KBR CEO: Time right for new LNG projects

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The time is right for a series of new liquefied natural gas production projects to get off the ground after three years of few investment decisions, according to the head of KBR Inc (KBR.N).

William Utt, chief executive officer of the U.S. engineering and construction firm, told the Reuters Global Energy Summit in New York on Tuesday that the current supply-demand balance and availability of resources meant that a series of new LNG projects would soon come to fruition.

A glut of contract awards for LNG production projects were made in 2004 and 2005, including in Indonesia, Yemen, Nigeria and Qatar -- projects that are now either online or expected soon.

However, only Peru LNG reached final investment decision in 2006 as costs for building projects soared.

"There was not a lot of contracted projects in the last few years ... And it's probably time for the next series of projects," Utt said.

He said he expects: "A series of (contract) awards in the next two years that would be in excess of what we have seen in the last three years."

KBR has built or is building LNG production projects in eight countries, with a strong presence in the Asia Pacific region.

Utt said that in the near term the Asia Pacific region would be the favored area for LNG operations, compared to Africa or the Americas.

"In the near term, the Asia Pacific region appears to be the strongest area. Africa is a little slow right now, although there is activity in Algeria," Utt said, mentioning ongoing politically-related production problems in Nigeria.

"In the long term, you may even see a Latin American play as the reserves offshore Brazil come to fruition. But that's about five years off now."

(For summit blog: blogs.reuters.com/summits/)

(Reporting by Edward McAllister; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)