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Problem-Plagued Freeport LNG Down Again After Shipping Cargo

Two days ago, MDN reported that an LNG cargo vessel had left the Freeport LNG dock partially loaded (see Problem-Plagued Freeport LNG Finally (!) Exports Another Cargo). We thought perhaps that Freeport, which has had a string of problems since opening, had finally turned a corner and was returning one of the three trains to active duty. Nope. We should have known when we read the ship left only half-loaded that something was still wrong. Both Reuters and NGI are reporting Train 3 liquefaction is back offline again following a problem with the main cryogenic heat exchanger.
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EQT Quadruples Deal to Send Gas to LNG Export Plant in S. Texas

Port of Brownsville, TX, on the border with Mexico (click for larger version)

Yesterday, a major announcement went largely under the radar. EQT Corporation, currently the largest natural gas producer in the U.S., announced it will quadruple a deal with Glenfarne Energy’s Texas LNG Brownsville export facility to liquefy (now) 2.0 million tons per annum (MTPA) for EQT. This works out to be roughly 264 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of EQT’s Marcellus/Utica molecules hitching a ride to South Texas.
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Problem-Plagued Freeport LNG Finally (!) Exports Another Cargo

BW Pavilion Leeara

Have things finally turned around for the problem-plagued Freeport LNG export facility located in Quintana, Texas? We hope so. Last week, we reported gas flows to the facility had dropped to “near zero” for at least five days in a row (see Freeport LNG Still Mostly Shut Down – 5 Days in Row at < 5% of Gas). Earlier this week, we reported that Freeport had finally begun to receive feedgas again (see Texas Fines Freeport LNG – Some Feedgas Starts to Reflow). Reuters is now reporting that for the first time in 12 days, an LNG cargo tanker (partially filled with liquefied gas) has left the Freeport dock.
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Texas Fines Freeport LNG – Some Feedgas Starts to Reflow

Things may finally be turning around for the problem-plagued Freeport LNG export facility located in Quintana, Texas. Last week we reported gas flows to the facility had dropped to “near zero” for at least five days in a row (see Freeport LNG Still Mostly Shut Down – 5 Days in Row at < 5% of Gas). Reuters is out with a pair of reports. One report says feedgas is finally beginning to flow to one of Freeport’s three trains again. The other report says the State of Texas recently levied fines on Freeport for violating state air pollution emissions rules between 2019 and 2021.
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BRG Study Proves U.S. LNG Has Lowest GHG Emissions for Powergen

Berkeley Research Group (BRG) published a very important new study yesterday that has Big Green tied up in knots. The study, “Comparative GHG Footprint Analysis for European and Asian Supplies of USLNG, Pipeline Gas, and Coal” (full copy below), analyzes methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions across leading fuel supply chains for power generation in 13 European and Asian end markets. The study has been under development since 2021. It uses a “bottom-up methodology” to arrive at a comprehensive comparison of the emissions intensity of the primary fuel sources, as well as continuously updated data from numerous sources. It’s far more rigorous and reliable than the typical Big Green propaganda that relies on aggregated emissions information to develop general theoretical conclusions. This is real science.
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EIA Predicts U.S. LNG Exports to Jump 18% in 2025 with New Plants

The EIA says the U.S. natural gas trade will continue to grow with the startup of new LNG export projects. In a Today in Energy post, the EIA says (based on its recent Short-Term Energy Outlook report) that it expects U.S. LNG exports will increase just 2% this year over last year. However, in 2025, LNG exports will soar by 18% due to three new LNG export facilities currently under construction that will come online next year.
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Biden White House Backs Away from Cornell Prof’s Sham LNG Study

From time to time, so-called experts will come out of the woodwork to proclaim that burning coal is better for the environment than burning natural gas. Cornell professors Robert Howarth and Anthony Ingraffea (Ingraffea is now retired) attempted to make that case back in 2011 (see New Cornell University Study Says Shale Gas Extraction Worse for Global Warming Than Coal). Their research was roundly refuted (laughed at) by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Carnegie Mellon University, and by a study done by a different group of Cornell professors (see New Cornell Study Says Coal is Not Cleaner than Natural Gas). Howarth is back with a new study that says burning coal is better than extracting and exporting LNG (he’s kind of a Johnny One-Note with respect to coal and natgas). Except this time, Howarth released his “study” before it was vetted by peers, and the Bidenistas used it as justification to pause new LNG export approvals (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports).
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Freeport LNG Still Mostly Shut Down – 5 Days in Row at < 5% of Gas

