayed energy auctions while agencies and data service providers have all begun to cut global supply and demand forecasts across all energy verticals. That said, it’s still too early to fully assess the potential impact on our industry- and company-level coverage. As a result, we are generally exercising caution with our ratings, price targets, and estimates until we get a broader view of the long-term disruption.

Investment Theses (Abridged)
Enphase Energy (ENPH) – Market Perform, PT: $33….continued (more…)