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Released July 30, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land,
Texas)--With the U.S. leading the world in exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a federal pipeline safety agency said last week it was setting up a center of excellence in Louisiana.
Four LNG export terminals pepper the coast of Louisiana--Sabine Pass, Cameron, Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines. Of those, the Sabine Pass terminal, operated by Cheniere Energy (Houston, Texas), is the largest by volume, with a nameplate processing capacity of 4.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
All four terminals combine for a design capacity of 10.3 Bcf/d. As of Friday, IIR Energy data show total feed gas to all eight U.S. LNG terminals reached 15.2 Bcf/d, showing Louisiana dominates the domestic LNG sector.
"Louisiana is at the heart of America's growing LNG revolution," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a July 22 press release. "There is no better place to locate our Center of Excellence to ensure we safely transport this critical energy source."
The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said that it established the center through a 20-year lease agreement with McNeese State University in Lake Charles.
The center will focus on furthering government expertise in operations and management of LNG facilities, serve as the center for best industry practices and facilitate collaboration across the range of stakeholders. The lease begins next week.
"This center will be a game changer for our region and be the tip of the spear for LNG innovation, operations, and safety in the U.S.," Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) said in a statement.
PHMSA was mandated to establish the center under legislation signed in 2020 by then President Joe Biden. Since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has worked to boost the industry even further.
Total U.S. exports of gas in the liquid form averaged about 10 Bcf/d in 2020. The federal government estimates the average will reach 16 Bcf/d by next year.
The Lake Charles announcement followed the signing of a new trade deal between the European Union (EU) and the U.S. The EU will see its baseline tariff increase from 10% to 15%, though Trump earlier had threatened rates as high as 30%. Europe over the next three years is also obligated to purchase some $750 billion worth of energy products, from nuclear fuel to LNG.
The spending goal for energy might be out of reach, however, as the EU spent only about $80 billion on U.S. energy imports last year. More recently, EU data show U.S.-sourced LNG overtook Russia to take the No. 2 spot in terms of market share, though it's largely up to the companies themselves to make the offtake agreements, not their host governments. For more information, see July 29, 2025, article - Europe Seals 'Last-Minute' Tariff Deal with U.S.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), for its part, has warned of potential trouble ahead for the LNG industry as supplies look to overtake demand levels. In its recent gas market report for third-quarter 2025, the IEA forecasted global natural gas demand growth to slow from 2.8% in 2024 to about 1.3% in 2025. At home, the surge in LNG exports is supporting a premium in the price for natural gas.
French leaders scoffed at the trade deal, suggesting European officials caved in to Trump's negotiating style, though most were upbeat despite the increased rate for blanket tariffs.
German Chancellor German Friedrich Merz said the agreement "has succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-orientated German economy hard."
After signing a 20-year offtake agreement for supplies from the second phase of its Calcasieu Pass terminal (CP2) in Louisiana with German company Security Energy for Europe (SEFE) GmbH, operator Venture Global (Arlington, Virginia) said it expects to be the largest LNG supplier to the German economy. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can click here for CP2 project reports.
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).
Four LNG export terminals pepper the coast of Louisiana--Sabine Pass, Cameron, Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines. Of those, the Sabine Pass terminal, operated by Cheniere Energy (Houston, Texas), is the largest by volume, with a nameplate processing capacity of 4.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
All four terminals combine for a design capacity of 10.3 Bcf/d. As of Friday, IIR Energy data show total feed gas to all eight U.S. LNG terminals reached 15.2 Bcf/d, showing Louisiana dominates the domestic LNG sector.
"Louisiana is at the heart of America's growing LNG revolution," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a July 22 press release. "There is no better place to locate our Center of Excellence to ensure we safely transport this critical energy source."
The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said that it established the center through a 20-year lease agreement with McNeese State University in Lake Charles.
The center will focus on furthering government expertise in operations and management of LNG facilities, serve as the center for best industry practices and facilitate collaboration across the range of stakeholders. The lease begins next week.
"This center will be a game changer for our region and be the tip of the spear for LNG innovation, operations, and safety in the U.S.," Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) said in a statement.
PHMSA was mandated to establish the center under legislation signed in 2020 by then President Joe Biden. Since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has worked to boost the industry even further.
Total U.S. exports of gas in the liquid form averaged about 10 Bcf/d in 2020. The federal government estimates the average will reach 16 Bcf/d by next year.
The Lake Charles announcement followed the signing of a new trade deal between the European Union (EU) and the U.S. The EU will see its baseline tariff increase from 10% to 15%, though Trump earlier had threatened rates as high as 30%. Europe over the next three years is also obligated to purchase some $750 billion worth of energy products, from nuclear fuel to LNG.
The spending goal for energy might be out of reach, however, as the EU spent only about $80 billion on U.S. energy imports last year. More recently, EU data show U.S.-sourced LNG overtook Russia to take the No. 2 spot in terms of market share, though it's largely up to the companies themselves to make the offtake agreements, not their host governments. For more information, see July 29, 2025, article - Europe Seals 'Last-Minute' Tariff Deal with U.S.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), for its part, has warned of potential trouble ahead for the LNG industry as supplies look to overtake demand levels. In its recent gas market report for third-quarter 2025, the IEA forecasted global natural gas demand growth to slow from 2.8% in 2024 to about 1.3% in 2025. At home, the surge in LNG exports is supporting a premium in the price for natural gas.
French leaders scoffed at the trade deal, suggesting European officials caved in to Trump's negotiating style, though most were upbeat despite the increased rate for blanket tariffs.
German Chancellor German Friedrich Merz said the agreement "has succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-orientated German economy hard."
After signing a 20-year offtake agreement for supplies from the second phase of its Calcasieu Pass terminal (CP2) in Louisiana with German company Security Energy for Europe (SEFE) GmbH, operator Venture Global (Arlington, Virginia) said it expects to be the largest LNG supplier to the German economy. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can click here for CP2 project reports.
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).