The problem-plagued Freeport LNG export plant remains out of order. The plant had been mostly offline following an episode of cold temps in January (see Freeport LNG Repairs Won’t be Done Until May – 2 Trains Offline). Freeport announced that two of the three trains at its facility would remain out of service for testing and repairs through May. In late March, Train 3 at the plant came back online (see Freeport LNG Maintenance Work Continues – Gas Flows to One Train). However, a new problem at Train 3 took it offline last week (see NatGas Flows to Freeport LNG Export Plant Drop to Near Zero, Again). According to Reuters, as of Monday this week, the plant has remained offline for five days running.
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U.S. NatGas Exports Hit New All-Time High of 20.9 Bcf/d in 2023

The United States exported 10% more natural gas in 2023 than it did in 2022 — a record of 20.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Natural Gas Monthly report. U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports accounted for more than half of all U.S. natural gas exports, and natural gas exports by pipeline to Canada and Mexico accounted for the remainder. You don’t often think about the fact that we export a huge amount of natural gas to our two neighbors via pipeline — Canada in the north and Mexico in the south. We exported 8.9 Bcf/d to Canada and Mexico combined (43% of all exported gas) and 12.0 Bcf/d via LNG (57%).
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NatGas Flows to Freeport LNG Export Plant Drop to Near Zero, Again

The problem-plagued Freeport LNG export plant is once again completely out of order. The plant had been mostly offline following an episode of cold temps in January (see Freeport LNG Repairs Won’t be Done Until May – 2 Trains Offline). Freeport announced that two of the three trains at its facility would remain out of service for testing and repairs through May. In late March, Train 3 at the plant came back online (see Freeport LNG Maintenance Work Continues – Gas Flows to One Train). However, a new problem at Train 3 took it offline late Tuesday.
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Pennsylvania House Hears How Biden LNG Pause Hurting Pa. Workers

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee held a hearing called “Fueling Pa’s Future: Liquid Natural Gas.” In January, Joe Biden 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 projects (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports). One of the projects put on pause is a $6.4 billion LNG export terminal planned for Delaware County, PA (near Philadelphia).
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U.S. Ethane Production, Consumption, Exports Set New Records 2023

The production of ethane in the U.S. — one of several natural gas liquids (NGLs) that come out of the ground when drilling both oil and gas wells — rose 9% in 2023 to a new record high of 2.6 million barrels per day (b/d), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Record ethane production was a result of the boom in natural gas production and the addition of two new ethane cracker plants coming online, one in Texas and the other in Pennsylvania.
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Study: LNG Exports Do NOT Lead to Increased Domestic Energy Costs

In January, Joe Biden announced a “pause” for any approvals of new LNG export plants (currently 17 requests in the pipeline) for at least one year (see White House Makes it Official – Biden Declares War on LNG Exports). One of the reasons cited for the pause is the oft-repeated lie that exporting LNG causes the price for natural gas here at home (for both residential and commercial) to skyrocket. A new report published by the Texas Oil & Gas Association refutes that claim using energy data from the federal government itself.
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US Edges Out Australia and Qatar as World’s Biggest LNG Exporter

Back on Jan. 3, we brought you the news (from Reuters) that the U.S. became the #1 exporter of LNG in the world in 2023 (see U.S. Became #1 LNG Exporter in the World in 2023). It only took the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) another three months, but the agency, which employs an army of number-crunchers, now agrees. U.S. LNG exports in 2023 averaged 11.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) — a 12% increase (1.3 Bcf/d) compared with 2022, according to data from EIA’s Natural Gas Monthly report. LNG exports from Australia and Qatar — the world’s two other largest LNG exporters — each ranged from 10.1 Bcf/d to 10.5 Bcf/d annually between 2020 and 2023.
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Freeport LNG Maintenance Work Continues – Gas Flows to One Train

As we told you last week, the problem-plagued Freeport LNG export plant continues to be mostly offline following an episode of cold temps in January (see Freeport LNG Repairs Won’t be Done Until May – 2 Trains Offline). Freeport announced that two of the three trains at its facility would remain out of service for testing and repairs through May. The plant has not operated at full capacity since late January following a deep freeze in Texas that caused problems in Train 3. We have a better fix on just how much natural gas is (and is not) currently flowing to the Freeport facility.
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Freeport LNG Repairs Won’t be Done Until May – 2 Trains Offline

The problem-plagued Freeport LNG export plant continues to be mostly offline following an episode of cold temps in January. It seems like this facility has been out of commission more than it’s been in commission since it went online in 2019. A few days ago, Freeport announced that two of the three trains at its facility would remain out of service for testing and repairs through May. The plant has not operated at full capacity since late January following a deep freeze in Texas that caused problems in Train 3.
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