During a President Trump trade trip to China in November 2017, Chinese officials signed an informal (non-binding) agreement to invest a whopping $83.7 billion in shale and petrochemical projects located in West Virginia (see China Agrees to Invest Amazing $83.7 BILLION in WV Shale, Petchem). Then the “trade war” with China happened, and so far, from November 2017 until now, not one red yuan has been invested. “I signed a trade deal and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.” One of WV’s U.S. Senators, Joe Manchin, says he thinks the Chinese have no interest in investing in an ethane cracker, petrochemical or manufacturing plants in the Mountain State. Instead, IF they invest (big IF), the Chinese, says Manchin, plan to invest in exporting NGLs out of the state.
Continue reading
Category: Exporting
Will New China Tariffs Hurt Marcellus/Utica LNG Exports?
The so-called trade war with China has just been ratcheted up a notch–by China. In a move to cut off their own nose to spite their face, the Chinese have hiked tariffs on LNG imports coming into their country from the United States–from a 10% tax to a 25% tax. Given only two LNG cargoes from the U.S. have landed in China this year, we suspect there won’t be any more LNG shipments from us to them for the foreseeable future. Depending on who you talk to, this is either no big deal, or a complete economic disaster for our shale gas industry.
Continue reading
US a Net Exporter of Natural Gas for Past 12 Months and Counting
For the past 12 consecutive months and counting, the United States has been a net exporter of natural gas. That means we sell more gas to other countries than we buy. What a turnaround from just a few years ago! What may surprise you is that the way we export most of our gas is via pipeline–to Canada and Mexico. And what may further surprise you to learn is that our exports to Canada have hit new record highs thanks mostly to two Marcellus/Utica pipelines–Rover and NEXUS.
Continue reading
Kinder Morgan Now Says Elba Island LNG Online “Approx. May 1”
Kinder Morgan has left a string of broken promises about the date for which the first Elba Island (Georgia) LNG export plant “mini-train” will begin producing and shipping LNG. We’ve chronicled the journey extensively. A month ago KM announced it was once again pushing back the startup of the first mini-train to April, “because of construction delays” (see Kinder Morgan Elba Island LNG Exports Delayed – Again). Yesterday KM released their first quarter 2019 update and yes, there’s a brief section about when Elba Island will start up.
Continue reading
Marcellus/Utica and Permian Go Head-to-Head to Supply Gulf Coast
We’ve been keeping an eye on natural gas supplies coming out of the ground in the Permian (West Texas and eastern New Mexico) for more than a year. Why? Because all that associated gas being produced in the Permian has to go somewhere, and increasingly it goes to places where Marcellus/Utica gas also goes. A potent competitor. A year ago we told you about Permian and M-U gas competing in Midwestern markets (see Permian NatGas Increasingly Competes with M-U in Midwest). But it’s not just in the Midwest. Both plays increasingly now compete to supply markets along the Gulf Coast.
Continue reading
2nd Louisiana LNG Export Facility Gears Up, M-U Gas Helps Feed It
The first “train” of the Cameron LNG project in Lake Charles, La. has reached its final commissioning stage and feed gas is now flowing to it. Which means it’s about ready to begin liquefying and exporting LNG. So what does that have to do with the Marcellus/Utica? We’ll tell you, because there is a connection.
Continue reading
Plans to Get More Gas to New England & Canadian Maritimes
The Canadian Maritimes, a region along the coast of Eastern Canada including three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, is in a pickle with respect to natural gas. In January, offshore supplies of natural gas which had fed the Maritimes for decades closed down, which means the region must now get more gas from either Western Canada, or the Marcellus/Utica.
Continue reading
Energy Transfer Opens Office in China to Push LNG, Ethane
Energy Transfer issued an exciting announcement yesterday to say they are expanding their presence in China “to meet growing demand for ethane and liquid natural gas products” by opening an ET office in Beijing. It will be ET’s first non-U.S. office–can you believe that?! Although ET doesn’t mention the Marcellus/Utica in the announcement, we think there’s a connection.
Continue reading
Philly Council Delays Vote on LNG Export Plant, Loonies Protest
Earlier this month MDN told you that a plan to build a $60 million Marcellus LNG export facility on property owned by Philadelphia Gas Works was just one vote away from becoming reality (see Philadelphia LNG Export Plant One Vote Away from Happening). The final vote needed is by Philadelphia City Council. It was supposed to happen yesterday, but instead was delayed.
Continue reading
Will Puerto Rico’s Clean Energy Law Affect Marcellus LNG Imports?
Does one government hand know what the other is doing in Puerto Rico? More to the point, is there a brain instructing either hand what to do? That’s the question we had as we read the legislature of PR has just passed an idiotic law requiring all electricity generation on the island to come from so-called renewables by 2050.
Continue reading
India Sells Latest Cove Point Marcellus LNG Shipment to Belgium
We spotted a story that says India’s GAIL (formerly known as Gas Authority of India Limited) has put yet another one of its contracted LNG shipments of Marcellus Shale gas coming from Dominion’s Cove Point LNG export facility, up for sale. In fact, it’s already sold and on its way to be unloaded at a port in Belgium.
Continue reading
Marcellus LNG Exports to Puerto Rico Up & Running by August?!
New Fortress Energy is building an $800 million LNG export plant in rural northeastern Pennsylvania (see Big News! Marcellus LNG Export Plant Coming to Landlocked NEPA). The plant will send the LNG to the Philly area via truck (eventually rail) and then it onto ships somewhere along the Delaware River. The LNG (some of it) will then get shipped all the way to Puerto Rico where it will be used to power electric generating plants.
SEE IMPORTANT UPDATE AT END OF POST
Continue reading
Kinder Morgan Elba Island LNG Exports Delayed – Again
Two weeks ago the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted a request to Kinder Morgan to “introduce feed gas, back-up fuel, and BOG fuel” to the first of what will be 10 production units at its Elba Island, Georgia LNG export facility (see One Step Closer: FERC OKs Feed Gas to Elba Island LNG). We told you in February that Kinder said it will launch the first of its 10 LNG export mini-trains by the end of March this year (see Kinder Morgan Takes Another Baby Step with Elba Island LNG). Scrap that.
Continue reading
Where Will New NatGas Demand Come From? Hint: Not Residential
A recent Bloomberg article got it wrong, as they typically do, with this headline: “Biggest Threat to Once-Prized Gas Is Getting Kicked Out of Homes.” Residential natural gas use has been relatively flat, for years. Yet natural gas demand has rocked upward, which begs the question–so who are the new customers using all that gas? MDN friend Jude Clemente has the answer…
Continue reading
Where Will New Fortress Energy’s Marcellus LNG Port be Located?
We’ve been tracking the story of a coming $800 million LNG export plant that will be built in rural northeastern Pennsylvania (see Big News! Marcellus LNG Export Plant Coming to Landlocked NEPA). Two days ago we shared the news that some of the Marcellus molecules from the plant will go to Puerto Rico to power electric plants (see PA Marcellus Gas to Power Electric Plant in…Puerto Rico?!). But between northeast PA and Puerto Rico, somewhere, somehow the LNG must get loaded onto a ship. Where will that happen? We think we know.
Continue reading
Philadelphia LNG Export Plant One Vote Away from Happening
Russian native Boris Brevnov (former Enron executive) and his partner Charles Ryan (a Radnor native, once the chief country officer in Moscow for Deutsche Bank), are now one vote away from Philadelphia City Council approving a $60 million Marcellus LNG export facility, to be built on property owned by Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW).
Continue reading