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The Warwick MBA
Submitted by: OS Adio
Module Title: Marketing Analysis
Date: July 2014
Word Count: 2784 (Excluding headings, tables, figures, labels & references)
Number of Pages: 17
Question: Marketing Analysis of BG Group’s LNG Marketing
“This is to certify that the work I am submitting is my own. All external
references and sources are clearly acknowledged and identified within the
contents. I am aware of the University of Warwick regulation concerning
plagiarism and collusion.
No substantial part(s) of the work submitted here has also been submitted by
me in other assessments for accredited courses of study, and I acknowledge that
if this has been done an appropriate reduction in the mark I might otherwise
have received will be made.”
Contents
Assignment Cover Sheet .................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.0 Introduction to BG Group ..............................................................................3
2.0 The LNG Market Environment......................................................................4
2.1 Global Gas Consumption..................................................................................4
2.2 LNG Market Competition .................................................................................5
2.3 Price Elasticity of Demand (Product Market)..................................................6
2.4 Pricing Mechanism – Opposing Ideologies......................................................7
3.0 BG Group Portfolio Analysis..........................................................................8
3.1 Demand Focused Flexible Portfolio.................................................................9
4.0 Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation & Positioning ...........................10
4.1 Segmentation...................................................................................................10
4.2 Targeting.........................................................................................................10
4.3 Differentiation and Positioning ......................................................................10
5.0 BG LNG Marketing Strategy .......................................................................11
5.1 Global Energy Marketing and Shipping (GEMS)...........................................11
5.2 Flexible LNG Marketing.................................................................................11
5.3 BG Supply Contracts and LNG Pricing..........................................................12
5.4 Corporate Social Responsibility .....................................................................13
6.0 Performance Analysis....................................................................................14
6.1 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE).............................................................14
6.2 Fixed Asset Turnover......................................................................................14
7.0 Evaluation and Conclusion ...........................................................................15
References...................................................................................................................16
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 1 July 2014
List of Figures Page
1 BG Group 2013 Operating Profit 3
2 Historical Natural Gas Consumption (Demand) 4
3 LNG Industry Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis 5
4 2011 Global Natural Gas Use 6
5 Residential Natural Gas Price Elasticity 6
6 Gas and LNG Prices 2008 to 2014 7
7 BG Upstream and LNG Geographical Footprint 8
8 Global LNG Demand 8
9 BG LNG loaded volumes by source and destination 9
10 BG LNG Sales and LNG Importer 2013 Statistics 10
11 BG’s Flexible LNG Marketing Model 11
12 Asia LNG Pricing Framework 12
13 Cost of LNG Supply to Asia 13
14 Return on Capital Employed; BG Competition Analysis 14
15 Fixed Asset Turnover; BG Competition Analysis 14
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 2 July 2014
Acronyms
BOE Barrel of Oil Equivalent
CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate
CAPEX Capital Expenditure
E&P Exploration & Production
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GEMS Global Energy Marketing and Shipping
HH Henry Hub
IOC International Oil Company
JCC Japanese Custom Cleared
JKT Japan Korea and Thailand
LNG Liquefied Natural Gas
MLNG Mini Liquefied Natural Gas
MMBtu Million British Thermal Units
NBP National Balancing Point
NGL Natural Gas Liquids
NOC National Oil Company
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PEoD Price Elasticity of Demand
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 3 July 2014
1.0 Introduction to BG Group
BG Group (BG) was formed out of the demerger of the UK gas industry monopolist firm,
British Gas. This was done as part of de-regulation of the gas market and introduction of
competition (Adio, 2013).
In 1997, British Gas demerged into two separately listed companies: BG plc in charge of
exploration and production and the overseas operations of British Gas and Centrica plc in
charge of the UK retail business of the former British Gas (BG, 2014a). BG is a natural gas
producer. It carries out the discovery, extraction, transmission, distribution and supply of
natural gas. BG classified its operations into two segments, namely, Upstream and
Transmission, and LNG Shipping and Marketing. BG is headquartered in Reading,
Berkshire, UK. (Global Company Intelligence, 2014).
The company’s 2013 operating profit of $7610million from 633kboed upstream production
and 10.9 mmtpa delivered LNG (BG, 2014b) is decomposed in figure-1
Figure 1 – BG Group 2013 Operating Profit (BG Group, 2014b)
LNG
Shipping &
Marketing
35%Upstream
65%
OPERATING PROFIT BY BUSINESS SEGEMENT
The LNG sector thus represents approximately one-third of BG’s profit.
BG has assets and operations throughout the LNG value delivery network. These include
stakes in E&P plays and liquefaction plants. The company also has a fleet of LNG ships to
fulfil sales delivery and has stakes in re-gasification facilities, including at Dragon LNG in the
UK (BG 2014f).
The UK operations along with Singapore represent the company’s global marketing hubs and
thus crucial to its worldwide marketing operations.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 4 July 2014
2.0 The LNG Market Environment
Prior to assessing the operations, portfolio and LNG marketing strategy of BG group, a
context of the market environment will be analysed to give a backdrop against BG’s chosen
strategy.
2.1 Global Gas Consumption
Whilst the focus is on BG’s marketing of LNG, it should be recognised that the primary
commodity is gas and LNG is a medium to supply gas to the final consumer. Consequently,
there is a direct proportionality between the consumption of gas and the demand for LNG,
where gas consumption includes LNG.
