CNG/LNG

CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Biden-Harris DOE Covering Up Study Conducted Before LNG “Pause”
October 7, 2024October 7, 2024

In January, the Biden-Harris Department of Energy (DOE) announced it would “pause” any approvals for new LNG export plants (currently 17 requests in the pipeline) for at least one year while D.C. swampies fart around pretending to figure out how to measure global warming as a new consideration for whether or not to approve such projects (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports). It was a purely political move aimed at currying favor with the radical left. Now comes word of a bombshell revelation: The DOE appears to either have completed such a study or was deep in the throes of such a study before the “pause” was initiated. The Biden-Harris politi-droids deep-sixed the earlier study because they disliked what it showed them. Yes, it’s a coverup. Read More “Biden-Harris DOE Covering Up Study Conducted Before LNG “Pause””
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Research

Cornell Tries to Prop Up Junk “Study” on LNG by Park Foundation
October 4, 2024October 4, 2024

Two days ago, MDN told you about a Congressional investigation looking into the Department of Energy’s use of a prematurely released “study” as an excuse to “pause” (i.e., ban) new LNG export approvals (see Congress Probes Role of Bob Howarth Study in DOE LNG Pause). Cornell professor Robert Howarth, using money from the anti-fossil fuel Park Foundation, wrote a “study” that purports to show that LNG is worse for the environment than burning coal! It’s an elaborate exercise in mental gymnastics. The DOE used the study before it was peer-reviewed and published, i.e., before it was properly vetted. Yesterday, the study was rushed into publication by the journal Energy Science & Engineering. Read More “Cornell Tries to Prop Up Junk “Study” on LNG by Park Foundation”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

U.S. LNG Feedgas Dropped Last Week Due to Maintenance & Hurricane
October 3, 2024October 3, 2024

MDN previously told you that gas flows (called “feedgas”) heading to the Cove Point LNG export facility along the coast of Maryland had fallen to zero as of Sept. 20 because the facility is undergoing annual maintenance (see Flows Drop to Zero @ Cove Point LNG, Closed for Annual Maintenance). Maintenance will likely last about three weeks at Cove Point. Flows to Venture Global’s not-commercially-ready but still producing LNG like crazy plant in Calcasieu Pass (in Louisiana) were down last week. Plus, a brief electricity outage at Elba Island (in Georgia) due to Hurricane Helene caused a temporary decrease in feedgas there. All of those factors combined to lower LNG feedgas flows last week. Read More “U.S. LNG Feedgas Dropped Last Week Due to Maintenance & Hurricane”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Research

Congress Probes Role of Bob Howarth Study in DOE LNG Pause
October 2, 2024October 2, 2024

A group of 41 members of Congress (4 Senators and 37 Congressmen/women) are asking Dept. of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm for information about the so-called “pause” in LNG export approvals. It appears the DOE relied on a prematurely released “study” by known anti-fossil fuel Cornell professor Robert Howarth as the scientific basis for imposing the pause (which is really a ban). The Congressfolks sent a blunt letter to the nutty Granholm requesting immediate answers to specific questions. Don’t hold your breath that the dysfunctional DOE will respond anytime soon. Read More “Congress Probes Role of Bob Howarth Study in DOE LNG Pause”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues

PA-Based Air Products Sells LNG Tech Biz to Honeywell for $1.8B
October 1, 2024October 1, 2024

Air Products, headquartered in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania (Allentown area), once manufactured huge rocket-looking “production trains” or “heat exchangers,” which are pieces of equipment that turn natural gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG), in a plant in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The heat exchangers manufactured by Air Products in Wilkes-Barre were two-thirds of a football field long (180 feet) and used by plants all over the world to condense natural gas into a liquid. Air Products shut down the Wilkes-Barre plant in 2017 (see Air Products Closing Wilkes-Barre LNG Manufacturing Plant). However, Air Products kept operating a second LNG manufacturing plant in Port Manatee, Florida. Yesterday, the company announced that it had completed the process of selling its LNG technology manufacturing business, including the Port Manatee facility, to Honeywell for $1.8 billion. Read More “PA-Based Air Products Sells LNG Tech Biz to Honeywell for $1.8B”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues

Philly Shipyard Begins Work on 3 New LNG-Powered Containerships
October 1, 2024October 1, 2024

Aloha Class vessel Daniel K Inouye.

