Booming U.S. LNG Export Industry Gets Another Boost In Louisiana
America’s LNG export industry got another boost on May 15 when owners of Commonwealth LNG said they were green-lighting the buildout of a facility in Cameron Parish designed to ship 9.5 million tons of LNG per year. Houston-based Caturus, an LNG developer backed by private equity giant and majority stakeholder Kimmeridge, and Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Energy, reached final investment decision (FID) for the project whose total investment will come to $12.5 billion.
Rapid Growth In U.S. LNG Export Sector
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry were on hand for an announcement ceremony at the development site, where Wright touted the project as the latest addition to the rapid expansion of the U.S. LNG export sector.
“We’re continuing to ramp up U.S. Natural gas exports. It’ll be a record again this year, it was a record last year,” Wright said in an interview with CNBC. “We’re up to about 20 BCF a day of natural gas that we export, which is roughly double the second and third largest exporters of natural gasses, Qatar being one of those two countries.”
The point about Qatar is key to this discussion since its LNG volumes - roughly 20% of global supply prior to Feb. 28 - have been largely absent from the market after the country’s major liquefaction and export facilities at Ras Laffan suffered major damage after being hit by Iranian missiles in early March. The shortage of supply has resulted in a dramatic increase in demand for LNG cargoes from the U.S. and other exporting countries.
Mubadala: Commonwealth a Part of a Long-Term Strategy
“Recent disruptions have certainly increased global awareness around energy security and supply chain resilience,” Mubadala Chief Operating Officer Adnan Bu Fateem told me in an interview on Friday. Fateem adds that the company’s investment in Caturus and Commonwealth LNG was made long before the advent of the Iran Conflict, closing in August of last year. He also points out that this investment is part of a larger strategy to make major investments in the U.S. and its booming energy economy.