As noted by Adio (2013), the global nature and synchronicity of the 2009 recession resulted
in a fall in GDP across most countries worldwide. This resulted in lower demand, including
demand for natural gas (figure-2).
Figure 2 – Historical Natural Consumption (Demand) (BP, 2013)
150
170
190
210
230
250
270
290
310
330
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
GlobalConsumptionBcf/day
Global Natural Gas Consumption
This fall in natural gas consumption impacted all major producers in terms of volumes
supplied to the global market during the recession.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 5 July 2014
2.2 LNG Market Competition
The global LNG industry is a consolidated market with few multinationals having the
financial power to operate base load plants and execute marketing logistics. The major
players which are a mix of IOCs and NOCs include Shell, Qatar LNG, Woodside Petroleum,
Nigeria LNG and BG.
The competitive forces experienced by BG within this sector will be analysed using Porter’s
5-forces;
Figure 3 – LNG Industry Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis
The analysis shows the sign of a moderately competitive market. The LNG market can be
best described as oligopolistic competition. High capital cost keeps entry barriers high and
threat of substitutes to the primary commodity remains low due to current lack of price
competitiveness of the alternatives (wind, solar). Adio (2013) noted that supplier power
remains the biggest challenge for similar energy industry players as government policies and
actions, such as appropriation of assets or not honouring contract terms can adversely impact
company performance.
However, it is anticipated that the industry may become more fragmented and more
competitive in the medium to long term if Mini-LNG gains popularity (Sathyamoorthy, 2014)
and projects from much smaller organisations begin to come online. Whilst Mini-LNG will
not compete for supply sources with base load projects, the undifferentiated product will
compete for demand market share such that an aggregation of MLNG plants in one country
(e.g. Japan) could result in a fall in that country’s LNG import volumes.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 6 July 2014
2.3 Price Elasticity of Demand (Product Market)
Adio (2013) noted that natural gas is a commodity that is widely used within the global
residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Figure-4 shows the composition of natural gas
consumption.
Figure 4 – 2011 Global Natural Gas Use (IEA, 2013)
Transport
7%
Industry
37%
Non-energy Use
12%
Other
(Agricultural,
Residential,
Commercial,
Public Services)
44%
2011 GLOBAL NATURAL GAS USE
LNG after re-gasification can be used in all of the above sectors. Using LNG as a proxy for
natural gas, LNG is expected to have a low price elasticity of demand as a result of the
implied widespread utilisation and essential nature of the commodity. The price elasticity of
demand for gas in nine OECD countries is shown in figure-5.
Figure 5 – Residential Natural Gas Price Elasticity (Bernstein, 2011)
Austria Germany Ireland Japan Luxmbrg Holland Swiss UK US Mean
Long Run Income Elasticity -0.4 -0.2 -1.6 -0.3 0.1 -0.1 -0.8 -0.4 -0.2 -0.5
Short Run Income Elasticity 0.5 -0.2 -0.5 -0.2 -0.05 0.1 -0.5 -0.1 -0.05 -0.2
-1.8
-1.5
-1.2
-0.9
-0.6
-0.3
0
0.3
0.6
PriceElasticity
Residential Natural Gas Price Elasticity
Average short run price elasticity value of -0.2 implies that demand will fall by 20% if prices
rise by 100%. This shows that natural gas/LNG demand is price inelastic (PEoD < 0) within
the OECD. This price inelasticity of demand serves as an advantage to companies such as
BG; as price increases will not have a negative effect on revenues.
Adio (2013) speculated that the increasing trend of global natural gas consumption seen in
figure-2, despite increasing well head cost over the same period suggest that the price
inelasticity of natural gas/LNG is global (on average) rather than being limited to the OECD
residential sector.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 7 July 2014
2.4 Pricing Mechanism – Opposing Ideologies
As noted by Huitric (Year-unknown), the emergence of the US & UK as key demand centres
for LNG has led to a shift in LNG pricing which was once dominated by long term oil-
indexed contracts that were prevalent in Asia and Middle East. Huitric (Year-unknown)
argued that for the LNG sellers to serve the most liquid markets with almost infinite LNG
demand emerging from US & UK they had to adjust and accept a spot pricing mechanism of
the HH and NBP respectively, which were in operation in these countries.
Long term oil-indexed contracts typically carries a premium over spot prices (Harris, 2013) as
shown in figure-6 (Asia LT proxy vs. Spots).
Figure 6 – Gas and LNG prices: 2012 to 2014 (BG, 2014c)
The emergence of a spot price option is thus changing buyer behaviour as buyers try to source
their LNG from markets they perceive as more cost effective, particularly the US with HH
spot prices driven low due to emergence of cheap shale gas. This view is supported by a
Gastech (2014) article which states that relatively few oil-linked long-term contracts have
been signed recently by Asian buyers, with only 5mtpa executed in the last 18-months.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 8 July 2014
3.0 BG Group Portfolio Analysis
From a product point of view, BG’s portfolio is very narrow and restricted to natural gas and
LNG. However, BG’s portfolio can also be looked at in terms of market and assets. BG’s
upstream and LNG assets are highly diversified across the globe (figure-7).
Figure 7 – BG Upstream and LNG Geographical Footprint (BG Group, 2014c)
Such a diversified portfolio of producing assets in upstream and LNG (liquefaction and re-
gasification shown as equity positions in figure-7) and LNG shipping and marketing reduces
the company’s risk on security of supply and gives it access and proximity to key markets. .
