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Freeport LNG Trains 2 & 3 Go Offline Yet Again, Quick Restart

Up/down, up/down, up/down, up/down… We can’t count how many times the Freeport LNG export facility has come online to go offline again, with the cycle repeating (see our MANY stories about the uneven Freeport here). It’s become kind of a joke. Except, it’s no joke. Freeport is (still, for now) the country’s second-largest LNG export plant, with a capacity to liquefy 2.1 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of natural gas. Some of that gas comes from the Marcellus/Utica, which is why we care about the upness and downness of this facility. Two of the facility’s three trains “tripped off” last week. They were restarted “quickly,” but the outage contributed to a decrease in feedgas flows for LNG export. Read More “Freeport LNG Trains 2 & 3 Go Offline Yet Again, Quick Restart”

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S&P Study: U.S. LNG Would “Significantly Lower” World GHG Emissions

The nonpartisan S&P Global released Phase 1 of a study on LNG exports last December on the very same day the Biden/Granholm Department of Energy released its LNG export “study” (see S&P Study: More U.S. LNG Exports WON’T Raise Domestic Gas Prices). The S&P study, which came out a few hours earlier than the DOE study, said more U.S. LNG exports will NOT raise the domestic price of natural gas, at least not appreciably. The Biden-corrupted DOE report said the opposite, that more LNG exports will cause domestic natural gas prices to go through the roof (and consequently, we shouldn’t build more LNG export facilities). Thank God nobody listened to that claptrap. S&P is back with Phase 2 of their comprehensive LNG study. Phase 2 (full copy below) says U.S. LNG capacity additions would *significantly* lower GHG emissions compared to alternatives. Read More “S&P Study: U.S. LNG Would “Significantly Lower” World GHG Emissions”

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Europe Begins to Back Down from Imposing Their Regs on Our LNG

The European Union’s idiotic methane regulations will be enforced beginning this year. Domestic (European) oil, gas, and coal companies must monitor, measure and report their emissions. The same restrictions would apply to energy imports from other countries, including the U.S. (see Europeans Presume to Impose Their Regulations on American Gas). The arrogant Europeans presume to tell us that we must follow *their* regulations! But then Trump took command of the White House and everything changed. Read More “Europe Begins to Back Down from Imposing Their Regs on Our LNG”

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Virginia SCC Approves Dominion LNG Storage Facility in Greensville

In November 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) agreed with a petition from Dominion Energy subsidiary Virginia Electric and Power Company that requested a planned LNG production, storage, and regasification facility in Greensville County, VA, should be exempt from FERC jurisdiction under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (see Dominion LNG Storage for Va. Power Plant Exempt from FERC Regs). The FERC decision cleared the way for the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to make a final decision on whether or not the project should get built. The SCC recently approved the project. Read More “Virginia SCC Approves Dominion LNG Storage Facility in Greensville”

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Record Flows to LNG Plants Boost NatGas Price by 7.5% to $4.122

U.S. natural gas futures jumped 7.5% on Monday on record flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and forecasts for higher demand over the next two weeks than previously expected. The amount of gas flowing to the eight big U.S. LNG export plants rose to an average of 15.8 Bcf/d so far in March, up from a record 15.6 Bcf/d in February, as new units at Venture Global’s 3.2-Bcf/d Plaquemines LNG export plant under construction in Louisiana entered service. Read More “Record Flows to LNG Plants Boost NatGas Price by 7.5% to $4.122”

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Shell’s LNG Outlook Predicts Worldwide LNG Demand Up 60% by 2040

Shell, which dropped “Royal Dutch” from its name after leaving The Netherlands in 2022 due to high taxes and overregulation, is one of the world’s supermajors (oil and gas driller). Shell is also one of (perhaps THE) largest producers and vendors of LNG, or liquefied natural gas, worldwide. The company has just released its ninth annual LNG Outlook 2025 (full copy below), which highlights key trends in 2024 and hauls out the crystal ball to predict where things are heading over the next 15 years. Shell predicts that global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is forecast to rise by around 60% by 2040, which is largely driven by economic growth in Asia, emissions reductions in heavy industry and transport, and the impact of artificial intelligence. Read More “Shell’s LNG Outlook Predicts Worldwide LNG Demand Up 60% by 2040”

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FERC Approves Increased Production at VG’s Plaquemines LNG

At the end of December, Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG export facility officially shipped its first cargo…to Germany (see Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG Ships First Cargo to Germany). Unfortunately for Venture Global’s contracted customers, they will have to wait to receive their legally contracted shipments. Venture Global has admitted it will (as it has with its Calcasieu Pass facility) pretend the Plaquemines LNG is not “commercially ready” for 2-3 years, allowing the company to cream the market and make more money for the first couple of years (see Plaquemines LNG Coming Online, Will Hose Customers for 2 Years). It’s a disgusting business practice. However, customers are still willing to sign up knowing how the company operates. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just approved a request by Venture Global to increase the Plaquemines plant production capacity by another 13%. Read More “FERC Approves Increased Production at VG’s Plaquemines LNG”

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Woodside Close to a Decision to Proceed with Former Driftwood LNG

MDN chronicled the rise and fall of Tellurian, founded by Charif Souki (who also founded Cheniere Energy), and Tellurian’s LNG export project, Driftwood. Tellurian’s primary focus was to build Driftwood LNG, a 27.6 million tonnes of LNG per year facility that would cost $14.5 billion. Construction began on the project in March 2022, even without a final investment decision (see Tellurian Begins Construction of Driftwood LNG with No FID). The company spent more than $1 billion in building Driftwood before all the wheels came off financially. Last July, Australian LNG giant Woodside announced a deal to buy Tellurian (and Driftwood) for $1.2 billion (see Australia’s Woodside Buying Tellurian & Driftwood LNG for $1.2B). The deal closed in October. Read More “Woodside Close to a Decision to Proceed with Former Driftwood LNG”

