U.S. regulators OK Freeport LNG request to return ship loading at Texas plant
U.S. federal energy regulators on Thursday approved Freeport LNG’s request to return ship loading to service at its long-idled Texas liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant. Freeport, the second biggest U.S. LNG export plant, shut after a fire in June 2022.
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.