Analysing LNG using the product life cycle concept as used by Kotler et al (2013 p.287),
LNG can be regarded as going through a growth phase (figure-8).
Figure 8 – Global LNG Demand (EY, 2014)
However, unlike the typical product life cycle of a consumer product where the growth phase
might only last 5 or 10 years and then move into mature/decline, it is not expected that LNG
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 9 July 2014
will move into a mature/decline phase so quickly unless global gas production starts to
decline. Due to the essential nature of the commodity, it is anticipated that once saturation of
demand is reached in certain regions, economic or non-economic (e.g Fukushima earthquake)
developments in others will lead to increasing demand of LNG in other regions. This theory
is aligned with the trend shown in figure-8 whereby demand has stagnated in JKT but other
regions are fuelling the actual and projected global demand growth of LNG.
3.1 Demand Focused Flexible Portfolio
BG meets customer LNG demand with third-party LNG purchases as well as its own operated
LNG production (figure-9).
Figure 9 – BG LNG loaded volumes by source and destination (BG, 2014b)
Its LNG sales portfolio of operated production and third-party sources (figure-9) (BG, 2014b)
means BG can meet LNG demand volumes significantly higher than the capacity of its fixed
asset base.
With a commodity that is expected to have increasing global consumption and a globally
diversified asset and marketing portfolio, BG’s portfolio can thus be regarded as fairly robust.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 10 July 2014
4.0 Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation & Positioning
4.1 Segmentation
The LNG market can be segmented using the concept of inter-market segmentation as
discussed by Kotler et al (2013 p.212). LNG is produced and sold either in base load
quantities or MLNG scale quantities. BG operates in the base load segment of the market
where LNG volumes are sold to countries and major utilities compared to the MLNG market
where LNG is produced and sold locally or regionally. Hence BG effectively serves the
market of countries with significant import requirements. This fits with the concept of inter-
market segmentation.
4.2 Targeting
Global LNG importing statistics and BG LNG sales statistics suggest that BG focuses its
marketing effort in some regions more than others (figure-10).
Figure 10 – BG LNG Sales and LNG Importer 2013 statistics (Adapted from BG, 2014c)
Almost half of BG’s sales is to the premium oil-linked pricing Asian market whilst very little,
by comparison, is sold into the European and North American markets where spot pricing is
used. Whilst this could be a natural consequence of the percentage of global LNG bought by
the Asian market (figure-10), it is conceivable that BG would target and maximise sales to
such a market where it can obtain the highest margin on its product.
4.3 Differentiation and Positioning
Whilst LNG as a product cannot be differentiated, through its demand focused marketing
strategy BG is able to position itself with an augmented product that is characterised by
flexibility of delivery, reliability and quick response time. In addition to flexibility in meeting
its supply obligations, with its marketing model and uncontracted volumes, BG can quickly
respond to unexpected disruption in competitor’s supply or fluctuations in demand. These
features of differentiation is what Kotler et al (2013, p.223) referred to as service
differentiation.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 11 July 2014
5.0 BG LNG Marketing Strategy
5.1 Global Energy Marketing and Shipping (GEMS)
BG uses an integrated GEMS system for coordination and marketing of its LNG globally.
GEMS established LNG trading hubs are in the UK and Singapore and is engaged in
marketing LNG (as well as oil and gas) to buyers globally, both on a long term and short-term
basis. GEMS activities also cover monitoring of storage levels at BG terminals, LNG backfill
opportunities and fleet availability (BG, 2014d).
Being the nerve centre of coordination and execution of sales contracts, the UK European
operation represents a key part of BG’s marketing strategy.
5.2 Flexible LNG Marketing
BG operates a flexible LNG marketing model focused on destination flexibility rather than
the traditional point-to-point contracts (Melling, 2010).
The marketing strategy relies on supplementing BG’s LNG production with competitively
sourced LNG volumes from third parties. These are then delivered to buyers on both long
and short term contracts (figure-11).
Figure 11 – BG’s Flexible LNG Marketing Model (BG, 2014b)
To date BG has bought supply from 12 out of the 17 countries currently producing LNG and
sold LNG to 25 out of the 27 importing countries (BG, 2014b). Delivery of LNG is via a
flexible portfolio consisting of owned and leased LNG carriers. For 2013 BG reported using
between 25 and 30 ships at any one time to market LNG around the world despite owning just
5 LNG ships (2014c p.29).
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 12 July 2014
5.3 BG Supply Contracts and LNG Pricing
Approximately 80% of BG’s 2014 LNG sales are expected to be made under medium to long
term supply contracts with the vast majority priced index to oil (BG, 2014b p.13). The
outstanding uncontracted 20% of LNG sales are expected to be sold into high value spot
markets (BG, 2014b p.13). The decision to hold uncontracted volume is key to the
company’s flexible marketing model.
To a certain extent, BG is a price taker as there is little scope to make pricing decisions due to
the industry mechanism of pricing. However, oil-linked contracts still provide room for
negotiation. A typical example is Asia LNG pricing, which is oil-linked and based on
Japanese Customs Cleared (JCC) price for crude oil (figure-12).
Figure 12 – Asia LNG Pricing Framework (Adapted from CAPP, 2014)
The pricing formula intercept (A) is the only degree of freedom for sellers such as BG to
influence the price paid. This parameter, which is subject to negotiation between buyer and
seller, is the LNG base price and it’s independent of oil price or its fluctuation. GBI Research
(2012, p.68) notes that the gradient (B) is approximately 0.155.
