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Released March 08, 2022 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ongoing developments, both political and market-based, in the U.S. energy sector could accelerate its rise as a key source for global energy security. Among the possible beneficiaries is U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) (Houston, Texas), which said Monday it had signed an agreement with engineering firm Bechtel Corporation (Reston, Virginia) to start adding up to 10 million metric tons per year of liquefaction capacity to its terminal at Corpus Christi.
Cheniere said it entered into a "lump sum, turnkey, engineering, procurement and construction" contract with Bechtel to add up to seven mid-scale trains to Corpus Christi, each boasting a liquefaction capacity of about 1.49 million metric tons per year. That extra 10 million metric tons per year would add to the 15 million of existing capacity, making it among the largest LNG export terminals in North America. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Project Database can click here for a list of active projects from Cheniere.
"Cheniere already has made a lot of progress recently in debottlenecking existing LNG infrastructure to boost output, along with speeding up the final commissioning of Train 6 well ahead of schedule," said Shane Mullins, Industrial Info's vice president of product development for the energy markets. "With Cheniere's help, the U.S. now has the world's largest LNG export capability."
Corpus Christi is typically the second-busiest LNG export terminal in the U.S., after Sabine Pass. For the seven-day period ending March 2, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that 24 vessels laden with domestically sourced LNG left for the foreign market. Of those, nine left from Sabine Pass, five departed from Corpus Christi, three each left from the Cameron and Freeport facilities, two departed from Cove Point off Maryland, and one each left from Elba Island and Calcasieu Pass.
Many of those cargoes are going to the European market to address serious supply-side issues stemming from the war in Ukraine. Russia is the primary natural gas supplier to the European market, and while flows have escaped direct Western financial pressure thus far, the threat of sanctions and real-world shipping issues have resulted in very serious supply-side concerns.
"The Ukraine conflict has only increased the commercial momentum to approve additional LNG infrastructure to enhance supply security in Europe," Mullins said. "2022 is shaping up to be another record year of approvals for additional LNG supply, as we still see Venture Global's Plaquemines and Tellurian's Driftwood projects moving forward this year, in addition to Cheniere's mid-scale project."
Industrial Info is tracking more than $200 billion worth of active LNG-related projects across the U.S. Subscribers can click here for a full list.
Cheniere's announcement came as commodity prices are increasing at a breathtaking rate. Dutch TTF, a European benchmark for the price of natural gas, topped $115 per million British thermal units (Btu) early Monday, on what Norwegian consultant group Rystad Energy (Oslo, Norway) called an "eye-watering risk premium" for commodities.
The market fears, however, are psychological and not a reflection of actual flows. Russian pipeline deliveries are more or less stable, though alternative supplies from Norway were impacted by an unplanned outage from Equinor's (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger, Norway) Kollsnes natural gas processing plant.
"The Corpus Christi Stage III project commences as global LNG market fundamentals highlight the criticality of natural gas in the global energy mix," said Jack Fusco, the chief executive officer of Cheniere, in a press release.
LNG deliveries into the European market, meanwhile, continue to grow as the race for diversification continues. To that end, the American Petroleum Institute (API), a lobbying group representing the interests of hundreds of oil and natural gas companies, said U.S.-sourced LNG is an important part of global energy security.
"The current emergency is front of mind, but American LNG exports are key to a forward-looking geopolitical strategy built around accessible energy that helps nations address any number of challenges," wrote API President Mike Sommers in a recent op-ed for Forbes.
Last year, U.S. LNG exports leap-frogged Australia and Qatar, making it the world's largest deliverer of the super-cooled and highly mobile form of natural gas.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
Cheniere said it entered into a "lump sum, turnkey, engineering, procurement and construction" contract with Bechtel to add up to seven mid-scale trains to Corpus Christi, each boasting a liquefaction capacity of about 1.49 million metric tons per year. That extra 10 million metric tons per year would add to the 15 million of existing capacity, making it among the largest LNG export terminals in North America. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Project Database can click here for a list of active projects from Cheniere.
"Cheniere already has made a lot of progress recently in debottlenecking existing LNG infrastructure to boost output, along with speeding up the final commissioning of Train 6 well ahead of schedule," said Shane Mullins, Industrial Info's vice president of product development for the energy markets. "With Cheniere's help, the U.S. now has the world's largest LNG export capability."
Corpus Christi is typically the second-busiest LNG export terminal in the U.S., after Sabine Pass. For the seven-day period ending March 2, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that 24 vessels laden with domestically sourced LNG left for the foreign market. Of those, nine left from Sabine Pass, five departed from Corpus Christi, three each left from the Cameron and Freeport facilities, two departed from Cove Point off Maryland, and one each left from Elba Island and Calcasieu Pass.
Many of those cargoes are going to the European market to address serious supply-side issues stemming from the war in Ukraine. Russia is the primary natural gas supplier to the European market, and while flows have escaped direct Western financial pressure thus far, the threat of sanctions and real-world shipping issues have resulted in very serious supply-side concerns.
"The Ukraine conflict has only increased the commercial momentum to approve additional LNG infrastructure to enhance supply security in Europe," Mullins said. "2022 is shaping up to be another record year of approvals for additional LNG supply, as we still see Venture Global's Plaquemines and Tellurian's Driftwood projects moving forward this year, in addition to Cheniere's mid-scale project."
Industrial Info is tracking more than $200 billion worth of active LNG-related projects across the U.S. Subscribers can click here for a full list.
Cheniere's announcement came as commodity prices are increasing at a breathtaking rate. Dutch TTF, a European benchmark for the price of natural gas, topped $115 per million British thermal units (Btu) early Monday, on what Norwegian consultant group Rystad Energy (Oslo, Norway) called an "eye-watering risk premium" for commodities.
The market fears, however, are psychological and not a reflection of actual flows. Russian pipeline deliveries are more or less stable, though alternative supplies from Norway were impacted by an unplanned outage from Equinor's (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger, Norway) Kollsnes natural gas processing plant.
"The Corpus Christi Stage III project commences as global LNG market fundamentals highlight the criticality of natural gas in the global energy mix," said Jack Fusco, the chief executive officer of Cheniere, in a press release.
LNG deliveries into the European market, meanwhile, continue to grow as the race for diversification continues. To that end, the American Petroleum Institute (API), a lobbying group representing the interests of hundreds of oil and natural gas companies, said U.S.-sourced LNG is an important part of global energy security.
"The current emergency is front of mind, but American LNG exports are key to a forward-looking geopolitical strategy built around accessible energy that helps nations address any number of challenges," wrote API President Mike Sommers in a recent op-ed for Forbes.
Last year, U.S. LNG exports leap-frogged Australia and Qatar, making it the world's largest deliverer of the super-cooled and highly mobile form of natural gas.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