Matson, Inc. yesterday announced the start of construction on the first of three new “Aloha Class” containerships designed for its Hawaii and China-Long Beach Express (CLX) services. After a small ceremony at Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania, the cutting of steel plates began, initiating the work to build the ships for delivery to Matson in 2026 and 2027. All three will be dual-fuel powered, with LNG as one of the options. Plus, all three ships will be Jones Act compliant, meaning they can move goods between ports in the U.S. Read More “Philly Shipyard Begins Work on 3 New LNG-Powered Containerships”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Reuters Says FERC Sides with Venture Global in Shafting LNG Customers
September 30, 2024September 30, 2024

Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization to place the final three liquefaction blocks (7-9) into service in November 2023 (see Venture Global Gets FERC OK to Commission 3 Calcasieu Pass Trains). The other trains, 1-6, have been online for over two years! However, the entire facility is not officially in commercial service, even though it has shipped over 200 cargoes. Venture Global claims it is still working out the kinks. A newly issued inspection report by FERC personnel appears to support Venture Global’s claims of still working out the kinks, according to Reuters. Read More “Reuters Says FERC Sides with Venture Global in Shafting LNG Customers”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Research

U.S. Net Natural Gas Exports Flat in the First Half of 2024
September 30, 2024September 30, 2024

click for larger version

Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published an interesting post about “net” natural gas exports, which is a number calculated by deducting both pipeline and LNG exports by incoming pipeline imports (from Canada) and any incoming LNG imports (to Boston). The EIA found that in the first half of 2024, net natural gas exports were “flat”—neither gaining nor losing. The magic number, the average net natgas exports during the first half of this year, was 12.6 Bcf/d. Read More “U.S. Net Natural Gas Exports Flat in the First Half of 2024”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues

Second New LNG Love Boat, Based in FL, Under Construction in Italy
September 27, 2024September 27, 2024

For those of a certain age (or who like to watch reruns), do you remember that iconic song and TV series, The Love Boat? Sing along with us: “The love boat soon will be making another run. The love boat promises something for everyone. Set a course for adventure, your mind on a new romance…” Princess Cruises is the operator of the ships featured on the Love Boat TV show. The company announced yesterday that finishing work has begun in Italy on its second LNG-powered cruise ship. The Star Princess is due to be based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and will set sail in the fall of 2025. Read More “Second New LNG Love Boat, Based in FL, Under Construction in Italy”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

European Methane Regs Begin to Bite Hard with US LNG Exporters
September 25, 2024September 25, 2024

The European Union’s idiotic methane regulations will soon come into full force, prompting oil, gas, and coal companies to 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). Even though the new regs are not in full force until next May, the regs are already having an effect on U.S. companies, including drillers. Read More “European Methane Regs Begin to Bite Hard with US LNG Exporters”
Antero Resources | Berkshire Hathaway | CNG/LNG | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland

Flows Drop to Zero @ Cove Point LNG, Closed for Annual Maintenance
September 24, 2024September 24, 2024

Feedgas flows from the Marcellus/Utica to the Cove Point LNG export facility located on the shore of Maryland fell to zero last Friday, Sept. 20. It was the start of the facility’s annual maintenance outage. The question is, how long will Cove Point be out of commission for liquefying and exporting LNG? According to Reuters, maintenance forcing the facility offline will last “for about three weeks.” Each year, the plant closure is a moving target and a guessing game about how long it will remain offline. Every day counts! Read More “Flows Drop to Zero @ Cove Point LNG, Closed for Annual Maintenance”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Venture Global Thumbs Nose at Contracted Customers with New Ships
September 20, 2024September 20, 2024

