U.S. LNG development has seen a resurgence in the post-COVID world, with five projects with a combined 61.1 MMtpa (8.1 Bcf/d) of new LNG export capacity reaching a final investment decision (FID) in the past 18 months and one additional project closing in on that milestone. Five of these six projects are from the “Big Three” of U.S. LNG — Cheniere, Sempra and Venture Global — leading some to wonder if there’s room for anyone else. But while all three companies are big in U.S. LNG and have projects under development, only one is a behemoth. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our look at the pre-FID projects under development by the Big Three, focusing on the king of U.S. LNG, Cheniere.
In Part 1, we took a closer look at the projects under development by Sempra, because at the time, Sempra had the project most likely to take FID next: Cameron Phase 2, a 7-MMtpa (0.93-Bcf/d) expansion of its existing terminal in Louisiana. The expansion includes a fourth train as well as 1 MMtpa (0.13 Bcf/d) of additional capacity from debottlenecking at the existing terminal. The project is being developed in conjunction with existing offtakers, although Sempra has elected to market some of the capacity itself as well. The project is currently completing front-end engineering design (FEED) work, which is expected to be complete later this summer, with an FID following later this year.
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.
Since Part 1 was posted, NextDecade has taken FID on Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG project, just a few weeks after announcing a major offtake and equity agreement with TotalEnergies. TotalEnergies took a 17.5% stake in the Rio Grande LNG project and agreed to take 5.4 MMtpa (0.72 Bcf/d) of LNG, functionally selling out the first three trains. NextDecade said at the time it was working on closing out the financing for the project and would take FID by mid-July, which it did with the official announcement and a full notice to proceed issued July 12 to Bechtel, its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. The three-train project has a capacity of 17.6 MMtpa (2.3 Bcf/d) and will likely begin operations in 2027. (For more of the project specifics for Rio Grande, see Jump in the Line, Part 4.) Rio Grande is the first U.S. project since Golden Pass took FID in early 2019 to come from outside the Big Three. But Rio Grande is an exception to the current paradigm, not a regime change — every other project that has taken FID post-COVID has come from Cheniere, Sempra and Venture Global, and all three of those companies have projects progressing that are likely to eventually take FID, with Sempra’s Cameron Phase 2 a likely next FID at some point later this year.
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About the song
“King Creole” was written by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. It appears as the first song on side one of Elvis Presley’s second soundtrack album, King Creole. The song was released as a single in the U.K. in September 1958 and went to #2 on the U.K. Singles chart. An interesting scene in the movie is where Elvis lip syncs the song. At about 1:20 in the scene Elvis is supposedly playing Scotty Moore’s guitar solo. Moore is in the background, as are other members of Elvis’ band, and Elvis and Moore give each other a funny look during the solo, which features Moore’s hands in the edit, not Elvis’. Elvis’ backup singers, The Jordanaires, are featured as singing horn players in the same scene. Personnel on the record were: Elvis Presley (lead vocals), The Jordanaires (backing vocals), Scotty Moore (electric guitar), Tiny Timbrell (acoustic guitar), Bill Black (electric bass), Neal Matthews (acoustic bass), D.J. Fontana (drums), Bernie Mattinson (percussion), Elmer Schneider and Warren Smith (trombone), Justin Gordon (sax), and Teddy Buckner (trumpet).
The album, King Creole, was recorded in four days in January-February 1958 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. Felton Jarvis, Walter Schark, and Phil Khagan produced the LP. It features music written specifically for the film starring Presley. Released in September 1958 in conjunction with the movie’s release, it went to #2 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Two Eps, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, were also released from the film. Two singles were released from the LP. “Hard Headed Woman,” released in the U.S. in June 1958, went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It became the first rock and roll single to be certified Gold by the RIAA.
Elvis Presley was an American rock and roll singer and actor. Dubbed “The King of Rock and Roll,” he is one of the most significant figures in popular culture in the 20th century. He released 23 studio albums, 18 soundtrack albums, eight live albums, 13 compilation albums, 29 Eps, and 117 singles, and has sold more than 500 million records worldwide. Presley starred in 31 films and five concert specials. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Presley died in Memphis in August 1977 at the age of 42.
