U.S. Cements LNG Export Crown as Venture Global Fires Up Plant

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has cemented its position as the world's top producer of liquefied natural gas after Venture Global LNG began preparing to send its first cargo of the super-chilled fuel and rival Cheniere Energy Inc. expanded service.

Venture Global's $5.8 billion export facility in Louisiana expects to load the inaugural cargo on or after February 9, regulatory filings show. When it's fully operational later this year, the U.S. will have the capacity to ship as much as 13.9 billion cubic feet of LNG per day, more than top producers Australia and Qatar. Cheniere's Sabine Pass facility, meanwhile, received clearance to place an expansion into commercial service.

It's a stunning milestone for a nation that, less than a decade ago, was a net importer of natural gas. Since then, the shale boom has transformed the U.S. into the world's biggest gas producer and rivaling Qatar as the top exporter of the fuel that feeds power plants and heats homes. Calcasieu Pass is the seventh export facility to open since 2016, when Cheniere Energy Inc. kicked off a new era of U.S. LNG shipments.

“U.S. LNG can now compete with almost any country, including Middle Eastern countries that have historically had a massive advantage on the production of gas and the production economics of gas,” said Muqsit Ashraf, senior managing director of Accenture's global energy practice.

Exports from the U.S. have received a boost in recent months from an unprecedented energy crisis in Europe. The cold-blasted continent became the top destination for American spot cargoes, giving U.S. producers a tremendous financial incentive to run at or slightly above full capacity this winter. Natural gas flows to U.S. export terminals hit a record 13.3 billion cubic feet on Jan. 28.

Cheniere's Sabine Pass took advantage of the increased demand to run full bore for much of the winter. The facility, already the largest producer in the U.S., received federal clearance to start commercial production on its sixth processing train, which was already making LNG for export.

Venture Global's Louisiana plant has long-term supply deals with nine international buyers and will be able to sell on the spot market any cargoes produced during the commissioning process. It's the first of four export terminals under development by Venture Global, which has touted its modular approach to construction and its plans to curb emissions by adding capture capture technology to three projects.

The next U.S. export terminal expected to come online is Golden Pass LNG in Port Arthur, Texas, with an in-service target of 2024. The joint venture between Exxon Mobil Corp. and Qatar Energy would bring U.S. LNG peak processing capacity to 16.3 billion cubic feet per day. That could ensure the U.S. remains the biggest exporter until at least 2027, when Qatar's Ras Laffan terminal is expected to complete an ambitious expansion project that would bring that nation's capacity to 16.6 billion cubic feet a day.