Exporting

Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG (liquefied natural gas) export facility in Louisiana is in the process of ramping up for it’s very first shipment of U.S.-produced LNG that will head to a foreign destination. In fact, this will be the very first exported shipment of LNG from the Lower 48 states–ever. Cheniere itself is tight-lipped about the exact date it fires up the plant and begins liquefaction, the process of supercooling natural gas into liquefied natural gas. So how do we know the plant has been activated? Through the ingenious work and service from a company called Genscape. MDN editor Jim Willis sat in on a Genscape presentation at Bloomberg’s offices in New York City in early November. They have a really cool service. Using special cameras mounted on nearby properties, Genscape can tell if natural gas is flowing through a pipeline, or if a plant’s compressors are fired up and working, or even monitor truck and rail shipments into and out of facilities like Sabine Pass. Using their proprietary technology, Genscape says “the first substantial deliveries (46 million cubic feet) of natural gas flowed into the Sabine Pass facility on Dec. 10. Why does MDN care? Because some of that gas either already does, or soon will, come from the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “Genscape: Sabine Pass LNG Export Began Accepting Natgas on Dec 10”

In what has become an all-too-familiar pattern, evil corporate raider Carl Icahn has struck again, claiming another CEO scalp. Like he did with Chesapeake Energy, Icahn increased his stake in another oil and gas company, Cheniere Energy, about to export the very first shipment of exported LNG from the Lower 48 states. After Icahn grabbed a big share of Cheniere (13.8%), he forced out the company’s co-founder and CEO, Charif Souki. It’s disgusting, it’s immoral, it’s unethical–but unfortunately, it’s legal and even vaunted by investors who worship at the alter of the Almighty Buck. Like the case of Aubrey McClendon being forced out of the company he founded, Chesapeake Energy, Souki was a maverick, and he erred by taking too much OPM–other people’s money. The firing of Charif Souki certainly takes the luster and excitement off the company’s pending first export shipment of LNG. If Cheniere goes bankrupt (not beyond the realm of possibility as Souki is credited with keeping the company afloat), it will be because of Icahn’s action. Investors can thank old Carl. What’s happening, of course, is that Icahn wants to put some new financial paint on the company so he can flip it in a year or two, adding more billions to his existing billions. Jerk. The company has appointed an interim CEO (board member Neal Shear) while they look for a new hatchet man like Ichan did at Chesapeake with Doug Lawler. Let the firings begin!…
Read More “Evil Corporate Raider Carl Icahn Claims Another CEO Scalp”

An article about Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project (LNG export plant) in remote Louisiana caught our attention for a couple of reasons. First, the plant will make its first shipment of LNG in January. Some of the natural gas the hungry Sabine Pass facility will use will (eventually) come from the Marcellus/Utica, via pipeline. That makes the Sabine Pass plant story an important story for our region. Second, the plant is a picture of/preview for what is coming to other regions where such facilities are built–like Cove Point, Maryland where Dominion is currently building (about half done) the Cove Point LNG export facility. Sabine Pass is a massive economic and job creation engine for Louisiana’s south coast. So too will Cove Point be for Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay area…
Read More “How a Louisiana LNG Export Facility is Connected to the Marcellus/Utica”

MDN editor Jim Willis still remembers the thunderclap of understanding he experienced while attending the Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum in New York City in December of 2013 (see Energy Industry Leaders Gather at Platts Forum in NYC). As we wrote at the time: “The one thing Jim learned (honest admission) is how much he doesn’t know about the wider energy industry. We who toil away in the shale gas and oil industry are, according to those at the Forum, a bit myopic. I think that’s probably true. Our heads are down and we’re fighting crazies every day and forget to look up and take stock of how our piece of the energy puzzle fits with the rest of the puzzle. The Forum helped provide some of that perspective for Jim.” In many ways that statement remains true–that the oil and gas industry is working hard and treading water and doesn’t stop to consider the global interconnection between not only oil and gas, but all energy sources. We can produce lots of gas in the U.S., but where and how will it get used? With all due respect to the great actor Kevin Costner, if you build it, they don’t necessarily come! As in, if we continue to pump out enormous quantities of natural gas and think that exports will save the day–that other countries will soak up our extra capacity–well, it’s a nice thought, but not necessarily true. Case in point: Platts is out with a sobering assessment of LNG going to Japan and Korea (and even China)–and the picture is not pretty for exporters here in the U.S….
Read More “Global LNG Demand is Going Down – What Does it Mean for the U.S.?”