Gas Exporting Countries Predict Global Gas Demand Up 53% by 2040
The GECF (Gas Exporting Countries Forum) has just released its latest annual report, titled “2017 Global Gas Outlook” (full copy below). The report is remarkable for its prediction that by 2040 demand for natural gas across the globe will increase 53% from what it is today. Staggering! What’s even more remarkable is that the GECF is largely made up of oil producing/exporting countries–including Algeria, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. For oil countries to say gas is on fire and going through the roof–now that’s news! Even though these countries secretly hate the U.S. and its abundant shale reserves, they put on a good public face. GECF’s secretary general, Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli, said this about American shale gas: “The growth of shale is good because more gas will contribute to the penetration of gas worldwide.” Er, right. Whatever you say, Seyed. Here’s an overview of the report, followed by a copy of the full report…
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Last week MDN’s favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, posted an article about the increase in LNG exports from the United States. The article highlighted the one existing and five forthcoming LNG export facilities that are changing the world energy picture by exporting (literally) boatloads American natural gas. The existing, going-full-bore LNG export plant is Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass plant, located on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Two of the five forthcoming plants (Cove Point and Elba Island) are located on the East Coast–Maryland and Georgia respectively. Cove Point is due to begin exports this month (see 
Dominion announced yesterday it has introduced “feed gas” into it’s new $4 billion LNG export plant in Cove Point, Maryland. Feed gas is used for testing purposes and is the final step before the plant goes online into full production later this month. Dominion said the feed gas will come from Shell, and Shell will take delivery of the LNG that results. Following the test, Marcellus/Utica gas will begin flowing to the plant and the LNG produced will begin shipping to Japan and India. We are on the cusp of something we’ve waited for, cheered for, and agonized over for more than three years. Think of the Shell’s feed gas as the dress rehearsal the night before a play opens…
Earlier this year Xpress Natural Gas (XNG) spent $18.6 million to build a “virtual pipeline” facility in Susquehanna County, PA that employs ~90 people and loads up to 100 compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker trucks each day with PA Marcellus gas, for deliveries to customers across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states (see 
Black & Veatch, a leading engineering, consulting and construction company, released their “2017 Strategic Directions: Natural Gas Industry Report” earlier this week (full copy below). In the report, B&V examines how organizations are planning for long-term, sustainable operations that can handle rising supplies and deliver those supplies to markets eager to use natural gas as a cheaper and cleaner power generation source. The report finds that LNG (liquefied natural gas) is key in shifting oversupply from countries like the U.S. to growing demand centers in Asia, Latin America, India and Sub-Saharan Africa. The report emphasizes calls from the industry to fund infrastructure investments to enable increased LNG imports and exports, including floating LNG (FLNG) and natural gas-based power generating plants. There is no doubt, according to the report, that the U.S. is now in the driver’s seat with respect to LNG. Below is a summary of the key points, followed by the full report…
Yesterday a three-judge panel from the US District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out the Sierra Club’s petitions challenging Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization of three LNG export projects: Dominion Energy’s Cove Point LNG in Maryland, Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG in Louisiana, and Cheniere’s Corpus Christi LNG in Texas. As we said in a post on Oct. 3rd: “The Sierra Club lawsuit against all three projects challenges FERC’s approval of them, arguing the plants negatively affect the environment and will make Mom Earth sick. While no one expects these lawsuits to go anywhere, you never know, which is why it’s important to keep an eye on it” (see 
Yesterday midstream and utility giant Dominion Energy issued their third quarter 2017 update. During an analyst phone call, Dominion CEO Thomas Farrell shared some great news regarding both the Cove Point LNG export facility and Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). Farrell said Cove Point will “begin generating LNG” in November, “conclude commissioning” in December and be fully operational by the end of this year. Fantastic! In response to a question by an analyst about Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Farrell said he expects water permits from West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia will all be issued by the middle of December. Again, fantastic! These two projects are HUGE with respect to the future of the Marcellus/Utica region. Christmas has come early this year. 🙂 Below is yesterday’s 3Q17 update for Dominion, along with the latest slide deck and select comments pulled from the analyst phone call…
Two weeks ago MDN brought you analysis from RBN Energy that hints at least some Marcellus/Utica gas molecules are flowing all the way to Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG export facility (see 
One of the reasons we periodically report, and keep a close eye on, Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG export facility in southern Louisiana is our suspicion that at least some Marcellus/Utica gas makes its way to that facility and gets exported to other countries. We’ve never been able to prove our suspicion, but we got a lot closer to proving last February when Williams confirmed that the mighty Transco Pipeline now has a direct connection to Sabine Pass (see 
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is offering $1 million in grants to companies willing to build “alternative fuel infrastructure projects” in Pennsylvania. What the heck is that? CNG (compress natural gas) fueling stations, propane fueling stations, and electric vehicle charging stations. The catch? The fueling stations must be open and available to the general public, and must be located with the “designated alternative fuel corridors” of certain interstate highways: I-76, I-276, I-476, I-70, I-95, and I-80. PA wants to goose the use of alternative fuels. Here’s the deets on the program…
The deep pockets of the radical Big Green group, the Sierra Club, continue to vex the oil and gas industry. The Sierra Club is involved in so many lawsuits against our industry, you literally need a score card to keep track. Three of the cases the Clubbers have on deck come before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in two weeks–on Oct. 18th. The three cases involve Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved LNG export projects. One of the three is Dominion’s Cove Point project, which is due to export its first shipment this month or next (see 
In early September, a Broome County, NY judge ruled that the Town of Fenton (Binghamton area) Planning Board did not take a hard enough look at environmental and traffic issues related to their approval of NG Advantage’s plan to construct a facility in the town to compress and load natural gas onto tractor trailers for delivery to regional customers who desperately need the gas–what is called a “virtual pipeline” (see 
Over the past few years MDN has tracked the progress of 4 LNG export plants planned for the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. Two of those projects appear to have life–the Bear Head LNG project (
As we reported in August, a Broome County, NY judge ruled that the Town of Fenton (Binghamton area) Planning Board did not take a hard enough look at environmental and traffic issues related to their approval of NG Advantage’s plan to construct a facility in the town to compress and load natural gas onto tractor trailers for delivery to regional customers who desperately need the gas–what is called a “virtual pipeline” (see