LNG

One US LNG cargo reached China on 16 July, the first in seventeen months, but it may never be imported. Our tracking shows the Al Fat'h diverted from Huizhou, an ordinary customs berth, to bonded Yangpu, where a cargo can wait, clear customs, or leave again with duty never falling due. Which of those happens is not yet knowable, and Beijing's tariff on US LNG still stands.

Venture Global’s average liquefaction fee surged 69% in the second quarter to an average $6.45 per million British thermal units, up from $3.82/MMBtu in the first quarter, as higher LNG prices lifted returns on commissioning cargoes and short-term sales, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Venture Global and Thailand’s state-controlled energy giant PTT PCL are in advanced talks for binding LNG offtake, supposedly from the Plaquemines or CP2 export facilities in Louisiana. If finalized, the deal would help diversify Thailand’s LNG supply away from Middle Eastern sources.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has authorized Venture Global to ramp up LNG exports from its Plaquemines terminal by an additional 0.45 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) countries – a 13% increase.

Rampant feedgas demand for US LNG exports is speeding up the completion of intrastate pipelines, with total capacity now reaching approximately 6.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to the EIA’s updated Natural gas Pipeline Projects Tracker. About 85%, or 5.3 Bcf/d, of the additional capacity is designed to move shale gas from the Haynesville and Permian formations to the Louisiana Gulf Coast.

LNG is driving the bulk of US gas demand growth with Gulf Coast capacity additions pushing exports from 15.5 billion cubic feet per day towards 25 Bcf/d by 2028. Henry Hub prices indicate healthy but tightening upstream‑to‑LNG margins from Haynesville, and especially Permian associated gas.

Venture Global has requested regulatory approval to feed natural gas into the final block of its Plaquemines LNG plant by Thursday. If FERC approves, LNG will soon be produced at all 36 trains of the 27.2 mtpa liquefaction terminal – more than a year before long-term offtakers were meant to receive their contracted cargoes.

Venture Global is advancing talks to ship more LNG cargoes from its Plaquemines terminal in Louisiana to Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK, as the war-torn country scrambles to secure energy this winter. Delivered gas could cost a premium to spot LNG imports into northern Europe.  

Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel strives to get two LNG expansions – Calcasieu Pass 2 and Plaquemines – come to market before 2030. Financial close for the $18 billion brownfield expansion at Plaquemines is targeted for mid-2027, followed by first LNG some 18 to 24 months afterwards.

Developers plan to add 18.7 gigawatts of combined-cycle capacity to the US power grid by 2028, with 4.3 GW under construction. In contrast, an 98 MW unit at Plaquemines LNG terminal was the only gas power unit to come online last year.