With regards to spot market sales, BG will be an absolute price taker with no option to sell
above the market price.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 13 July 2014
As shown in the cost structure (figure-13) the spot prices (NBP+) will generally represent the
price floor for LNG sales whilst the oil-linked contracts (Asia LT Proxy) will represent the
price roof.
Figure 13 – Cost of LNG Supply to Asia (BG, 2014c p.16)
5.4 Corporate Social Responsibility
BG recognises that the long term success of its business can be impacted by what
Reindenbach et al (1987 p.45), citing the work of Steiner referred to as the ‘social contract’.
To honour this social contract BG carries out and publicise its voluntary work in countries
where it has E&P or LNG liquefaction operations. Such work includes supporting aboriginal
communities in Australia where BG is building the Queensland Curtis LNG plant or
supporting waste management solutions in Tanzania where BG has a greenfield LNG project
(BG, 2014g). Koschate-Fischer et al (2012) referred to such activities as Cause Related
Marketing, which have become a valuable marketing tool and is expected to help the
company generate goodwill. This can be particularly crucial within host communities where
the company’s gas resources lie.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 14 July 2014
6.0 Performance Analysis
6.1 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
BG’s ROCE and those of its competitors who also produce and trade LNG are shown in
figure-14
Figure 14 – Return on Capital Employed; BG Competition Analysis (GCI, 2014)
6.2 Fixed Asset Turnover
BG’s Fixed Asset Turnover and those of its competitors are shown in figure-15
Figure 15 – Fixed Asset Turnover; BG Competition Analysis (GCI, 2014)
Despite its market share maximising LNG strategy, the above performance metrics shows that
BG is still behind some of its key competitors. It is expected that its LNG strategy should
maximise fixed asset turnover beyond the performance shown in figure-15, hence BG’s
upstream operations, which represents 65% of profits are suspected to be dominant in these
results. The results also show the impact of the 2008/9 recession noted in section-2.1.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 15 July 2014
7.0 Evaluation and Conclusion
The LNG market is forecasted to grow at 4.8% CAGR up to 2025 resulting in a forecasted
supply gap of 150mtpa (BG, 2014c p.9). Whilst competition is currently moderate, BG must
continually revise its strategies as the emergence of MLNG may result in a fragmented and
more competitive space. The competition could strengthen further if predicted demand does
not materialise due to improving economics of substitutes such as wind and solar.
BG has long benefitted from regional Asian oil-linked contracts that maximised profit.
However, the emergence of spot pricing and a shift in what represents value in LNG pricing
in the mind-set of buyers means suppliers such as BG are likely to experience a fall in long
term oil-linked contracts in favour of spot market purchases..
With evolution of competition and possible emergence of spot pricing in Asia, BG can expect
a squeeze on revenue and profits in the medium to long term despite the price inelasticity of
gas/LNG. The impact on margins can be reduced by controlling its cost and increasing the
value added in its portfolio. BG’s presence at every point along the LNG value delivery
network means the company can control its cost better to achieve lowest possible cost per
tonne of LNG sold. To support this objective, unit lifting cost, which was estimated to have
increased by 33% to $16.25/boe in 2013 (BG, 2014b) and cost on CAPEX which was rated as
average by a Wood Mackenzie study of CAPEX projects (BG, 2013e) must also be improved.
Furthermore, due to BGs’ flexible marketing portfolio, cost advantage gained along the value
delivery network is limited to the percentage of LNG BG produces itself (approximately 50%
in 2013) (figure-10, sources loaded). Increase in value added should be targeted by
increasing the percentage of owned produced LNG volume. To this end BG currently has an
inventory of supply projects totalling 43mtpa of LNG scheduled to come on-stream over the
next 5-10 years (BG, 2014c).
Whilst the flexible marketing strategy has the drawback of eroding maximum attainable
margin on total volume delivered, this innovative strategy, which first emerged as a hedge
against unexpected reversals in demand and now growing in the sector (PFC Energy, 2012
p.27), enables BG to command a market share that significantly exceeds the capacity of its
asset base. Citing Wood Mackenzie’s LNG tool, BG (2014c p.28) noted that amongst IOC’s,
BG is predicted to trade the largest combined (committed and flexible) volume of LNG up to
2017.
In conclusion, BG’s flexible portfolio is designed to maximise market share rather than profit
margin. Such an approach is perfectly sound in the current LNG market. However, as the
market becomes more fragmented and more competitive, margins will be squeezed. BG
should start to transition the balance in its portfolio towards this future market structure by
investing more in liquefaction plants and LNG carriers in order to increase overall value
added in its portfolio. Furthermore, as competition intensifies, with the potential for supply to
exceed demand, BG should consider an overall product mix pricing strategy as suppliers
compete to optimise sales volume and margins. Particularly useful here will be by-product
pricing (Kotler et al. p. 331). By selling NGL, a valuable by-product of LNG production at
commodity market prices, BG can seek to lower its base LNG price to give it a competitive
price and thus keep its sales volume and may be even further penetrate the market.
WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 16 July 2014
References
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Economic & Business Analysis of BG Group
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WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis
Submitted by: 1267916 17 July 2014
Harris N (2013). Should Natural Gas Prices in Europe and Asia Be De-Linked From Oil?
