Cheniere LNG Projects Moving 'Full Steam Ahead' Despite DOE Permitting Pause

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The chief executive officer of Cheniere Energy Incorporated (NYSE:LNG) (Houston, Texas) said Thursday he doesn't believe the U.S. Department of Energy's pause on authorizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to non-free-trade-agreement (non-FTA) countries will affect the timing of his company's LNG projects. On the other hand, Cheniere's Jack Fusco said the DOE's action does no good for the U.S. LNG industry or global decarbonization efforts.

The Biden administration announced the pause last month.

"During this period, we will take a hard look at the impacts of LNG exports on energy costs, America's energy security, and our environment," President Joe Biden said in a press statement. "This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time."

The move would not affect operating or already-permitted projects, administration officials said.

During Cheniere's earnings conference call on Thursday, Fusco addressed the situation.

"While this decision does not currently impact our expansion projects or our FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permitting) processes at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi, it does introduce regulatory and permitting uncertainty into the U.S. LNG industry as a whole," Fusco said.

Fusco added the company is moving "full steam ahead" on its Corpus Christi LNG trains 8 and 9 in Texas and the SPL expansion at its Sabine Pass site in Cameron, Louisiana.

An environmental assessment on the Corpus Christi LNG trains, still in their permitting phase, is expected in March, but a DOE permit to allow the new trains to export LNG to non-FTA countries is pending. A final investment decision (FID) on the Corpus Christi additions is expected in 2025. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can click here for a project report.

The Sabine Pass expansion project is expected to make a full application to FERC this quarter. It has not yet sought export permitting from the DOE. An FID is targeted for 2026. Subscribers can click here for the project report.

Fusco continued, "Global energy markets are calling for additional LNG supply. The U.S. is significantly advantaged to answer this call with our abundant and low-cost natural resources, flexibility and affordability of U.S. volumes, and until recently, the reliability and certainty of the U.S. regulatory regime."

"Gulf Coast LNG positions the U.S. as a leader in facilitating energy security and worldwide emissions reductions," Fusco said. New natural-gas-fired power plants emit no more than half the emissions produced by coal-fired plants. "This is a generational opportunity, something we should be proud of and working to maximize, not restrict," he continued.

Later in the conference call, he said, "And while I think this is politically motivated, I'm hopeful that at the end of the day, we go back to where we were before, which is we let the market dictate which projects will survive and which ones won't."

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 more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).