CNG/LNG

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”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Shell

Shell Says Venture Global Wrongfully Earned $3.5B from CP LNG Sales
September 6, 2024September 6, 2024

Shell is putting numbers to the gross transgression of Venture Global in screwing over its contracted customers for LNG shipments. 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. Shell and Venture’s other customers say horse manure! Shell says Venture Global has wrongfully earned $3.5 billion from selling cargos from long-term contracts on the spot market instead. PAY UP, Venture Global! Read More “Shell Says Venture Global Wrongfully Earned $3.5B from CP LNG Sales”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Research

Good News! U.S. LNG Exports On Track to More Than Double by 2028
September 4, 2024September 4, 2024

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), North America’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity is on track to more than double between 2024 and 2028, from 11.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2023 to an astonishing 24.4 Bcf/d in 2028! That is, if all the projects currently under construction begin operations as planned. However, that increase includes not just exports from the U.S. but also from Canada and Mexico. Yes, somehow, magically, countries like Canada and Mexico, where Big Green thought it held an iron grip, will soon begin to export LNG (some of it U.S. molecules).
Read More “Good News! U.S. LNG Exports On Track to More Than Double by 2028”
CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | New Fortress Energy | Regulation

Biden-Harris Betrays Big Green, OK’s LNG Exports for New Fortress
September 4, 2024September 4, 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). And just like that (because it’s an election year), Biden-Harris reversed course and yesterday approved exports for an LNG project in Mexico, a project that will export U.S. molecules. Read More “Biden-Harris Betrays Big Green, OK’s LNG Exports for New Fortress”
CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lackawanna County | Pennsylvania | UGI Energy Services

UGI Seeks to Store LNG in Trailers in Scranton Suburb During Winter
September 3, 2024September 3, 2024

UGI, a diversified energy company with midstream (pipeline) operations in the Marcellus and one of PA’s largest utility companies, wants to store trailers of LNG in the parking lot of a storage facility near Scranton, PA, and is seeking a zoning variance to do so. UGI needs extra supplies of natural gas to inject into its utility system during peak periods in the winter months. The company says it will be a temporary situation. Read More “UGI Seeks to Store LNG in Trailers in Scranton Suburb During Winter”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Freeport LNG Goes Offline for the Umpteenth Time, Then Restarts
August 30, 2024August 30, 2024

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. It’s happened again. The facility went offline on Wednesday, but yesterday, it had begun to come back online. Read More “Freeport LNG Goes Offline for the Umpteenth Time, Then Restarts”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Venture Global Wants FERC OK to Unload 1st LNG Cargo at Plaquemines
August 30, 2024August 30, 2024

Venture Global is developing an LNG export facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, approximately 20 miles south of New Orleans. Phase One of the project is currently under construction. Venture Global recently asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to unload a tanker full of LNG to be used for testing the facility. The LNG (from Norway, because the Jones Act prohibits American LNG) will be used to cool down parts of the Plaquemines facility as part of the plant’s testing and commissioning process. Our question: Why is Venture Global allowed to do *anything* with the Plaquemines facility when it continues to screw its contracted customers at its Calcasieu Pass facility?
Read More “Venture Global Wants FERC OK to Unload 1st LNG Cargo at Plaquemines”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Rhode Island Gives LNG Plant Another 5 Years, Won’t Make Permanent
August 23, 2024August 23, 2024

In 2019, the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board waived a licensing requirement for a “temporary” LNG storage facility in Portsmouth to prevent another gas outage episode from happening again (see With “Backs Against Wall” Rhode Island Approves LNG Facility). Board members complained they had no choice, that “we have our backs against the wall” and “people’s lives could be in danger” if they didn’t approve the LNG facility. The “temporary” facility has remained operating since that time. Earlier this year, Rhode Island Energy submitted a proposal to make the facility permanent instead of an ongoing temporary installation. State regulators ruled this week. They refused to make the LNG facility permanent. Instead, they opted to grant the facility a five-year license.
Read More “Rhode Island Gives LNG Plant Another 5 Years, Won’t Make Permanent”
BP | CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Repsol | Shell