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The Impact of Donation Amount and Moderating Effects – Journal of Marketing Research Vol. XLIX
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Melling AJ (2010). Natural Gas Pricing and Its Future – Europe as the battleground
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Sathyamoorthy K (2014). The Emergence of Small and Mid-Scale LNG in South East Asia- 3rd
Annual
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of-Small-and-Mid-Scale-LNG-in-South-East-Asia-Karthik-Sathyamoorthy-Head-of-Asia-Pacific-
Galway-Group.pdf&ei=yozFU7PuE4OK7AaE8oCgAQ&usg=AFQjCNF8LIu96ev1Ql-
KHXN_AQ7qCI6kkQ
(Accessed 15 July 2014)

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A Critical Review of BG Group's LNG Marketing

  • 1. The Warwick MBA Submitted by: OS Adio Module Title: Marketing Analysis Date: July 2014 Word Count: 2784 (Excluding headings, tables, figures, labels & references) Number of Pages: 17 Question: Marketing Analysis of BG Group’s LNG Marketing “This is to certify that the work I am submitting is my own. All external references and sources are clearly acknowledged and identified within the contents. I am aware of the University of Warwick regulation concerning plagiarism and collusion. No substantial part(s) of the work submitted here has also been submitted by me in other assessments for accredited courses of study, and I acknowledge that if this has been done an appropriate reduction in the mark I might otherwise have received will be made.”
  • 2. Contents Assignment Cover Sheet .................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.0 Introduction to BG Group ..............................................................................3 2.0 The LNG Market Environment......................................................................4 2.1 Global Gas Consumption..................................................................................4 2.2 LNG Market Competition .................................................................................5 2.3 Price Elasticity of Demand (Product Market)..................................................6 2.4 Pricing Mechanism – Opposing Ideologies......................................................7 3.0 BG Group Portfolio Analysis..........................................................................8 3.1 Demand Focused Flexible Portfolio.................................................................9 4.0 Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation & Positioning ...........................10 4.1 Segmentation...................................................................................................10 4.2 Targeting.........................................................................................................10 4.3 Differentiation and Positioning ......................................................................10 5.0 BG LNG Marketing Strategy .......................................................................11 5.1 Global Energy Marketing and Shipping (GEMS)...........................................11 5.2 Flexible LNG Marketing.................................................................................11 5.3 BG Supply Contracts and LNG Pricing..........................................................12 5.4 Corporate Social Responsibility .....................................................................13 6.0 Performance Analysis....................................................................................14 6.1 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE).............................................................14 6.2 Fixed Asset Turnover......................................................................................14 7.0 Evaluation and Conclusion ...........................................................................15 References...................................................................................................................16
  • 3. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 1 July 2014 List of Figures Page 1 BG Group 2013 Operating Profit 3 2 Historical Natural Gas Consumption (Demand) 4 3 LNG Industry Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis 5 4 2011 Global Natural Gas Use 6 5 Residential Natural Gas Price Elasticity 6 6 Gas and LNG Prices 2008 to 2014 7 7 BG Upstream and LNG Geographical Footprint 8 8 Global LNG Demand 8 9 BG LNG loaded volumes by source and destination 9 10 BG LNG Sales and LNG Importer 2013 Statistics 10 11 BG’s Flexible LNG Marketing Model 11 12 Asia LNG Pricing Framework 12 13 Cost of LNG Supply to Asia 13 14 Return on Capital Employed; BG Competition Analysis 14 15 Fixed Asset Turnover; BG Competition Analysis 14
  • 4. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 2 July 2014 Acronyms BOE Barrel of Oil Equivalent CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate CAPEX Capital Expenditure E&P Exploration & Production GDP Gross Domestic Product GEMS Global Energy Marketing and Shipping HH Henry Hub IOC International Oil Company JCC Japanese Custom Cleared JKT Japan Korea and Thailand LNG Liquefied Natural Gas MLNG Mini Liquefied Natural Gas MMBtu Million British Thermal Units NBP National Balancing Point NGL Natural Gas Liquids NOC National Oil Company OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PEoD Price Elasticity of Demand
  • 5. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 3 July 2014 1.0 Introduction to BG Group BG Group (BG) was formed out of the demerger of the UK gas industry monopolist firm, British Gas. This was done as part of de-regulation of the gas market and introduction of competition (Adio, 2013). In 1997, British Gas demerged into two separately listed companies: BG plc in charge of exploration and production and the overseas operations of British Gas and Centrica plc in charge of the UK retail business of the former British Gas (BG, 2014a). BG is a natural gas producer. It carries out the discovery, extraction, transmission, distribution and supply of natural gas. BG classified its operations into two segments, namely, Upstream and Transmission, and LNG Shipping and Marketing. BG is headquartered in Reading, Berkshire, UK. (Global Company Intelligence, 2014). The company’s 2013 operating profit of $7610million from 633kboed upstream production and 10.9 mmtpa delivered LNG (BG, 2014b) is decomposed in figure-1 Figure 1 – BG Group 2013 Operating Profit (BG Group, 2014b) LNG Shipping & Marketing 35%Upstream 65% OPERATING PROFIT BY BUSINESS SEGEMENT The LNG sector thus represents approximately one-third of BG’s profit. BG has assets and operations throughout the LNG value delivery network. These include stakes in E&P plays and liquefaction plants. The company also has a fleet of LNG ships to fulfil sales delivery and has stakes in re-gasification facilities, including at Dragon LNG in the UK (BG 2014f). The UK operations along with Singapore represent the company’s global marketing hubs and thus crucial to its worldwide marketing operations.
