Three More U.S. LNG Facilities Underway

By Christian Roselund

The U.S. Department of Energy is forecasting that three new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities currently under construction will come online on the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2024 and 2025. These will further expand the LNG export capacity of the United States, which became the world’s largest exporter of LNG in the first half of 2022.

Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum reached final investment decision (FID) on the Golden Pass LNG facility in Texas in 2019. The new project is expected to start ramping in January 2024 and will add 12 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of export capacity. Venture Global reached FID on its Plaquemines LNG facility in Louisiana in March 2022, which will add 14 MMtpa.

Cheniere reached FID on its Corpus Christi 3 LNG export facility in Texas in June 2022, which will represent another 18 MMtpa.

Together, the three will add 34 MMtpa to the United States’ aggregate 106 MMtpa LNG export capacity which will be online when the Calcasieu Pass facility ramps to full output later this year. This will allow more LNG to be exported to Europe and other sources of demand. However, if not matched with new gas production and/or reduced demand, increased exports will also put upward pressure on U.S. domestic natural gas prices.

Source: U.S. LNG export capacity to grow as three additional projects begin construction (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy)