EQT Signs Third Deal to *Buy* LNG – This One Commonwealth LNG
EQT Corporation, at one time the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. (now #2 behind Expand Energy), keeps the LNG hits rolling in. Two weeks ago, the company announced that it had signed a binding contract to buy 2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Phase 2 of Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG project (see EQT Announces Deal to *Buy* LNG from Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG). That deal launched the company into becoming an LNG trader, not just a gas producer. Then, last week, EQT announced a second deal to buy LNG, this time 1.5 MTPA from NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG export facility (see EQT Announces Deal to *Buy* LNG from Rio Grande LNG Train 5). And now, for a third week in a row, EQT has announced another deal, a third deal, to buy LNG. This time, EQT will buy 1.0 MTPA from Commonwealth LNG. Read More “EQT Signs Third Deal to *Buy* LNG – This One Commonwealth LNG”
We have a second “producer does a deal to buy (not sell) LNG” story today. ConocoPhillips, a huge oil-focused driller, announced a deal to buy 1.0 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Rio Grande LNG project. How does this news tie into the Marcellus/Utica? It doesn’t do so directly, but it does so indirectly. First, this deal shows that EQT is not the only driller to move into the role of LNG trader. Others are now doing it, too. A trend? Second, EQT signed its own deal with Rio Grande for 1.0 MTPA of LNG just last week (see 
Hardly a day goes by without a story about AI data centers here on MDN. Why? Data centers use electricity either from the local grid or generate it themselves on-site. Either way, the electricity almost always comes from gas-fired power plants. Increasingly, the data centers themselves are opting to host their own gas-fired power plants on-site. Whether the power is coming from the grid or on-site, M-U molecules power it. But there’s a problem for data centers with on-site gas needs: Either there isn’t a pipeline (yet) to the site, or if there is a pipeline, it’s not big enough to flow the gas required. A company in Houston, Texas, has developed a brilliant solution for data centers that require gas and are ready to build now… 
In August 2025, the United States achieved a brand new record high in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, exporting 9.33 million metric tons—surpassing April’s previous record of 9.25 million and July’s 9.1 million—as plants returned from maintenance and Venture Global’s Plaquemines facility expanded output. Plaquemines, a 27.2 MTPA plant that began operations in December 2024, contributed 1.6 million tons, or 17% of the total, and is expected to be fully operational in September. Europe took 6.16 million tons (66%, up from 58% in July) amid lower storage levels, while exports to Asia fell to 1.47 million tons. Egypt imported 0.57 million tons, and Latin America’s imports dropped to 0.69 million tons, with 0.37 million tons unallocated. 
We finally have some good news to report regarding the NYMEX futures price of natural gas. The price briefly flirted with $3.00 before closing at $2.94 yesterday. However, the cash (spot) price for gas sold at trading hubs around the Marcellus/Utica region didn’t fare so well. We’ll get to that. The NYMEX price went higher due to a lower-than-expected storage build and strong demand from LNG exports. An analyst interviewed by Reuters said the price moved higher because storage numbers were “a little tighter than estimates, which has sparked some short-covering.” The NYMEX has moved up for the last three trading days, up 24.80 cents (9.20%). The $3 level is an important psychological price point. 
This is a “man bites dog” kind of story. EQT Corporation, now the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S. (not far behind Expand Energy), has been pushing LNG (liquefied natural gas) for years. Since 2022, we’ve called EQT CEO Toby Rice the “apostle of LNG,” spreading the LNG gospel far and wide in an effort to expand U.S. LNG exports (see 
Glenfarne’s Texas LNG facility in Brownsville, Texas, will have the capacity to export 4 MTPA. EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the Marcellus/Utica, signed two agreements with Glenfarne to liquefy 2.0 million tons per annum (MTPA) of EQT-extracted shale gas at the facility when it’s built (see 
A Reuters reporter/commentator published an article that chronicles (with lots of facts, statistics, and charts) the coming rapid buildout of both gas-fired power generation and LNG exports in the U.S. He pitches the situation as a coming “clash of the Titans” (our words, but his sentiment). The author believes that the buildout of new gas-fired plants will sop up molecules that would have gone to LNG export plants, setting up a price war for those molecules. (One could only hope!) We have a different perspective. 
