LNG

Proponent of LNG exports from Alaska expect to finish the key engineering and cost assessment for an 800-mile gas pipeline stretching from the North Slope to the Gulf of Alaska by the end of this year, according to US Interior Dough Burgum. The pipeline is critical for securing feedgas for Alaska’s $44 billion LNG export terminal.

The Iraqi government plans to seal an agreement with Excelerate Energy to import US LNG via a floating storage and regas unit. The FSRU could supply up to 500 MMcf/d, potentially replacing about half of the gas previously sourced from Iran.

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.

Arrival of the first cargo marks the launch of EGAS’ new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Damietta. The ‘Energos Winter’, a 138,250-cubic-metre vessel, has been chartered at an estimated cost of $3 million per month, complementing the existing FSRU at Ain Sokhna.

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.  

Risks abound that some US LNG export capacity will be shut in starting from 2029. If Asia cannot absorb the excess supply by adding import capacity through FSRUs, and there are successive mild winters, analysts reckon the global market will need US shut-ins to balance.

European Union energy ministers will endorse a full ban on Russian gas imports from January 1, 2028, an EU diplomat indicated. The ban would leave an estimated 15 bcm per year of Russian LNG needing replacement, with cargoes from Qatar, West Africa and especially from the United States poised to cover most of the shortfall.

Energy Transfer has delayed its final investment decision (FID) on the $10.9 billion Lake Charles LNG export project to the first quarter of 2026, instead of year-end 2025 as intended earlier. This hold-up follows lengthy development stages, uncommitted volumes and rising concern over LNG oversupply risk.

The Shell-operated tanker ‘New Nature’ is heading for Italy, carrying 155,000 cubic meters of LNG from the Idku terminal in Egypt. The shipment reflects the Egyptian Petroleum Ministry’s quest to boost exploration in West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) concession.

Effective October 14, fees for operators of LNG tankers built outside the US have fallen to $46 per ton, down from $150/ton proposed earlier. "This keeps US LNG competitive globally and gives domestic shipbuilders the time to rebuild long-term capacity,” commented Rob Jennings, vice president of natural gas markets at the American Petroleum Institute (API).