LNG Demand Is Creating A Pipeline Imperative, But The Shale Revolution Has Made the U.S. King of the Energy Hill

LNG exports are surging. This is because the U.S. accommodated the Shale Revolution, while politically correct Europe did not. This will stimulate natural gas development in the South and Southwest, but much of the Marcellus and Utica Shale gas is trapped by lack of pipeline capacity as the climate cult, special interest NGOs, Big Green Grifters, and politically correct blue state leaders use every conceivable tactic to fight the needed pipelines.

Pline, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The story is well-told in this BOE Report/Reuters story:

U.S. liquefied natural gas exports will soar by roughly 10% a year through 2030 as energy firms double their LNG production capacity, according to analysts, providing a shot in the arm to the country’s maturing shale industry which has seen growth slow and costs rise.

The U.S. is the world’s largest oil and natural gas producer, but many of its best drilling locations have been tapped. While oil production is expected to plateau or fall in coming months, gas remains a bright spot for the industry thanks primarily to the country’s booming exports. U.S. LNG exports are on track to soar from a record 11.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2024 to 21.5 bcfd in 2030, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) outlook.

U.S. LNG producers are building new terminals to superchill gas to its liquid state for export. They aim to meet booming demand for the fuel worldwide to meet rising energy consumption and as many countries phase out coal-fired power plants.

That is providing robust growth prospects for the nation’s gas production regions. Morgan Stanley projects gas output in the Haynesville shale in Louisiana will soar by 41%, and in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico by 21% from 2024 to 2027.

The Marcellus and Utica shales, which span parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, will grow by 9%, according to the Morgan Stanley estimates. U.S. gas producers and investment firms are gearing up for more activity in Haynesville, positioning themselves for the boom in LNG exports boosted by new approvals from U.S. President Donald Trump…

Already this year, U.S. energy firm Venture Global LNG has sanctioned the construction of CP2, its third export plant in Louisiana; while rival Cheniere Energy decided to build two additional liquefaction trains at its Corpus Christi plant in Texas. Australian firm Woodside Energy Group said it would move forward with its Louisiana LNG project.

Analysts expect more energy firms to take advantage of Trump’s favorable federal permit policies to build additional LNG export plants and pipelines over the next 12 months. See, Factbox of North American LNG export projects

Overall, the EIA projects U.S. gas output will climb from a record 103.6 bcfd in 2023 to around 113.5 bcfd in 2030, with most of that fuel going to meet soaring LNG export demand. Canada, meanwhile, will also supply an average of around 7.0 bcfd of pipeline gas to the U.S. over the next five years.

Even with LNG demand rising, the EIA projected total U.S. gas demand, including domestic consumption and exports, would only rise by around 1% per year on average from now through 2030, climbing from a record 111.5 bcfd in 2024 to about 120.3 bcfd in 2030…

New pipelines and other infrastructure will be needed to transport the gas to market.

In the U.S. Northeast, capacity to transport gas will likely remain constrained, capping potential output growth there to just about 3 bcfd by the end of the decade unless more pipelines get built, according to East Daily Analytics analyst Jack Weixel.

“Accessing this dependable supply will require new pipelines and supporting infrastructure,” said Dennis Degner, CEO of Range Resources, one of the biggest U.S. gas producers with operations in the Marcellus and Utica.

Several U.S. pipeline firms, including Kinder Morgan, Williams Cos and Energy Transfer, have already started to spend billions to build hundreds of miles of new pipe, including in the Northeast, to supply more gas for export and domestic demand.

The good news, of course, is that the Trump Administration is actively involved in pushing for more pipelines, and companies such as Energy Transfer aren’t afraid of a fight. Plus, New York and New England have boxed themselves in with stupid green energy policies that are already raising electricity prices and making it necessary to build pipelines, even though they protest otherwise.

#Marcellus #Utica #GreenEnergy #Shale #BigGreenGrift #Pipelines #LNG