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Venture Global Says CP LNG Finally Ready on April 15

Well, look at this. After liquefying and exporting over 350 cargoes of LNG from March 1, 2022, through January 2025, Venture Global says its Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility is finally “ready” to begin “commercial” operations….on April 15th of this year. Nearly three years after it began shipping LNG. Venture Global has claimed the CP facility was not commercially ready until now. Read More “Venture Global Says CP LNG Finally Ready on April 15”

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Commonwealth LNG Set to Make FID After Trump DOE, FERC Approvals

On Friday, Commonwealth LNG achieved two significant milestones on the way to making a final investment decision (FID). The first was that the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a long-delayed (because of Biden) approval to export LNG to non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries. The second is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). Kimmeridge Energy Management, the main investor behind the project, said these two important items pave the way for an FID in September of this year. Provided that happens, the first LNG production at the plant is expected to flow in the first quarter of 2029. Read More “Commonwealth LNG Set to Make FID After Trump DOE, FERC Approvals”

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Trump Commerce Sec. Pushes Back on Europe Methane Regs re LNG

The European Union’s idiotic methane regulations will be enforced beginning this year. Domestic (European) oil, gas, and coal companies must monitor, measure and report their emissions. The same restrictions will also apply to energy imports coming from other countries, including the U.S. (see Europeans Presume to Impose Their Regulations on American Gas). The arrogant Europeans presume to tell us that we must follow *their* regulations! To which we say (multiple expletives deleted). Don’t worry, President Trump’s new Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, is on the case and pushing back—hard. Read More “Trump Commerce Sec. Pushes Back on Europe Methane Regs re LNG”

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Some LNG Customers Reject New Contracts with Venture Global

The chickens are coming home to roost for Venture Global, an LNG export company that uses loopholes and excuses to avoid selling LNG cargoes to the companies that signed contracts to buy those cargoes. The company recently launched an initial public offering (IPO), hoping to raise $2.3 billion (see Unashamed Venture Global LNG Plans Huge $2.3 Billion IPO). It ended up raising $1.75 billion, or 24% less than it wanted. That’s one chicken roosting. But another, much bigger chicken, is now roosting: Large LNG buyers, like French energy giant Total, are refusing to sign any deals for Venture Global’s LNG. Why? They don’t trust Venture Global. Read More “Some LNG Customers Reject New Contracts with Venture Global”

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LNG Carrier Reflagged Under Jones Act Loophole to Service P.R.

Puteri Intan LNG carrier

For years, we’ve railed against the Jones Act, signed into law in 1920, which requires any ship that travels between U.S. ports to be built in the U.S., flagged as a U.S. ship and crewed by American citizens (see our Jones Act articles here). No modern LNG cargo carriers qualify as they are all built in other countries, meaning we can’t load a ship along the Gulf Coast (or Atlantic Coast, like Cove Point or Elba Island) with LNG and then transport it to another U.S. port like Boston or Puerto Rico. Shipping giant Crowley has just found a way around that restriction—at least for shipments heading to Puerto Rico. Read More “LNG Carrier Reflagged Under Jones Act Loophole to Service P.R.”

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Dept. of Energy Reverses Biden LNG Pause, Extends Comment Period

One year ago, the sleazy Joe Biden slapped a “pause” on allowing the Department of Energy (DOE) to review and issue export approvals for any new LNG export facilities (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports). The move profoundly and negatively affected our domestic natural gas industry, putting some 17 or more multi-billion-dollar projects on hold. The pause was supposed to last until a so-called “study” was completed evaluating LNG exports’ potential global warming and economic impacts. The “study” was released in December (see Biden/Granholm DOE Releases Garbage Anti-LNG Exports “Study”). The pause remained—until this morning when the incoming Trump DOE officially reversed the pause and told staffers to quickly get back to approving new LNG exports. Read More “Dept. of Energy Reverses Biden LNG Pause, Extends Comment Period”

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DC Circuit Dems Overturn LNG-by-Rail Reg from Trump’s 1st Term

On Friday, three leftist judges who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit), one appointed by Joementia, one by Lord Obama, and a third by George H.W. Bush (Bush the 1st), threw out a rule the U.S. Department of Transportation had adopted during President Trump’s first term which allowed liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be transported by train. We warned you back in September the judges were signaling their intent to overturn LNG-by-rail during oral arguments (see DC Circuit’s Radical Judges Signal Blocking LNG by Rail). Read More “DC Circuit Dems Overturn LNG-by-Rail Reg from Trump’s 1st Term”

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Feedgas Flowing to Cove Point LNG Slipped on Cold Wx, Back Now

LNG exports have become an important (even critical) part of the natural gas sector in the U.S. Feedgas flowing to LNG facilities is closely watched by many people, including traders and industry analysts. As we pointed out yesterday, lower feedgas flows to a single LNG facility can lower the NYMEX natural gas futures price (see NYMEX Gas Price Slips Due to Lower Feedgas to Freeport LNG). Little did we know, but feedgas flowing to the Cove Point LNG facility along the shoreline of Maryland dropped early last week due to cold weather. It has since rebounded. Read More “Feedgas Flowing to Cove Point LNG Slipped on Cold Wx, Back Now”