LNG

The US Department of Energy has removed the requirement for long-term LNG export authorization holders to seek separate short-term permits to export volumes, boosting the flexibility of US companies in the spot cargo market.

By consolidating this authority in a single authorization without any increase in total approved export volumes, the DoE said it was a move to streamline its regulatory process.

“This policy is a sensible and concrete way DoE can remove unnecessary regulatory burdens for LNG exporters,” said Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette.

“Those exports bring benefits to our economy, while also helping to reduce global emissions,” added Brouillette in reference to US shipments to Asia helping to enable the switch from coal to gas.

The DoE believes that this deregulatory measure would lead to administrative efficiency.

It would also remove a duplicative requirement for exports of LNG to have DoE authorization for the short-term market, where the authorization holder already has long-term export authority.

Concurrent with this policy statement, DOE added that it was amending several long-term LNG export orders to add short-term export authority to the long-term orders.

“We are increasingly seeing more sales of LNG on the spot market, and this action by DoE is allowing more flexibility for US LNG exporters,” explained Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes.

“With this policy, US LNG exporters can let the market - not our regulatory process - determine which LNG cargos will be exported under long-term or short-term agreements on the spot market,” stated Menezes.

Acting Under Secretary of Energy and Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg said LNG export policies should support the market aims of US companies.

“We want to have a sensible regulatory system that takes current market realities into account, and this policy statement does just that,” added Winberg.

At the start of January 2021, the DoE also issued its fourth set of LNG export authorizations through to 2050.

This action followed several LNG export term extensions issued since October 2020 pursuant to its global export policies.

The latest term extensions were given to the Southern LNG export facility operating in Georgia, the Elba Island plant, as well as Sempra Energy’s Cameron facility in Louisiana.

The new permits have also been given to the Annova LNG project proposed in Texas and Eagle LNG’s two small-scale facilities in Florida, including the Maxville facility currently in operation.

These issuances extended each project’s long-term LNG export authorization to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) countries through December 31, 2050. 

Term extensions now apply to permits now held by 18 US LNG export projects, as well as the Costa Azul project in Mexico. 

The US Department of Energy has extended the terms of five long-term liquefied natural gas export authorizations through 2050 for plants in Louisiana, Texas, Georgia and Florida.

US President Donald Trump said during a speech in Midland, Texas, that the Department of Energy is issuing a final policy statement that allows for liquefied natural gas exports to Non-Free Trade Agreement countries to be extended through the year 2050.

The US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette has issued a final long-term order authorizing the export of domestically produced liquefied natural gas from the proposed Jordan Cove LNG Terminal at Coos Bay in the northwest state of Oregon.

The export permit, which had previously been conditional, follows the approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced March 2020 for the siting, construction, and operation of the Jordan Cove liquefaction plant and the related Pacific Connector Pipeline.

“The export authorization for Jordan Cove, the first US West Coast LNG project, will ease access to further position the US as a top supplier of LNG around the world,” said Secretary Brouillette.

“The issuance to Jordan Cove serves to further expand opportunities for US LNG abroad, particularly in the growing markets of Asia, and encapsulates what the Trump Administration has been working hard on for the past three years - providing reliable, affordable, and cleaner-burning natural gas to our allies around the world,” stated Brouillette.

The development company, the Jordan Cove Energy Project is owned by Canada’s Pembina Pipeline Corp. and it now has the authority to export up to 1.08 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas as LNG.

The DoE statement said the project’s natural gas will be sourced from both Canada and the United States and would be liquefied at the Jordan Cove facility for export to any nation worldwide, unless trade is prohibited by US law.

Calgary, Alberta-based Pembina acquired the Jordan Cove LNG project in late 2017 in its takeover of another Canadian company, Veresen Inc.

The project includes a 230-mile pipeline which would traverse four counties in Southern Oregon on the route to the liquefaction plant.

The liquefaction plant and other facilities are planned for a 200-acre site and comprise five small-scale Trains each with 1.5 million tonnes per annum of output for a total of 7.8 MTPA.

“As we work to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, LNG exports are going to be one of the building blocks toward the United States’ economic recovery,” said DOE’s Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg.

“The US has exported LNG to 38 countries, with this authorization to Jordan Cove, the United States can look to increase that number with expanded geographic coverage for LNG exports into key importing markets in Asia, providing enhanced economic opportunities both here in the US and globally,” added Winberg.

Jordan Cove has multiple facilities, including two full-containment storage tanks with total capacity of 320,000 cubic metres, gas treating infrastructure, an export jetty and access to more than 25 billion cubic feet per day of gas supply from Western Canada and the US Rockies.

The project’s Pacific Connector pipeline will have a 36-inch diameter with capacity to transport up to 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Feed-gas for Jordan Cove would be sourced at the Malin Hub, creating a new outlet for natural gas from areas such as the Rockies Basin.

The export plant is expected to be visited by about 120 LNG carriers per year and Pembina has signed preliminary accords with Jera Co. Inc. and Itochu Corp. of Japan for the supply of cargoes.