This is where I am right at home. All your IF’s have been responded to with a resounding yes! You really, really want to make LNG your business – or you have no choice. Either way. That’s good as it clears the mind. Now you need the structures, you need the markets but most importantly of all, you need an LNG supply chain that suits your needs. You need a Business Developer who is not afraid to go to the front line and do the really hard stuff.

Because contrary to what might have heard, LNG is not a sterile business. Its very hands on, its rubbing flesh, a lot of traveling and a lot of situations that will make you deeply uncomfortable. If you are not uncomfortable you have not really gone into LNG or you are one of the old dogs in which case I ask myself why you read this. You have professionals for this kind of work – go read something else.

This is important. You need to develop a project culture that is able to deal with a lot of frustration. Today’s LNG reality demands patience, perseverance and a fair deal of creative problem-solving. Failure is part of the deal so get used to it. One of the most important skills is to quickly identify the bad beans in order to stop the drain of resources.

I will take what you have, assess it and then rapidly start going where the LNG is (or can be made) and kick things off. Don’t forget, LNG is long-term so even if it takes you 2 years in order to develop a strong and realistic lead if your exposure is 20 years or more that’s not a lot of time to waste. I will be ruthless when it comes to proposing killing a non-performing lead. But you are the customer. The decision is yours.

I am a big fan of a multi-target approach. In LNG, you can never be sure a particular project is going to work out for you. That’s why I usually develop at least 3 solid leads per project for a client.