  • 6. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 4 July 2014 2.0 The LNG Market Environment Prior to assessing the operations, portfolio and LNG marketing strategy of BG group, a context of the market environment will be analysed to give a backdrop against BG’s chosen strategy. 2.1 Global Gas Consumption Whilst the focus is on BG’s marketing of LNG, it should be recognised that the primary commodity is gas and LNG is a medium to supply gas to the final consumer. Consequently, there is a direct proportionality between the consumption of gas and the demand for LNG, where gas consumption includes LNG. As noted by Adio (2013), the global nature and synchronicity of the 2009 recession resulted in a fall in GDP across most countries worldwide. This resulted in lower demand, including demand for natural gas (figure-2). Figure 2 – Historical Natural Consumption (Demand) (BP, 2013) 150 170 190 210 230 250 270 290 310 330 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 GlobalConsumptionBcf/day Global Natural Gas Consumption This fall in natural gas consumption impacted all major producers in terms of volumes supplied to the global market during the recession.
  • 7. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 5 July 2014 2.2 LNG Market Competition The global LNG industry is a consolidated market with few multinationals having the financial power to operate base load plants and execute marketing logistics. The major players which are a mix of IOCs and NOCs include Shell, Qatar LNG, Woodside Petroleum, Nigeria LNG and BG. The competitive forces experienced by BG within this sector will be analysed using Porter’s 5-forces; Figure 3 – LNG Industry Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis The analysis shows the sign of a moderately competitive market. The LNG market can be best described as oligopolistic competition. High capital cost keeps entry barriers high and threat of substitutes to the primary commodity remains low due to current lack of price competitiveness of the alternatives (wind, solar). Adio (2013) noted that supplier power remains the biggest challenge for similar energy industry players as government policies and actions, such as appropriation of assets or not honouring contract terms can adversely impact company performance. However, it is anticipated that the industry may become more fragmented and more competitive in the medium to long term if Mini-LNG gains popularity (Sathyamoorthy, 2014) and projects from much smaller organisations begin to come online. Whilst Mini-LNG will not compete for supply sources with base load projects, the undifferentiated product will compete for demand market share such that an aggregation of MLNG plants in one country (e.g. Japan) could result in a fall in that country’s LNG import volumes.
  • 8. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 6 July 2014 2.3 Price Elasticity of Demand (Product Market) Adio (2013) noted that natural gas is a commodity that is widely used within the global residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Figure-4 shows the composition of natural gas consumption. Figure 4 – 2011 Global Natural Gas Use (IEA, 2013) Transport 7% Industry 37% Non-energy Use 12% Other (Agricultural, Residential, Commercial, Public Services) 44% 2011 GLOBAL NATURAL GAS USE LNG after re-gasification can be used in all of the above sectors. Using LNG as a proxy for natural gas, LNG is expected to have a low price elasticity of demand as a result of the implied widespread utilisation and essential nature of the commodity. The price elasticity of demand for gas in nine OECD countries is shown in figure-5. Figure 5 – Residential Natural Gas Price Elasticity (Bernstein, 2011) Austria Germany Ireland Japan Luxmbrg Holland Swiss UK US Mean Long Run Income Elasticity -0.4 -0.2 -1.6 -0.3 0.1 -0.1 -0.8 -0.4 -0.2 -0.5 Short Run Income Elasticity 0.5 -0.2 -0.5 -0.2 -0.05 0.1 -0.5 -0.1 -0.05 -0.2 -1.8 -1.5 -1.2 -0.9 -0.6 -0.3 0 0.3 0.6 PriceElasticity Residential Natural Gas Price Elasticity Average short run price elasticity value of -0.2 implies that demand will fall by 20% if prices rise by 100%. This shows that natural gas/LNG demand is price inelastic (PEoD < 0) within the OECD. This price inelasticity of demand serves as an advantage to companies such as BG; as price increases will not have a negative effect on revenues. Adio (2013) speculated that the increasing trend of global natural gas consumption seen in figure-2, despite increasing well head cost over the same period suggest that the price inelasticity of natural gas/LNG is global (on average) rather than being limited to the OECD residential sector.
  • 9. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 7 July 2014 2.4 Pricing Mechanism – Opposing Ideologies As noted by Huitric (Year-unknown), the emergence of the US & UK as key demand centres for LNG has led to a shift in LNG pricing which was once dominated by long term oil- indexed contracts that were prevalent in Asia and Middle East. Huitric (Year-unknown) argued that for the LNG sellers to serve the most liquid markets with almost infinite LNG demand emerging from US & UK they had to adjust and accept a spot pricing mechanism of the HH and NBP respectively, which were in operation in these countries. Long term oil-indexed contracts typically carries a premium over spot prices (Harris, 2013) as shown in figure-6 (Asia LT proxy vs. Spots). Figure 6 – Gas and LNG prices: 2012 to 2014 (BG, 2014c) The emergence of a spot price option is thus changing buyer behaviour as buyers try to source their LNG from markets they perceive as more cost effective, particularly the US with HH spot prices driven low due to emergence of cheap shale gas. This view is supported by a Gastech (2014) article which states that relatively few oil-linked long-term contracts have been signed recently by Asian buyers, with only 5mtpa executed in the last 18-months.
