U.S. approves increased LNG exports
Written by Nick Blenkey
LNG carrier loading at Cheniere U.S. LNG export terminal
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday issued two long-term orders authorizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from two current operating LNG export projects, Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Sabine Pass in Louisiana and Corpus Christi in Texas.
The two orders allow Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi additional flexibility to export the equivalent of 0.72 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas as LNG to any country with which the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement, including all of Europe.
While U.S. exporters are already exporting at or near their maximum capacity, with yesterday’s orders, every operating U.S. LNG export project has approval from DOE to export its full capacity to any country where not prohibited by U.S. law or policy.
U.S. LNG EXPORTS SET TO RISE
The U.S. is now the top global exporter of LNG and exports are set to grow an additional 20% beyond current levels by the end of this year as additional capacity comes online, says DOE. In January 2022, U.S. LNG supplied more than half of the LNG imports into Europe for the month.
With the expected rise in LNG exports, DOE says it is “particularly focused on driving down methane emissions in the oil and gas sector both domestically and abroad, leveraging the deep technical expertise of the department.”
U.S. LNG remains an important component to global energy security, and DOE says it remains committed to finding ways to help America’s allies and trading partners with the energy supplies they need while continuing to work to mitigate the impact of climate change.
