The Future Is Bright For U.S. LNG As 2024 Concludes

Venture Global LNG began shipping initial cargoes from its new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Louisiana last week, marking the startup of operations in what will eventually become the biggest LNG export facility in the United States if all goes according to plan. Bloomberg reports that the first cargo shipped from the Plaquemines facility on December 26 is bound for the German utility company EnBW and will arrive in early January.

Biden’s LNG Pause Likely To Be Lifted

The opening of this newest LNG export terminal came just 10 days following the release of a study by the Department of Energy which claims that continued expansion of the booming industry will result in higher greenhouse gas emissions. That study’s release was accompanied by a letter from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm claiming that “unfettered exports” of LNG would create domestic shortages of natural gas and result higher prices for U.S. consumers.

That DOE study was met with mixed reviews and is unlikely to hold much sway in the coming second term of President-elect Donald Trump. Trump has pledged to end the “pause” in permitting of new LNG export facilities invoked by President Joe Biden as one of his first acts upon assuming office and has promised to seek ways to speed up permitting for energy-related projects of all types, including proposed new LNG terminals.