The U.S. Dept. of Energy has just released its annual LNG report (full copy below) detailing every single shipment of LNG exported via tanker ship, identifying where it shipped from (which facility), who bought it, which country it sailed to, etc. Among the gems in the report: in December Cove Point LNG, now operated by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway company, saw the highest prices for LNG exports during the month, averaging $7.11 per MMBtu. Cove Point was also the first LNG export facility to load a ship sailing to Croatia with American LNG.
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Category: CNG/LNG
Which Natural Gas Markets Will Grow, by Sector, from Now to 2050?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently issued its Annual Energy Outlook for 2021 (see EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2021: COVID Impact at Least 10 More Yrs). Using the “reference case” (the most likely scenario) from that study, analysts at EIA have taken a close look at the growth in natural gas usage from now until 2050. They found natgas usage in two sectors will grow the most over the next 30 years…
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Elba Island Ramps Up LNG Production, Uses 230 MMcf/d
According to Platts Analytics, natural gas deliveries to Elba Island LNG, located along the shore near Savannah, Georgia, totaled 230 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) yesterday, up from 150 MMcf/d the day before and some 41% higher than the average use of 163 MMcf/d over the previous 30 days.
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Basalt Infrastructure Partners Buying XNG Virtual Pipe Company
Virtual pipeline company Xpress Natural Gas (XNG), which operates a major compression station/trucking facility not far from MDN headquarters, has agreed to sell itself to Basalt Infrastructure Partners, an investment firm located in London and New York City. The sale price was not disclosed.
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Monroe, NC Launches New LNG Plant to Keep Gas Prices Low
The City of Monroe, North Carolina is a shining example of what other cities should do. The city recently launched a new LNG facility online (took three years to build). The city buys natural gas on the open market when the price is low, liquefies and stores it, and then regasifies it for use later–saving residents money. Smart folks running Monroe.
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Venture Global Proposes a New La. LNG Export Facility to FERC
This is an early test for how the Biden administration, specifically Biden’s pick to run the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Richard “Dick” Glick, will respond to requests for additional infrastructure related to fossil fuels. Last week Venture Global filed a “pre-filing” request with FERC ultimately looking for permission to build a major new LNG export facility next door to another facility (Calcasieu Pass Project) Venture Global is currently building. The new project is dubbed CP2 and will come with a (gasp) 87.5-mile greenfield pipeline.
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Driftwood LNG Export Facility to Begin Construction “This Summer”
Driftwood LNG, a 27.6 million tonnes of LNG per year facility that will cost on the order of $16.8 billion to build, has not made an official final investment decision (FID) to proceed with building the FERC-approved project. However, Charif Souki, chairman of Tellurian (the builder) said yesterday he is targeting this summer to begin construction on the project. What’s changed?
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Panama Canal Losing Business as US LNG Exports Find Alternate Routes
Two days ago MDN told you that the Atlantic Ocean near the country of Panama has become a virtual parking lot for LNG tankers as they wait up to 10 days to transit the Panama Canal on their way to Asia (see Panama Canal Becomes Bottleneck for U.S. LNG/LPG Heading to Asia). The ships, which cost on the order of $250,000 *per day* to transport the LNG, are now finding other routes. The primary alternative is the Suez Canal.
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With Polar Vortex Coming, Boston & NYC May Need Russian LNG
The last time a major polar vortex visited the northeastern United States was in January 2018, and it created such a huge demand for natural gas that Boston had to import Russian LNG to meet demand (see Confirmed: LNG Coming to Boston on Jan 22 is Illegal Russian Gas). Last January we had a cold snap but not a full-blown polar vortex, which almost caused New York City to import Russian LNG (see Will New York City Begin to Import Russian LNG Like Boston?). Guess what’s on the way to the northeast in about two weeks’ time?
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Panama Canal Becomes Bottleneck for U.S. LNG/LPG Heading to Asia
The very first cargo of LNG to transit the expanded Panama Canal happened in July 2016 (see First LNG Carrier Transits the Expanded Panama Canal). Since that time hundreds of LNG cargoes have gone through the Canal. The Canal only allows two LNG carriers per day to transit through. It’s not enough. LNG carriers now have to wait 7-10 days to get through the Canal.
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WSJ Editors Call NJ LNG Exports Biden’s “First Fracking Test”
Last week we told you about anti-fossil fuel zealots (including THE Delaware Riverkeeper) attempting to convince the incoming Biden administration to block the now fully permitted and authorized LNG export terminal New Fortress plans to build on the New Jersey shore of the Delaware River in Gibbstown (see Antis Hope to Convince Biden Admin to Block Dela. River LNG Exports). That story appeared in the Washington Post. Apparently, the editors of the Wall Street Journal read the Post because yesterday the WSJ ran an editorial touting the NJ LNG export facility as “Biden’s first fracking test.” The editorial essentially echoed the Post article.
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NRDC Gears Up to Fight NJ LNG Export Facility, PennEast Pipe
Big Green (Democrat) organizations are feeling full of themselves following the Biden/Harris election and winning control of the Senate. They’re making some pretty big boasts of what they’ll demand from Biden and Chuck Schumer. Demands like no new pipelines, ban natural gas everywhere, force all new cars to be electric, yada yada yada. One of the worst of the worst of the Big Green groups is the radical National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). In a blog post yesterday, the New York chapter of the NRDC lays out its 2021 plans that include their intent to try and block the construction of the New Jersey LNG export facility and block construction of the PennEast Pipeline in Pennsylvania.
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U.S. LNG Exports Set New Record High in December
U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) set a new all-time record high in December, averaging 9.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). The results in December were more than three times higher than the reduced export levels of last summer. Marcellus/Utica gas played a key role in those exports.
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Antis Hope to Convince Biden Admin to Block Dela. River LNG Exports
Anti-fossil fuel zealots including THE Delaware Riverkeeper are attempting to convince the Biden administration to block the now fully permitted and authorized LNG export terminal New Fortress plans to build on the New Jersey shore of the Delaware River in Gibbstown. They’re hoping they can appeal to Biden’s parochial concerns for his home state of Delaware, hoping to scare an old man with dementia into blocking LNG ships from transiting the Delaware River by lying about safety issues.
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Big LNG Rebound Coming in Early 2021, Asia Demand Way Up
Last year dozens of contracted U.S. LNG export cargoes got canceled during the pandemic (see US LNG Export Cargoes Canceled as Coronavirus Destroys Demand and May NatGas Deliveries to US LNG Plants Lowest Since Last October). In late June the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted it would be third or fourth quarter 2021 before the U.S. would achieve the same level of exports as the all-time high levels of 1Q20 (see EIA Says U.S. LNG Exports Fall by Half in 2020, Recovery Late 2021). The outlook for LNG exports has suddenly and dramatically changed, for the better.
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Blackmon’s Predictions for Oil & Gas Industry in 2021
David Blackmon is an independent energy analyst/consultant based in Mansfield, TX. Blackmon is a Forbes contributor and has a 39-year career in the oil and gas industry, most of it in public policy and managing regulatory and legislative issues for various companies, including Burlington Resources, Shell, El Paso Corporation, FTI Consulting and LINN Energy. Blackmon has been around the block a few times and understands not only the technical aspects of our industry, but the politics as well. He recently peered into his crystal ball and predicted what lies ahead (i.e. challenges) for the O&G industry in 2021, including a “regulatory onslaught” from Joe Biden…
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