  • 10. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 8 July 2014 3.0 BG Group Portfolio Analysis From a product point of view, BG’s portfolio is very narrow and restricted to natural gas and LNG. However, BG’s portfolio can also be looked at in terms of market and assets. BG’s upstream and LNG assets are highly diversified across the globe (figure-7). Figure 7 – BG Upstream and LNG Geographical Footprint (BG Group, 2014c) Such a diversified portfolio of producing assets in upstream and LNG (liquefaction and re- gasification shown as equity positions in figure-7) and LNG shipping and marketing reduces the company’s risk on security of supply and gives it access and proximity to key markets. . Analysing LNG using the product life cycle concept as used by Kotler et al (2013 p.287), LNG can be regarded as going through a growth phase (figure-8). Figure 8 – Global LNG Demand (EY, 2014) However, unlike the typical product life cycle of a consumer product where the growth phase might only last 5 or 10 years and then move into mature/decline, it is not expected that LNG
  • 11. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 9 July 2014 will move into a mature/decline phase so quickly unless global gas production starts to decline. Due to the essential nature of the commodity, it is anticipated that once saturation of demand is reached in certain regions, economic or non-economic (e.g Fukushima earthquake) developments in others will lead to increasing demand of LNG in other regions. This theory is aligned with the trend shown in figure-8 whereby demand has stagnated in JKT but other regions are fuelling the actual and projected global demand growth of LNG. 3.1 Demand Focused Flexible Portfolio BG meets customer LNG demand with third-party LNG purchases as well as its own operated LNG production (figure-9). Figure 9 – BG LNG loaded volumes by source and destination (BG, 2014b) Its LNG sales portfolio of operated production and third-party sources (figure-9) (BG, 2014b) means BG can meet LNG demand volumes significantly higher than the capacity of its fixed asset base. With a commodity that is expected to have increasing global consumption and a globally diversified asset and marketing portfolio, BG’s portfolio can thus be regarded as fairly robust.
  • 12. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 10 July 2014 4.0 Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation & Positioning 4.1 Segmentation The LNG market can be segmented using the concept of inter-market segmentation as discussed by Kotler et al (2013 p.212). LNG is produced and sold either in base load quantities or MLNG scale quantities. BG operates in the base load segment of the market where LNG volumes are sold to countries and major utilities compared to the MLNG market where LNG is produced and sold locally or regionally. Hence BG effectively serves the market of countries with significant import requirements. This fits with the concept of inter- market segmentation. 4.2 Targeting Global LNG importing statistics and BG LNG sales statistics suggest that BG focuses its marketing effort in some regions more than others (figure-10). Figure 10 – BG LNG Sales and LNG Importer 2013 statistics (Adapted from BG, 2014c) Almost half of BG’s sales is to the premium oil-linked pricing Asian market whilst very little, by comparison, is sold into the European and North American markets where spot pricing is used. Whilst this could be a natural consequence of the percentage of global LNG bought by the Asian market (figure-10), it is conceivable that BG would target and maximise sales to such a market where it can obtain the highest margin on its product. 4.3 Differentiation and Positioning Whilst LNG as a product cannot be differentiated, through its demand focused marketing strategy BG is able to position itself with an augmented product that is characterised by flexibility of delivery, reliability and quick response time. In addition to flexibility in meeting its supply obligations, with its marketing model and uncontracted volumes, BG can quickly respond to unexpected disruption in competitor’s supply or fluctuations in demand. These features of differentiation is what Kotler et al (2013, p.223) referred to as service differentiation.
  • 13. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 11 July 2014 5.0 BG LNG Marketing Strategy 5.1 Global Energy Marketing and Shipping (GEMS) BG uses an integrated GEMS system for coordination and marketing of its LNG globally. GEMS established LNG trading hubs are in the UK and Singapore and is engaged in marketing LNG (as well as oil and gas) to buyers globally, both on a long term and short-term basis. GEMS activities also cover monitoring of storage levels at BG terminals, LNG backfill opportunities and fleet availability (BG, 2014d). Being the nerve centre of coordination and execution of sales contracts, the UK European operation represents a key part of BG’s marketing strategy. 5.2 Flexible LNG Marketing BG operates a flexible LNG marketing model focused on destination flexibility rather than the traditional point-to-point contracts (Melling, 2010). The marketing strategy relies on supplementing BG’s LNG production with competitively sourced LNG volumes from third parties. These are then delivered to buyers on both long and short term contracts (figure-11). Figure 11 – BG’s Flexible LNG Marketing Model (BG, 2014b) To date BG has bought supply from 12 out of the 17 countries currently producing LNG and sold LNG to 25 out of the 27 importing countries (BG, 2014b). Delivery of LNG is via a flexible portfolio consisting of owned and leased LNG carriers. For 2013 BG reported using between 25 and 30 ships at any one time to market LNG around the world despite owning just 5 LNG ships (2014c p.29).
  • 14. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 12 July 2014 5.3 BG Supply Contracts and LNG Pricing Approximately 80% of BG’s 2014 LNG sales are expected to be made under medium to long term supply contracts with the vast majority priced index to oil (BG, 2014b p.13). The outstanding uncontracted 20% of LNG sales are expected to be sold into high value spot markets (BG, 2014b p.13). The decision to hold uncontracted volume is key to the company’s flexible marketing model. To a certain extent, BG is a price taker as there is little scope to make pricing decisions due to the industry mechanism of pricing. However, oil-linked contracts still provide room for negotiation. A typical example is Asia LNG pricing, which is oil-linked and based on Japanese Customs Cleared (JCC) price for crude oil (figure-12). Figure 12 – Asia LNG Pricing Framework (Adapted from CAPP, 2014) The pricing formula intercept (A) is the only degree of freedom for sellers such as BG to influence the price paid. This parameter, which is subject to negotiation between buyer and seller, is the LNG base price and it’s independent of oil price or its fluctuation. GBI Research (2012, p.68) notes that the gradient (B) is approximately 0.155. With regards to spot market sales, BG will be an absolute price taker with no option to sell above the market price.
