Taking Cover from COVID-19 Under LNG Contracts

The CWC World LNG & Gas Series hosted a webinar to share updates on the most topical elements affecting the market with regard to liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts in the COVID-19 era. The panel included experts from King and Spalding Law and LNG Worldwide, and BRG’s Chris Goncalves.

Panelists discussed long-term sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) and the range of flexibility, force majeure, material adverse effect, and hardship clauses. They also assessed how these clauses can provide relief to parties struggling to perform in light of government imperatives of social distancing and a dramatic turn down in LNG demand.

The panel discussed practical, legal, analytical, and expert issues related to the following topics:

• Flexibility Provisions: How effective are they at managing buyers’ changing LNG demands?
• Force Majeure: Is it as simple as it sounds?
  • What constitutes FM?
  • When does it apply and not apply?
  • What does it do?
  • How can you claim FM?
  • What are the notice requirements?
  • What are the analytic and evidentiary issues needed to support a claim and quantify its effect?
• Termination: How easy is it to walk away from LNG contracts?
  • Consideration of MAC, hardship, and other termination events.
  • When do they apply and not apply?
  • What do they do and not do?
  • How are they different from FM?
  • What are the analytic and evidentiary issues needed to support a claim and quantify its effect?