CNG/LNG

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”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

FERC Gives Eagle LNG Extra 5 Yrs to Build Jacksonville Facility
September 17, 2024September 17, 2024

In September 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave its blessing to Eagle LNG to build a small LNG export facility project at a site on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida (see FERC Grants Final Approval to Jacksonville, FL LNG Export Plant). Some of the gas that will feed it will come from the Marcellus/Utica. FERC’s blessing in September 2019 came with a deadline to build the facility by September 2024. In July, Eagle said it could not meet the deadline and asked FERC to extend it by another five years (see Eagle LNG Seeks Extension to Build Jacksonville LNG Export Facility). Last week, FERC agreed to extend the project an extra five years. Read More “FERC Gives Eagle LNG Extra 5 Yrs to Build Jacksonville Facility”
Berkshire Hathaway | CNG/LNG | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Maryland

Cove Point LNG to Pay $60M per Year PILOT to Calvert County, MD
September 12, 2024September 12, 2024

Cove Point LNG is an LNG export facility located in Lusby (Calvert County), Maryland. It is one of the most technically advanced and environmentally sensitive LNG facilities in the world. We recall as Dominion Energy was building the facility, environmental wackos uttered shrill warnings of habitat destruction coming for the Chesapeake Bay (where it’s located) should the facility go into production (see Green Groups Ask DC Judge to Stop Construction at Cove Point LNG). Nothing of the kind ever happened. The current owners of Cove Point, Berkshire Hathaway Energy (yes, that Berkshire, owned by Warren Buffett), just signed a deal paying Calvert County $60 million PER YEAR in lieu of property taxes, a “payment in lieu of taxes” or PILOT agreement. The local community and county commissioners could not be more delighted with the money and how Cove Point benefits the community. So much for all of the false claims by the wackos. Read More “Cove Point LNG to Pay $60M per Year PILOT to Calvert County, MD”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Toby Rice – U.S. has Vital Role in Massive, Unmet LNG Demand
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

The RealClear Media Group has a suite of online publications that are just terrific. Among them is RealClearEnergy. Back in June, RealClearEnergy hosted the Energy Future Forum in Washington, D.C. Among the luminaries speaking (or being interviewed) was Toby Rice, CEO of the country’s largest natural gas producer, EQT Corporation. Toby addressed the role of the U.S. in meeting “massive” demand for LNG across the planet. Toby was in his element. We’ve previously called Toby our country’s LNG evangelist. He certainly shared his zeal and vision for the role of LNG in the coming decades (and it ain’t just a “transition” fuel). Read More “Toby Rice – U.S. has Vital Role in Massive, Unmet LNG Demand”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

DOE: Biden “Pause” (Ban) on Approving LNG Exports Still in Effect
September 11, 2024September 11, 2024

In January, Joementia announced he would “pause” any approvals for new LNG export plants (currently 17 requests in the pipeline) for at least one year while his people 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. In March, 16 state Attorneys General filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to end the pause, which is causing their states economic harm (see 16 States Sue Biden Admin Over Pause in LNG Export Approvals). On July 1, a federal judge in Louisiana agreed with the states and ordered Biden-Harris to resume issuing permits for new LNG export facilities (see Federal Judge Orders Biden DOE to Resume Issuing LNG Export Permits). In August, Biden-Harris appealed the judge’s decision, hoping to continue blocking new LNG approvals (see Bidenistas Appeal Court Decision, Seek to Continue LNG Approval Ban).
Read More “DOE: Biden “Pause” (Ban) on Approving LNG Exports Still in Effect”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

DC Circuit Rulings are Harming the U.S. LNG Export Industry
September 10, 2024September 10, 2024

The liberal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a string of rulings this year that have greatly damaged the country’s LNG export industry. Those rulings, if left unchallenged, put future LNG growth in this country in doubt. So says energy expert David Blackmon, writing for the Forbes magazine website. The D.C. Circuit has been coloring WAY outside the lines by using White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) criteria for what should be included in environmental reviews conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Read More “DC Circuit Rulings are Harming the U.S. LNG Export Industry”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Boston LNG Import Terminal is Poster Child for Bad U.S. Policies
September 9, 2024September 9, 2024

Over the years, we’ve written many posts about the Everett LNG import terminal near Boston (see our stories here). Everett LNG plays a key role in keeping the lights on and the furnaces belching heat throughout New England (see Everett LNG’s Key Role in Keeping the Lights on in New England). The Everett terminal has 3.4 Bcf of LNG storage capacity and plays a crucial role in stabilizing gas supplies in New England. Everett can supply up to 35% of regional gas demand on peak winter days — and is typically used to fill supply gaps during high-demand periods or when regional gas systems are under significant stress. Everett is also a poster child for what’s wrong with American energy policy. Read More “Boston LNG Import Terminal is Poster Child for Bad U.S. Policies”