  • 15. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 13 July 2014 As shown in the cost structure (figure-13) the spot prices (NBP+) will generally represent the price floor for LNG sales whilst the oil-linked contracts (Asia LT Proxy) will represent the price roof. Figure 13 – Cost of LNG Supply to Asia (BG, 2014c p.16) 5.4 Corporate Social Responsibility BG recognises that the long term success of its business can be impacted by what Reindenbach et al (1987 p.45), citing the work of Steiner referred to as the ‘social contract’. To honour this social contract BG carries out and publicise its voluntary work in countries where it has E&P or LNG liquefaction operations. Such work includes supporting aboriginal communities in Australia where BG is building the Queensland Curtis LNG plant or supporting waste management solutions in Tanzania where BG has a greenfield LNG project (BG, 2014g). Koschate-Fischer et al (2012) referred to such activities as Cause Related Marketing, which have become a valuable marketing tool and is expected to help the company generate goodwill. This can be particularly crucial within host communities where the company’s gas resources lie.
  • 16. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 14 July 2014 6.0 Performance Analysis 6.1 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) BG’s ROCE and those of its competitors who also produce and trade LNG are shown in figure-14 Figure 14 – Return on Capital Employed; BG Competition Analysis (GCI, 2014) 6.2 Fixed Asset Turnover BG’s Fixed Asset Turnover and those of its competitors are shown in figure-15 Figure 15 – Fixed Asset Turnover; BG Competition Analysis (GCI, 2014) Despite its market share maximising LNG strategy, the above performance metrics shows that BG is still behind some of its key competitors. It is expected that its LNG strategy should maximise fixed asset turnover beyond the performance shown in figure-15, hence BG’s upstream operations, which represents 65% of profits are suspected to be dominant in these results. The results also show the impact of the 2008/9 recession noted in section-2.1.
  • 17. WBS Global Energy MBA Marketing Analysis Submitted by: 1267916 15 July 2014 7.0 Evaluation and Conclusion The LNG market is forecasted to grow at 4.8% CAGR up to 2025 resulting in a forecasted supply gap of 150mtpa (BG, 2014c p.9). Whilst competition is currently moderate, BG must continually revise its strategies as the emergence of MLNG may result in a fragmented and more competitive space. The competition could strengthen further if predicted demand does not materialise due to improving economics of substitutes such as wind and solar. BG has long benefitted from regional Asian oil-linked contracts that maximised profit. However, the emergence of spot pricing and a shift in what represents value in LNG pricing in the mind-set of buyers means suppliers such as BG are likely to experience a fall in long term oil-linked contracts in favour of spot market purchases.. With evolution of competition and possible emergence of spot pricing in Asia, BG can expect a squeeze on revenue and profits in the medium to long term despite the price inelasticity of gas/LNG. The impact on margins can be reduced by controlling its cost and increasing the value added in its portfolio. BG’s presence at every point along the LNG value delivery network means the company can control its cost better to achieve lowest possible cost per tonne of LNG sold. To support this objective, unit lifting cost, which was estimated to have increased by 33% to $16.25/boe in 2013 (BG, 2014b) and cost on CAPEX which was rated as average by a Wood Mackenzie study of CAPEX projects (BG, 2013e) must also be improved. Furthermore, due to BGs’ flexible marketing portfolio, cost advantage gained along the value delivery network is limited to the percentage of LNG BG produces itself (approximately 50% in 2013) (figure-10, sources loaded). Increase in value added should be targeted by increasing the percentage of owned produced LNG volume. To this end BG currently has an inventory of supply projects totalling 43mtpa of LNG scheduled to come on-stream over the next 5-10 years (BG, 2014c). Whilst the flexible marketing strategy has the drawback of eroding maximum attainable margin on total volume delivered, this innovative strategy, which first emerged as a hedge against unexpected reversals in demand and now growing in the sector (PFC Energy, 2012 p.27), enables BG to command a market share that significantly exceeds the capacity of its asset base. Citing Wood Mackenzie’s LNG tool, BG (2014c p.28) noted that amongst IOC’s, BG is predicted to trade the largest combined (committed and flexible) volume of LNG up to 2017. In conclusion, BG’s flexible portfolio is designed to maximise market share rather than profit margin. Such an approach is perfectly sound in the current LNG market. However, as the market becomes more fragmented and more competitive, margins will be squeezed. BG should start to transition the balance in its portfolio towards this future market structure by investing more in liquefaction plants and LNG carriers in order to increase overall value added in its portfolio. Furthermore, as competition intensifies, with the potential for supply to exceed demand, BG should consider an overall product mix pricing strategy as suppliers compete to optimise sales volume and margins. Particularly useful here will be by-product pricing (Kotler et al. p. 331). By selling NGL, a valuable by-product of LNG production at commodity market prices, BG can seek to lower its base LNG price to give it a competitive price and thus keep its sales volume and may be even further penetrate the market.
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