Natural Gas Export Projects Hang in the Balance as Biden Mulls Climate Test

(Bloomberg) -- As the Biden administration weighs a tougher climate test for US natural gas export terminals, several projects and tens of billions of dollars in investments are hanging in the balance. 

Environmentalists are doubling down on efforts to oppose liquefied natural gas terminals seeking government approval, warning they'll significantly prolong the fuel's use globally and worsen global warming. Meanwhile, the Energy Department is reevaluating the climate criteria it uses to approve new LNG export facilities, threatening to stall pending projects as the 2024 election nears. 

The LNG buildout “is a method to short-circuit the transition to renewable energy and instead install our reliance on fossil fuels for decades to come,” climate activist Bill McKibben said Friday during a press conference.

Developers of these multi-billion-dollar ventures need to finalize permits and obtain customer commitments before they can start full-scale construction. Time is of the essence as companies look to lock in investments before an expected wave of new LNG supply reaches the global market in 2030.

Here are some of the projects that are closest to reaching a final investment decision this year, cementing America’s position as the world’s largest LNG producer. 

Venture Global’s CP2

Venture Global LNG Inc.’s CP2 project, near its existing Calcasieu Pass export plant in Louisiana, is awaiting approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Companies that have signed long-term agreements to buy gas from the terminal, including Japan’s Jera Co. and Germany’s SEFE, are urging FERC to authorize the facility.

Venture Global previously said it expects to begin commercial operations at CP2 in 2026. Customers of the company’s first project, Calcasieu Pass, are asking FERC to intervene in a contractual dispute with the gas exporter. 

Commonwealth LNG

Commonwealth LNG, a proposed Louisiana terminal under development by a closely held company of the same name, received FERC approval in 2022 but is still waiting for another key permit. It needs authorization from the Energy Department to export to countries that don’t have a free trade agreement with the US — a so-called non-FTA permit — including Japan, China and European nations. The company has said it expects to begin commercial operations in 2027.

Lake Charles LNG

Energy Transfer LP’s proposed Lake Charles LNG export facility in Louisiana, which would be converted from an existing import terminal, has received FERC approval. But the Energy Department denied the company’s request to extend the project’s non-FTA permit beyond 2025, leaving the project in limbo until its new export application is approved.

Rio Grande LNG Train 4

NextDecade Corp.’s  Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas won fresh US approval last year. FERC reissued its authorization after a federal appeals court directed the agency to further analyze the impacts of Rio Grande and another Texas terminal on the climate and low-income communities. 

The proposal received non-FTA approval from the Energy Department in 2020. NextDecade announced a final investment decision on the first three production units of Rio Grande last year and expects to green-light a fourth LNG unit this year.  

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