Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy issued an order to Gulf LNG Liquefaction Company LLC (GLLC) approving exports of domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gulf LNG Liquefaction Project.
The project will be located in Jackson County, Miss., near Pascagoula. The project, owned 50% by Kinder Morgan’s Southern Gulf LNG Company LLC, will add liquefaction and export capabilities to Gulf LNG Terminal, an existing import terminal owned by Gulf LNG Energy LLC.
“This announcement advances the Trump administration’s commitment to energy security here at home and for our friends abroad,” DOE Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement. “Increased amounts of U.S. LNG on the world market benefit the American economy, American workers, and consumers and help make the air cleaner around the globe.”
Under the order, GLLC will have authority to export up to 1.53 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas as LNG from the proposed Gulf LNG Liquefaction Project. GLLC is authorized to export this LNG by vessel to any country with which the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement (FTA) requiring national treatment for trade in natural gas, and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized GLLC to site, construct, and operate the Project on July 16, 2019.
“The U.S. is in another year of record-setting natural gas production,” DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg said in a statement. “I am pleased that the Department of Energy is doing its part to bring about an efficient regulatory system that allows for additional U.S. energy to find its way into the global market.”
Including yesterday's announcement, the Department of Energy has approved 34.52 Bcf/d of exports in the form of LNG and compressed natural gas to non-free trade agreement countries. Of this approved amount, approximately 14 Bcf/d is in various stages of operation and construction, with four export projects currently operating, and two more expected to come online later this year.
U.S. LNG export capacity, currently at approximately six billion cubic feet per day, is set to grow to over 10 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2020. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects a continued increase in domestic natural gas production, with an average dry natural gas production rate of 91.4 Bcf/d in 2019 and 92.8 Bcf/d in 2020, both new records.
The Gulf LNG Liquefaction Company order can be found here.
