Energy Transfer announced on Thursday that it would suspend the development of the Lake Charles LNG facility. The export terminal's developer had already received commitments for 78% of its 16.5 MMtpa (2.2 Bcf/d) capacity which, along with regulatory approvals would have put it on the precipice of a Final Investment Decision (FID).
The central issue for Energy Transfer appears to be that they weren't able to secure equity investors in the project to defray their own capital risk. And given what many in the market view as a looming oversupply of LNG in the latter half of this decade, the company appears to have opted for a strategy that prioritizes their substantial growth in U.S. pipeline development, including the Hugh Brinson and Desert Southwest pipelines, among others.
