Two days ago, the natural gas (feedgas) flowing to the Freeport LNG export facility on Quintana Island, TX, had dropped to roughly 31% of its potential capacity (see Feedgas to Freeport LNG Dropped Last Weekend, Down 69% Yesterday). Yesterday, feedgas flows to Freeport dropped all the way to zero. A company spokesperson declined to comment on the situation.
Read More “Freeport LNG Feedgas Drops to Zero, Indicates Ongoing Outage”
The United States exported more liquefied natural gas (LNG) than any other country in the first half of 2023, displacing both Australia and Qatar, which previously rotated in holding the top spot. The U.S. exported 11.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) during 1H23, up 4% (0.5 Bcf/d) from 1H22. Australia was #2 in 1H23, exporting 10.6 Bcf/d. Qatar was #3 with 10.4 Bcf/d.
Read More “U.S. Grabs Top Spot as LNG Exporter Worldwide First Half of 2023”
Earlier this year, Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra, announced it had reached a positive final investment decision (FID) for the development, construction, and operation of the Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project in Jefferson County, Texas (see Port Arthur LNG Pulls Trigger on FID, Tells Builder to Start Work). Sempra worked out all of the remaining financial aspects of the deal, including the sale of a non-controlling piece of the project to investment firm KKR and forming a joint venture with ConocoPhillips. Yesterday, Sempra announced it had closed on the deal with KKR.
Read More “Sempra Sells 42% of $13B Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 to KKR”
According to multiple sources, feedgas (natural gas) flows to Freeport LNG (south of Houston, located on Quintana Island, Texas), the second-largest U.S. LNG exporter, dropped sharply over the weekend and remained down for the third day in a row on Monday. Freeport has the capacity to accept 2 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) of feedgas. As of yesterday, the plant accepted 622 MMcf for the day, about 31% of maximum capacity. What’s going on?
Read More “Feedgas to Freeport LNG Dropped Last Weekend, Down 69% Yesterday”
Driftwood LNG, a 27.6 million tonnes of LNG per year facility that will cost on the order of $14.5 billion to build has not made an official final investment decision (FID) to proceed with the FERC-approved project, yet. However, construction began on the project in March 2022 (see Tellurian Begins Construction of Driftwood LNG with No FID). Chairman of the Board and Founder of Tellurian, Charif Souki, has changed tactics in how he will fund the Driftwood project several times. Recently, Souki tried to find enough equity investors to make the project happen–but that hasn’t worked out. Last week, Souki said he’s now willing to sign companies on long-term contracts without an equity commitment.
Read More “Change in Tactics: Tellurian Begins Taking Orders for Driftwood LNG”
Driftwood LNG, a 27.6 million tonnes of LNG per year facility that will cost on the order of $14.5 billion to build, has not made an official final investment decision (FID) to proceed with the FERC-approved project. However, construction began on the project in March 2022 (see Tellurian Begins Construction of Driftwood LNG with No FID). The Sierra Club, a radicalized organization, tried to stop construction by claiming that a permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers was unlawful (see Radical Sierra Club Tries to Block Driftwood LNG in 5th Circuit). The lawsuit was thrown out yesterday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Circuit). Also in the news: Tellurian, the builder, announced a deal with Baker Hughes to supply compressors for Phase 1 of the facility. The dismissed lawsuit and the Baker Hughes deal cause us to conclude that Driftwood has made significant progress toward an FID.
Read More “Driftwood LNG Gets Closer to FID in Deal with BHI, Court Win”
Last November, after months of carping and complaining, the (at that time) three Democrats who serve as commissioners for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) flipped and voted with the two Republican commissioners to approve Commonwealth LNG’s plan to erect a new LNG export plant in Cameron Parish, La. (see FERC Flips – Unanimously Approves La. Commonwealth LNG Terminal). Since then, one of the three Dems, Richard “Dick” Glick, has left (shown to the door by Joe Manchin). While Commonwealth has not officially declared a positive final investment decision (FID) to build the plant, it looks like the company is close to doing so. Earlier this week, Commonwealth LNG signed a deal with a European company to sell 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG for 20 years from the facility.
Read More “Commonwealth LNG Signs MET Group to Prelim Contract for 20 MT”
In July 2020, Dominion Energy announced it had decided to exit the natural gas pipeline business by selling it to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy (see Dominion Cancels Atlantic Coast Pipe, Sells Pipe Biz for $9.7B). Part of the deal involved selling a 25% interest in the Cove Point LNG export facility to Berkshire Hathaway, transferring responsibility for operations to Berkshire (see Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Now Runs Cove Point LNG!). In July, both Dominion and Berkshire announced a deal for Berkshire to buy out Dominion’s remaining 50% share in Cove Point for $3.3 billion (see Dominion Sells Remaining 50% Share in Cove Point LNG to Buffett). According to a Berkshire announcement issued Friday, the deal is now down.