After Doc Review, Customers Asks FERC to Deny CP LNG Extra Time
August 22, 2024August 22, 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’s still working out the kinks. After reviewing confidential commissioning documents, Venture Global’s customers have asked FERC to deny a requested one-year time extension before the plant is fully commissioned. Read More “After Doc Review, Customers Asks FERC to Deny CP LNG Extra Time”
CNG/LNG | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues

Everett LNG’s Key Role in Keeping the Lights on in New England
August 14, 2024August 14, 2024

On May 31, Constellation Energy shut down and permanently retired the natural gas-fired Mystic Generating Station it owned and operated in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on the north side of Boston (see Boston Mystic Gas-Fired Power Shuttered, but LNG Imports Continue). Mystic was one of the oldest U.S. electric power plants still in operation. The plant was fed by natural gas from another facility owned by Constellation, the nearby Everett LNG import terminal. At one time, Everett was also in danger of closing when Mystic closed. However, Everett was given a six-year reprieve due to a contract to supply natural gas to several New England utility companies. Read More “Everett LNG’s Key Role in Keeping the Lights on in New England”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues

Freeport LNG to Expand Output… IF It Can Stay Online
August 7, 2024August 7, 2024

Here’s a bit of good news, possibly. The Freeport LNG export facility, located on Quintana Island, near Freeport, Texas, currently exports 15.3 million metric tons per annum (MTPA). That is when it’s up and running. The plant was most recently down for most of July following a visit by Hurricane Beryl (see Freeport LNG Returns to Full Production After Outage Since July 7). There have been too many ups and downs with the Freeport facility to count since it opened two years ago. The new news is that Freeport has been working on tweaks to the facility that will increase its export capacity by 8% to 16.5 MTPA.
Read More “Freeport LNG to Expand Output… IF It Can Stay Online”
CNG/LNG | Crime | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

Bidenistas Appeal Court Decision, Seek to Continue LNG Approval Ban
August 7, 2024August 7, 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 the Biden administration to resume issuing permits for new LNG export facilities (see Federal Judge Orders Biden DOE to Resume Issuing LNG Export Permits). Surprise! The Bidenistas have appealed the judge’s decision, hoping to continue blocking new LNG approvals.
Read More “Bidenistas Appeal Court Decision, Seek to Continue LNG Approval Ban”
CNG/LNG | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina

Amped Up Locals Claim LNG Storage in NC Will Cause Cancer
August 6, 2024August 6, 2024

Artist rendering of Moriah Energy Center (click for larger version)

Dominion Energy wants to build a liquified natural gas (LNG) storage facility in Person County, North Carolina, to enhance natural gas service reliability for residential and business customers in the growing region (see NC Residents Freak Out Over Proposed Dominion LNG Storage Tank). Dominion studied several potential sites and collected a boatload of data during the site selection process, including but not limited to construction feasibility, minimizing landowner impacts, connection to Dominion’s existing natural gas system, and avoiding environmentally sensitive areas. Ultimately, Dominion selected a 504-acre site in the southeast corner of Person County, and they plunked down $12 million to buy it (see Dominion Buys Land for LNG Storage Facility in Person County, NC). Dominion calls the project the Moriah Energy Center. Anti-fossil fuel organizations have whipped up locals living in that area, telling them the chemicals that will be emitted from the facility will cause cancer.
Read More “Amped Up Locals Claim LNG Storage in NC Will Cause Cancer”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Shell

New LNG Bunker Barge Comes to Port of Savannah, Georgia
August 2, 2024August 2, 2024

Crowley accepts delivery of its LNG bunker barge, Progress.

Some exciting news to share related to the Marcellus/Utica. Shipping company Crowley announced it had accepted delivery of the LNG bunker barge Progress, the largest U.S. Jones Act-compliant vessel of its kind, after construction was completed at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The Progress will expand access to cleaner energy for ship operators at the Port of Savannah, Georgia, upon final commissioning there this month. Shell signed a long-term agreement with Crowley to operate the barge, providing another fueling location to ships using liquefied natural gas. You may recall that Kinder Morgan owns and operates the Elba Island LNG liquefaction facility in Savannah and contracts all of Elba Island’s LNG production to Shell. Are you beginning to see the dots connect?
Read More “New LNG Bunker Barge Comes to Port of Savannah, Georgia”