Daily Energy Blog

The Bakken Shale needs more natural gas takeaway capacity, North Dakota wants to encourage more in-state consumption of Bakken-sourced gas, and two entities — WBI Energy and a combo of Intensity Infrastructure Partners and Rainbow Energy Center — have each proposed similar (but not identical) cross-state pipelines that would help achieve those aims. But, assuming that two new pipelines would be overkill, which of the two proposals is the more likely to advance to a final investment decision (FID), construction and operation? In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the two competitors and the state of North Dakota’s impending decision on which pipeline project to support.

The European Union (EU) has taken a number of steps in recent years to end its reliance on Russian natural gas, which accounted for nearly half of the bloc’s supplies before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But while the changes happening in Europe might provide a boost for global LNG exporters, including projects in operation or under development in the U.S., the EU’s policy shifts have also introduced greater uncertainty around demand. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the increasing difficulty in predicting EU gas demand and what it means for U.S. exporters and the rest of the global LNG market. 

It’s shaping up to be an incredible year for U.S. LNG growth, with record levels of feedgas demand and exports along with progress on the regulatory front, as the Trump administration has cleared away hurdles that had previously stalled project development. Now, Cheniere Energy has announced a positive final investment decision (FID) on its Corpus Christi Midscale expansion. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at the Midscale project and others that could move forward this year. 

For several years now, the biggest hurdle to natural gas production growth in the Marcellus/Utica was takeaway constraints — there simply wasn’t enough capacity on gas pipelines out of Appalachia to support a significant bump-up in regional output. Things have been changing though. The Mountain Valley Pipeline and a slew of expansion projects along Transco are allowing increasing volumes of gas to move to and through Virginia and the Carolinas. The proposed Borealis Pipeline across Ohio would enable up to 2 Bcf/d to move down the Texas Gas Transmission system to the Gulf Coast. And, as we discuss in today’s RBN blog, Kinder Morgan is planning several major projects in the Deep South — including the 2.1-Bcf/d Mississippi Crossing and 1.3-Bcf/d South System Expansion 4 projects — to move more gas into Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. 

Marcellus/Utica natural gas production grew by leaps and bounds in the 2010s, but the pace of growth has slowed dramatically in recent years, mostly due to takeaway constraints. Finally, the prospects for renewed growth are improving. New pipeline capacity out of Appalachia is coming online — especially to the booming Southeast, and maybe the Gulf Coast too. New LNG export capacity is about to be commercialized. And a lot of new gas-fired generating capacity — much of it tied to planned data centers — is under development within (or very near) the Marcellus/Utica region. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the three big gas-demand drivers behind the shale play’s impending renewal. 

Woodside Energy’s final investment decision (FID) on the $17.5 billion Louisiana LNG terminal was a stunner. For one thing, only 1 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of the project’s 16.5 MMtpa (2.2 Bcf/d) of capacity is under contract — U.S. LNG export projects typically have commitments for two-thirds or more of their output before pulling the trigger. The project will also have an outsized impact on gas flows in a region already struggling to keep up, and it may well upend plans for other projects in the works. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at Louisiana LNG, Woodside’s daring development approach, and the terminal’s impacts on gas demand, gas flows and pre-FID projects. 

There is tremendous buzz around natural-gas-fired turbines right now with backlogs reportedly stretching five years into the future due to supply-chain bottlenecks, labor shortages and a surge in demand. The power generation industry is poised for a major upswing as data center development and overall electricity demand continue to accelerate, driving an even greater need for gas turbines. In today’s RBN blog, we will explore why gas turbines are so challenging to build and why there’s such a manufacturing backlog.