We have no words (but we’ll try). Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization to place the final three liquefaction blocks (7-9) into service in November 2023 (see Venture Global Gets FERC OK to Commission 3 Calcasieu Pass Trains). The other trains, 1-6, have been online for over two years!! However, the entire facility is not officially in commercial service, even though it has shipped over 200 cargoes. Venture Global claims it is still working out the kinks. And now it’s taking possession of two LNG cargo carriers (out of a total of nine planned) that it intends to use NOW to ship more LNG from CP to Germany (instead of selling to its contracted customers). How much longer will U.S. officials allow this mockery to continue? Read More “Venture Global Thumbs Nose at Contracted Customers with New Ships”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | ESG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

EQT Provides MiQ-Certified LNG Cargo to Europe in World First
September 19, 2024September 19, 2024

In May, the socialists of the European Union (EU) adopted into law a new regulation aimed at tracking and reducing methane emissions within the energy sector (see MiQ Claims Its Cert the Only One to Meet New EU Methane Regs). The onerous new reg introduces new requirements for measuring, reporting, and verifying methane emissions. The reg mandates operators to measure emissions at the source and submit monitoring reports verified by independent bodies. If drillers, including those from the Marcellus/Utica, want to export LNG to any country that’s part of the EU (many M-U drillers export LNG to Europe), they must comply with these crazy new regs. According to MiQ, an independent methane emissions measurement and certification authority, its certification is the only one that satisfies the EU’s new regulation. EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. (exclusively working in the M-U), uses MiQ and is about to send an LNG cargo to Germany as a test of the MiQ certification system. It’s a worldwide first. Read More “EQT Provides MiQ-Certified LNG Cargo to Europe in World First”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

DC Circuit’s Radical Judges Signal Blocking LNG by Rail
September 19, 2024September 19, 2024

LNG rail car

A couple of far-left judges who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit), one appointed by Joementia and the other by Lord Obama, threw verbal bombs at the idea of allowing LNG to be transported by rail cars. The two bought into the environmental hype about “bomb trains” and expressed their personally biased views that allowing LNG by rail would result in catastrophe. If their statements indicate anything, LNG by rail is as good as dead.
Read More “DC Circuit’s Radical Judges Signal Blocking LNG by Rail”
Chesapeake Energy | CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Chesapeake Energy Wants to Sell 10-15% of Its Production to Asia
September 18, 2024September 18, 2024

Chesapeake Energy has gone through some major changes over the past four years. In June 2020, Chessy declared bankruptcy (see Chesapeake Files for Bankruptcy – Debtors to Take Ownership). After Chessy exited bankruptcy, the new owners booted CEO Doug Lawler in April of 2021 (see Doug Lawler Out as CEO of Chesapeake Energy). Lawler tried to chart a new direction for the company by drilling for oil. That strategy was a disaster. The new board selected long-time Chesapeake CFO Dominic “Nick” Dell’Osso as the new CEO in October 2021 (see Chesapeake Makes it Official – CFO Dom Dell’Osso New CEO). Dell’Osso and the board refocused the company on drilling for natural gas, its first and original mission. According to comments made at a conference earlier this week, one of the markets Dell’Osso and his lieutenants have their eyes on is foreign LNG. Specifically, Chessy wants to sell 10-15% of its production to customers in Asia.
Read More “Chesapeake Energy Wants to Sell 10-15% of Its Production to Asia”
Baker Hughes | Chevron | CNG/LNG | ConocoPhillips | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Exporting | Exxon Mobil | Industrywide Issues | Meetings

O&G Execs Talk Harris Fracking Flip-Flop, LNG “Pause” at Gastech
September 18, 2024September 18, 2024

The Gastech Exhibition & Conference 2024 is happening this week in Houston, TX. It is a massive event with an estimated 50,000 attendees. Gastech bills itself as the world’s largest exhibition and conference for natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, climate technologies, AI, energy manufacturing, and low-carbon solutions. We’ve seen reports from the event that say big names in the oil and gas space are talking about important issues of the day, including Kamala Harris’ fracking flip-flop, Biden’s “pause” on new LNG approvals, and more. At first, it appeared Big Oil CEOs were giving Harris a pass, saying her flip-flop is legit—she won’t ban fracking, and we should all sing kumbaya as we coronate Kamala Queen. But then we read further… Read More “O&G Execs Talk Harris Fracking Flip-Flop, LNG “Pause” at Gastech”