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Released March 13, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A rush of extended permits for LNG producers did little to influence projections for average exports this year, even though current levels exceed forecasts for the year.
Exporting its first batch of super-cooled natural gas in 2016, the United States leapfrogged Australia and Qatar to become the world leader in exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) six years later.
LNG export levels in 2022 were around 10.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) on average. LNG exports this year are expected to average 14 Bcf/d and reach 16 Bcf/d in 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
An expected increase in natural gas prices, meanwhile, should drive production at home.
"In addition, we expect strong global demand for LNG throughout our forecast, which will support higher production compared with 2024," EIA analysts wrote in the Short-Term Energy Outlook report for March. "We expect dry natural gas production to average 107 Bcf/d in 2026."
Data from IIR Energy show natural gas production was closer to 103 Bcf/d on Tuesday, a decline of 1.1 Bcf/d from the prior day. Bitter cold curbed output during the early months of the year and now maintenance is putting a governor on production levels.
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company is pigging its 1,900-mile natural gas pipeline that feeds LNG terminals along the Gulf Coast. Feed gas in general is down and the eight operational LNG export terminals collectively shipped out 15.3 billion cubic feet of gas in the liquid form on Tuesday, a decline from the previous day.
Even with the decline, LNG export levels are about 15% higher than year-ago levels.
LNG export levels ascended even after former U.S. President Joe Biden enacted a pause, later suspended by the courts, on new export terminals while the administration studied the potential emissions up and down the supply chain. Exports averaged 9.8 Bcf/d in Biden's first year in office in 2021 and reached 14 Bcf/d last year.
In one of his first acts of office on his return to the White House, President Donald Trump overturned Biden's order by way of an executive order. Speaking at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, the head of Cheniere Energy Incorporated (NYSE:LNG) (Houston, Texas) said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has now approved the expansion of its Corpus Christi export facility in Texas.
Corpus Christi has a nameplate capacity of 2.4 Bcf/d, making it the second-largest LNG export terminal by volume behind Sabine Pass, also operated by Cheniere. The expansion would add another 465 million cubic feet per day to its design capacity. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can click here for the project report.
Cheniere, however, would still need a permit to send LNG from the new trains to countries that don't have a free-trade agreement with the United States. It's not clear how President Trump's emphasis on tariffs would impact LNG export agreements, free-trade or not.
Trump since returning to the White House has signed permit extensions for a range of LNG projects, the latest of which was awarded to Delfin Midstream for its LNG plant off the coast of Louisiana. Click here to read the project report. For more information, see IIR Energy Breaking Energy News (BEN) article - Delfin Floating LNG Project Secures a Permit Extension.
An extension for existing permits for trade to countries without a U.S. free-trade agreement was necessary because of construction issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project has been through various stages of advanced planning since 2015. The permit, like others from the Trump administration this year, are extensions, not new issuances. Even with the permits and emphasis on conventional energy, EIA left its forecast for LNG export levels unchanged from its February report.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Exporting its first batch of super-cooled natural gas in 2016, the United States leapfrogged Australia and Qatar to become the world leader in exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) six years later.
LNG export levels in 2022 were around 10.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) on average. LNG exports this year are expected to average 14 Bcf/d and reach 16 Bcf/d in 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
An expected increase in natural gas prices, meanwhile, should drive production at home.
"In addition, we expect strong global demand for LNG throughout our forecast, which will support higher production compared with 2024," EIA analysts wrote in the Short-Term Energy Outlook report for March. "We expect dry natural gas production to average 107 Bcf/d in 2026."
Data from IIR Energy show natural gas production was closer to 103 Bcf/d on Tuesday, a decline of 1.1 Bcf/d from the prior day. Bitter cold curbed output during the early months of the year and now maintenance is putting a governor on production levels.
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company is pigging its 1,900-mile natural gas pipeline that feeds LNG terminals along the Gulf Coast. Feed gas in general is down and the eight operational LNG export terminals collectively shipped out 15.3 billion cubic feet of gas in the liquid form on Tuesday, a decline from the previous day.
Even with the decline, LNG export levels are about 15% higher than year-ago levels.
LNG export levels ascended even after former U.S. President Joe Biden enacted a pause, later suspended by the courts, on new export terminals while the administration studied the potential emissions up and down the supply chain. Exports averaged 9.8 Bcf/d in Biden's first year in office in 2021 and reached 14 Bcf/d last year.
In one of his first acts of office on his return to the White House, President Donald Trump overturned Biden's order by way of an executive order. Speaking at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, the head of Cheniere Energy Incorporated (NYSE:LNG) (Houston, Texas) said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has now approved the expansion of its Corpus Christi export facility in Texas.
Corpus Christi has a nameplate capacity of 2.4 Bcf/d, making it the second-largest LNG export terminal by volume behind Sabine Pass, also operated by Cheniere. The expansion would add another 465 million cubic feet per day to its design capacity. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can click here for the project report.
Cheniere, however, would still need a permit to send LNG from the new trains to countries that don't have a free-trade agreement with the United States. It's not clear how President Trump's emphasis on tariffs would impact LNG export agreements, free-trade or not.
Trump since returning to the White House has signed permit extensions for a range of LNG projects, the latest of which was awarded to Delfin Midstream for its LNG plant off the coast of Louisiana. Click here to read the project report. For more information, see IIR Energy Breaking Energy News (BEN) article - Delfin Floating LNG Project Secures a Permit Extension.
An extension for existing permits for trade to countries without a U.S. free-trade agreement was necessary because of construction issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project has been through various stages of advanced planning since 2015. The permit, like others from the Trump administration this year, are extensions, not new issuances. Even with the permits and emphasis on conventional energy, EIA left its forecast for LNG export levels unchanged from its February report.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
