Big Green Challenges Small Florida LNG Export Facility in Fed Court
Last April, MDN told you about Nopetro LNG’s plans to construct and operate as many as three liquefaction trains in Port St. Joe, Florida, that will liquefy up to 3.86 billion cubic feet per year of natural gas for export and delivery to markets in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America (see Small Florida LNG Export Facility NOT Subject to FERC Regulation). That’s 3.86 Bcf for an entire year, not per day. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said it does not have jurisdictional authority over such a tiny facility. Along came Big Green (i.e. Public Citizen) to sue FERC, asking the court to force the agency to step up and conduct a full review of the facility (which would kill it).
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MiQ, a certification authority that monitors for methane (and other) emissions and issues responsible gas certifications, announced today it has launched the world’s first certification to cover all GHGs (greenhouse gases) from the LNG supply chain. LNG buyers are now able to compare exporters and choose lower emissions cargoes for the first time–ever. MiQ’s new framework tracks 100% of methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide emissions from every segment of the LNG supply chain–including production, gathering and boosting, processing, pipeline, liquefaction, shipping, and regasification.
Last September, Spanish oil and gas drilling giant Repsol, which owns the St. John, New Brunswick (Canada) LNG facility, filed an application with the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) to export up to 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas from the St. John facility (see 
GAIL (formerly known as Gas Authority of India Limited), is a huge natural gas and petrochemical company located in India. The country of India owns and operates GAIL. It is the largest natural gas utility company in the country. Earlier today, GAIL signed an agreement with Shell for Shell to source and supply ethane that GAIL can import and use to replace natural gas and naphtha as feedstock for its petrochemical plants. Last month GAIL invited companies to bid on providing it with a very large ethane carrier (VLEC) for 20 years starting mid-2026 so it can import ethane from the U.S.
Venture Global Plaquemines LNG, LLC is developing an LNG export facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, approximately 20 miles south of New Orleans. The Phase One of the project is currently under construction, and the first shipment from the facility will happen in 2024. Earlier this week, Venture Global announced it had pulled the trigger on a decision to build Phase Two of the project and has directed the builder to move forward with construction of Phase Two. Both phases, when completely done and running, will export 20 million metric tonnes per year of LNG.
NOW we understand why antis have restarted their attacks on the various components of New Fortress Energy’s Wyalusing LNG liquefaction plant–a project that has been dead as a doornail for three years. Yesterday we told you we were somewhat mystified by the actions of antis in the Delaware River Basin in opposing LNG-by-rail transportation and a permit for the seemingly dead project in land-locked Bradford County, PA (see 
In something of a mystery for us, the radical left continues to try and pound more nails in the coffin of the already-dead New Fortress Energy (NFE) Wyalusing LNG export plant. In March 2022 (one year ago), NFE withdrew a request to build an onshore LNG liquefaction plant in Wyalusing, PA, a plant that would have transported its LNG to NFE’s Repauno Port and Rail Terminal on the shoreline of the Delaware River in Gibbstown, N.J. (see 
With all the hubbub over LNG exports in recent years, you would be forgiven for perhaps not knowing that until recently, pipelines (to Canada and Mexico) were the dominant, primary way natural gas was exported from the U.S. Only with the rise of the first LNG export facility in 2016 (just seven years ago) has our ability to transport our natural gas to distant shores been a reality. And wow! What a reality it has become! The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that U.S. natural gas exports will grow over the next few years–but not because of an increase in pipeline capacity. Natural gas exports will grow, continue to grow, because of LNG exports. Which makes sense. There’s only so much natgas either Canada or Mexico can use from us. The rest of the world is still a blank canvas.
Two weeks ago, MDN brought you a summary of the latest quarterly update from Chesapeake Energy, which includes guidance (a forecast) for what the company plans to do in 2023 vis-à-vis drilling in the Marcellus and the Haynesville (see 
We have been closely tracking the restart of the shuttered Freeport LNG export terminal following its emergency shutdown in June 2022 after an explosion and fire. Most recently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted permission for Freeport to restart two of three liquefaction “trains” at the facility (see 
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) sent a new round of questions yesterday to Freeport LNG. The questions must be answered before the two agencies give their final blessing for Freeport to bring online its third and final train of LNG production. Which seems a bit odd to us. FERC previously granted Freeport permission to restart two of three LNG liquefaction trains, two of three LNG storage tanks, and one of two LNG births for ships to tie up and load (see 
Freeport LNG continues to rapidly ramp up its liquefaction and export capability. The facility experienced an explosion and fire in June 2022. It was just over a week ago that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted the facility permission to restart two of three liquefaction trains (see 
The Sabine Pass LNG terminal, owned and operated by Cheniere Energy, is spread over an 853-acre site in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The facility is the largest receiving and regasifying terminal in the world with a total send-out capacity of 4 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) and a storage capacity of 16.8 Bcf. The “nameplate” capacity of the facility with six trains operating is roughly 30 mtpa (million tons per annum). Last Thursday, Cheniere announced it has pre-filed to expand its Sabine Pass operation significantly, by another 66% to around 50 mtpa. This is good news for the Marcellus/Utica.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, along with Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and John Kennedy (R-La.), reintroduced the Natural Gas Export Expansion Act, which would expedite the federal approval process for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) and increase free trade, particularly as European countries are looking for new sources of clean, reliable energy.
Finally! The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted permission to the Freeport LNG facility, located in Quintana, Texas, to restart two of three liquefaction “trains,” two of three LNG storage tanks, and one of two LNG births for ships to tie up and load. While the third train and third storage tank will need further FERC permission, Freeport predicts the entire facility–all three trains and the infrastructure that supports them–will be online and producing the maximum 2 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) within “the next several weeks.”