Read More “Berkshire Hathaway Energy Now Owns 75% of Cove Point LNG”
When a government agency says it will “study” something, that means you can kiss it goodbye. It’s lights out. Our country has a serious problem: insufficient pipelines to get natural gas where it needs to go. In June 2020, during the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), published final rules to allow LNG to be safely transported by special rail cars (see PHMSA and Fed Railroad Admin Publish Final LNG by Rail Regs). Irrational fossil fuel haters got ahold of the cognitively challenged Joe Biden, and Biden put a “freeze” on LNG-by-rail during his first two days in office (see What Biden’s First Two Days on the Job Mean for the O&G Industry). Now, the Bidenistas at the DOT are moving to permanently (under Biden anyway) block LNG-by-rail by saying they “need to do more safety investigative work.” Kiss it goodbye.
Read More “LNG-by-Rail Officially on Hold with PHMSA, Agency Will “Study” It”
Last week, MDN told you about the third and final public hearing held by the Pennsylvania House Philadelphia LNG Natural Gas Export Task Force (see Chester Residents Oppose Philly LNG Export Project at Final Hearing). The Task Force was established by law in early 2022 to study how to establish Philadelphia LNG exports to international markets, particularly European exports. The task force is supposed to deliver its report by November of this year. We have an addendum to our previous coverage of what was (in retrospect) Kabuki theater staged by the extreme left at that hearing.
Read More “PA Manufacturers Release Study Supporting Philly LNG Export Plan”
Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the “big bend” region of Florida on the morning of Aug. 30 as a Category 3 storm, then lost speed as it crossed the state, downgrading to a Category 1 as it pushed into Georgia, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers and reducing power and natural gas demand along with power prices. One of the consequences of the storm was/is an impact on the shore of Georgia, where the Elba Island LNG export facility is located. While we don’t have a post-storm update (yet), we can tell you that the Marcellus/Utica flowing to Elba Island was reduced by roughly 30% going into the storm.
Read More “Hurricane Idalia Reduces Feed Gas to Georgia’s Elba Island LNG”
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House Philadelphia LNG Natural Gas Export Task Force, chaired by Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia), held its third and final public hearing at Widener University in Chester, Delaware County. The purpose was to get public feedback on a proposal to build an LNG natural gas export facility in Chester. From the press accounts we read, we conclude that local residents are universally against such a project, strongly against it.
Read More “Chester Residents Oppose Philly LNG Export Project at Final Hearing”
There is trouble brewing along the Gulf Coast between Venture Global LNG and its biggest customers: BP, Shell, Edison International (an Italian utility company), Repsol, and GALP Energia (a Portuguese energy company). Venture Global is building the Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in southwestern Louisiana’s Cameron Parish, less than 50 miles south of Lake Charles. While Venture Global is still working on completing Calcasieu Pass, it has, so far, shipped some 177 cargoes of LNG, much of that during the mega-high prices of last year when the Russia/Ukraine war was at its peak. Yet none of those cargoes went to the facility’s contracted customers, causing trouble.
Read More “Shell, Edison, BP File for Arbitration Against Venture Global LNG”
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is reporting feed gas (natural gas) delivered to LNG export facilities for the first six months of this year hit a new all-time average high of 12.8 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day). We hit that high after the Freeport LNG facility finally came back online following a June 2022 explosion, knocking it offline for more than nine months (see Freeport LNG Plant Back to Full Capacity Using 2.1 Bcf/d of NatGas). Jan-Jun 2023 feed gas deliveries were 4% (or 0.5 Bcf/d) higher than the same period in 2022.
Read More “Feed Gas Deliveries to U.S. LNG Facilities Set Record Jan-Jun 2023”
Yesterday MDN brought you jammed-packed news about EQT Corporation, the country’s largest natural gas driller and producer, from the company’s second quarter update (see EQT Sets World Drilling Record; Tug Hill Deal to Close Next 30 Days). Tucked into all of the news and comments made by EQT management, we missed one important detail that you need to know about. EQT recently signed an agreement with Energy Transfer’s proposed Lake Charles liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Louisiana to export 1 million tonnes per annum (MPTA) from the still-under-construction facility.
Read More “EQT Strikes Deal to Export 1 MTPA of LNG Via Lake Charles in La.”
Tuesday morning, a portion of the Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline in rural western Virginia exploded and caught fire (see Columbia Gas Pipeline Near Interstate 81 in Va. Explodes, Big Fire). Fortunately, the blast did not hurt nearby residents, nor were there any injuries among first responders who helped extinguish the fire. However, Columbia shut down flows in that region, including reducing flows to Columbia Gas’ Loudoun LNG interconnect to zero. That outage has affected gas heading to the Maryland coast and the Cove Point LNG export facility.
Read More “Columbia Pipe Explosion in Va. Reduces Flows to Cove Point LNG 50%”