The U.S. is now the world’s #1 supplier of LNG and the new liquefaction/export capacity slated to come online over the next few years suggest it will hold that position into the 2030s. To control more of the LNG value chain and become more familiar with the inner workings of the U.S. natural gas market, a small-but-growing number of LNG buyers and suppliers have been acquiring gas production assets close to LNG export terminals along the U.S. Gulf Coast — in other words, buying slices of the American gas-supply pie. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the LNG market players pursuing this strategy, what they’ve been buying, and how their acquisitions may benefit them.
Visualize the infrastructure behind U.S. NGL movement.
The U.S. NGLs Map provides a comprehensive view of the transport, processing, and export networks moving NGLs across the U.S.
Last month, in We Three Kings, we looked at the “LNG Trinity” — the U.S., Qatar and Australia — that account for about 60% of global LNG production and imports. We noted there that the U.S. exported 84.5 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of LNG in 2023, the gas equivalent of 11.2 Bcf/d, and that the LNG projects with a final investment decision (FID) and under construction in Texas and Louisiana (blue diamonds in Figure 1 below) will increase U.S. LNG export capacity by 80% by 2028. Still, more projects may advance next year, assuming President-elect Trump lifts the Biden administration’s January 2024 pause on new Department of Energy (DOE) gas-export approvals.
U.S. Gulf Coast LNG Export Facilities
Figure 1. U.S. Gulf Coast LNG Export Facilities. Source: RBN’s LNG Voyager
A key link in the LNG value chain is gas supply — that is, the acreage, wells and gathering systems in the Haynesville, the Eagle Ford and other U.S. production areas that churn out and gather the massive volumes of gas that feed the facilities that liquefy gas and load it onto large LNG carriers for shipment overseas. Most of that feedgas — and the pipeline capacity needed to deliver it — are procured under long-term contracts between liquefaction-plant owners and gas producers and/or marketers. In some cases, however, LNG suppliers and buyers — like the ones detailed below — have been acquiring and developing their own gas production assets, largely to reduce gas-supply costs and mitigate the effects of gas-price volatility.
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About the song
“American Pie” was written by Don McLean and appears as the first song on side one of Don McLean’s second studio album of the same name. Recorded in June 1971, it was released as a single in October 1971 and went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, with the 8-minute, 33-second opus remaining at that position for four weeks. It has been certified 3X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). “The day the music died” refers to the February 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (JC Richardson). The song also references Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Janis Joplin. After the success of the song, McLean was asked what the song meant, and he jokingly replied, “It means that I don’t ever have to work again if I don’t want to.” Personnel on the record were: Don McLean (vocal, acoustic guitar), Paul Griffin (piano), David Spinoza (electric guitar), Bob Rothstein (bass), Roy Markowitz (drums, percussion), and the West Forty Fourth Street Rhythm and Noise Choir (backing chorus vocals).
The album American Pie was recorded in May and June 1971 at Record Plant Studios in New York City with Ed Freeman producing. Released in October 1971, it went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 2X Platinum by the RIAA. Two charting singles were released from the LP.
Don McLean is an American folksinger, songwriter and guitarist. A protege of folksinger Pete Seeger, McLean’s fans call him “The American Troubadour.” He has released 21 studio albums, four live albums, 10 compilation albums and 16 singles. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has a George and Ira Gershwin Award. In February 2022, “American Pie” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. McLean still records and tours. A documentary, The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie, is streaming on Paramount+. He will be performing selected live shows at various venues in the U.S. in 2025.
