LNG Wars: United States vs. Australia vs. Qatar – The LNG Trinity
You’ve heard of the Holy Trinity, right? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three largest LNG exporting countries in the world, the U.S. (#1), Australia (#2), and Qatar (#3), are referred to as the LNG Trinity. Together, all three countries represent roughly 60% of all LNG exported on the planet. However, each country has its own strategy, politics, and approach to the market. How are they similar, and how are they different? Read More “LNG Wars: United States vs. Australia vs. Qatar – The LNG Trinity”


In October, MDN told you about a Congressional investigation looking into the Department of Energy’s use of a prematurely released “study” as an excuse to “pause” (i.e., ban) new LNG export approvals (see
The incoming Trump administration will have a big emphasis on natural gas, including LNG (liquefied natural gas) exports. Lazy journalists and lazy economists try to scare the general public into believing more (new) LNG exports from this country will cause the price of domestic natural gas to skyrocket. Their arguments presume no increase in natgas production, which is a fallacy. There are many reasons why the price of natgas isn’t going to skyrocket from more LNG export approvals.
We have fantastic news to share. Elba Island LNG, which accepts and liquefies Marcellus/Utica molecules just offshore from Savannah, Georgia, received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last Thursday to expand the facility to produce an extra 0.4 million metric tons/year (mmty). By our calculations, that would mean an extra 16.4 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of M-U natural gas flowing to Elba over the course of a year.
On Friday, we told you that a bankruptcy judge had tossed out a lawsuit brought by Freeport LNG against the companies that built the facility, claiming it was their shoddy work that has led to a steady string of problems and outages (see
We still continue to say “pinch us!” that Donald Trump won the election. And what about the picks he’s made for his cabinet and other key positions…Wow! Now comes word from leakers that “within days” of his inauguration, the Trump team will roll out approvals for LNG export requests that have been stalled for a year under Joementia. Word also leaked that Trump plans to approve new on-shore and off-shore drilling on federal lands. It’s such a breath of fresh air! (Pun intended.)
We’ve been tracking the up down up down up down situation at Freeport LNG (where some Marcellus/Utica molecules flow) since it came online in 2019. Freeport was mostly offline for the first half of this year following an episode of cold temps in January (see
In August, we told you that most of Venture Global’s contracted customers for LNG from the company’s Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in southwestern Louisiana’s Cameron Parish had filed for arbitration over Venture Global’s refusal to sell them cargoes under contract (see
Reuters predicts a sharp increase in U.S. LNG exports to European destinations “in the coming weeks.” Why? Because “the price spread between domestic natural gas and Europe’s main gas pricing hub hit one-year highs.” What the heck does that mean? We will explain it below.
The European Union’s idiotic methane regulations will soon come into full force, prompting European oil, gas, and coal companies to monitor, measure and report their emissions. The same restrictions will also apply to energy imports coming from other countries, including the U.S. (see
Venture Global has some nerve. In August, we told you that most of Venture Global’s contracted customers for LNG from the company’s Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in southwestern Louisiana’s Cameron Parish had filed for arbitration over Venture Global’s refusal to sell them cargoes under contract (see
We won’t lie—we have a love/hate relationship with the American Petroleum Institute. Big Oil companies (like Exxon) control the organization (they pay big membership fees), and often, Big Oil is at odds with smaller, independent oil and gas producers like those who do most of the shale drilling. The API tends to suck up to politicians like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In remarks made yesterday, API President Mike Sommers said his organization supports (!) the massive worldwide shakedown of America called the Paris Accords (which targets HIS members for extinction). Go figure. However, the API isn’t all bad. The API released a policy roadmap yesterday for the incoming Trump administration. 
In January, Joe Biden announced he would “pause” any approvals for new LNG export plants, with over a dozen 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
One of the reasons Kamala Harris lost (and lost big) is a complete tone deafness on energy issues, including the “pause” she and her boss put on approving new LNG export requests all the way back in January (see