Free Republic

In June 2022, the countries of the European Union for the first time in history imported more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States than pipeline gas from Russia, according to Executive Director of IEA Fatih Birol, Trend reports citing TASS. "Russia's recent steep cuts in natural gas flows to the EU mean this is the 1st month in history in which the EU has imported more gas via LNG from the US than via pipeline from Russia. The drop in Russian supply calls for efforts to reduce EU demand to prepare for a tough winter," he wrote on...

The administration of President Joe Biden is preventing America’s second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant from restarting operations after it was forced to shut down due to a fire in June over alleged “risks to public safety.” On June 8, an unexplained explosion knocked out Freeport LNG’s plant in Quintana, Texas, after the blast caused a fire that spread through a large part of the plant. This facility is responsible for bringing America over two billion cubic feet of LNG per day and 16.5 million tons of LNG per year. (Related: Freeport Liquefied Natural Gas terminal down for the ENTIRE...

Poland and Norway opened a new gas pipeline via Denmark on Tuesday, hailed as a much-needed alternative to Russian-controlled routes. At a ceremony in Poland, Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland said the opening of Baltic Pipe was “a milestone on the important path towards European independence”... Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said it “marks a crucial geopolitical step for all of us.” “Putin uses Russian energy as a weapon to destabilise Europe, to divide us. He cannot be allowed to succeed,” Ms Frederiksen said, referring to the Russian president. Poland, one of the fiercest advocates in Europe of isolating Moscow,...

U.S. natural gas prices take a sharp turn lower after Freeport LNG said on Tuesday it now expects to restart its shuttered export plant in early to mid-November, and ramp up to a sustained level of at least 2B cf/day by the end of November, delaying the timeline from a previous estimate of October. Freeport LNG's newest recovery plan will utilize the company's second loading dock as a lay berth until loading capabilities at the second dock are reinstated in March 2023, when it anticipates being capable of operating at 100% of capacity. Nymex front-month natural gas futures (NG1:COM) for...

U.S. liquified natural gas exporter Freeport LNG will shut down its export facility in Texas for at least three weeks because of an explosion incident. According to Reuters, Freeport LNG informed about this late on 8 June 2022, after evaluating damage to the facility. The facility is located in Quintana along the Texas Gulf Coast, about 112 kilometres south of Houston. Freeport LNG operates one of the largest LNG liquefaction and export facilities in the world; specifically, it is the seventh-largest in the world and the second-largest in the U.S. Therefore, this shutdown will likely impact European and Asian LNG...

According to two sources, around the time of Russia's late February invasion of Ukraine, a cyber unit of Russia's GRU military intelligence service again conducted targeting-reconnaissance operations against a major U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter, Freeport LNG. U.S. LNG exports have long been a priority concern for Russia, viewed by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a means for the United States to undercut Russia's domination of the European gas market. On June 8, Freeport LNG suffered an explosion at its liquefaction plant and export terminal on Texas's Quintana Island. The damage suffered means the facility is not expected to resume...

Venture Global LNG Inc. has struck the first binding deals by a U.S. natural-gas exporter to supply natural gas to a German company, as the European nation turns to America to help replace supplies from Russia. On Tuesday, Venture Global said it agreed to sell 1.5 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year in two separate 20-year deals with German energy company EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, starting in 2026. Half of the amount will come from Venture’s Plaquemines LNG facility under construction in Louisiana, while the other half will come from another proposed facility in that state, it...