U.S. LNG has been on the fast track as new export capacity along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast draws in increasing volumes of U.S. natural gas. The impact of that unprecedented buildout only intensified over the past several weeks with the war in Iran and its effects on Persian Gulf LNG.
Winter peak operations are keeping U.S. LNG feedgas demand elevated, even as week-to-week flows fluctuate.
New Year, New Record U.S. LNG Output. December and 2025 see record levels of US LNG exports and feedgas demand, but those records are unlikely to last the month. More LNG capacity, demand and exports are coming in 2026.
U.S. LNG feedgas is more than 5 Bcf/d over last year, putting upward pressure on U.S. gas prices as cold weather hits. For more, see this week’s RBN LNG Voyager
US LNG demand soaring higher. Demand is more than 5 Bcf/d higher than the same time last year and still climbing. For more see this week’s RBN LNG Voyager
U.S. LNG feedgas demand is poised to hit new highs this winter as Cove Point is back online after maintenance, Plaquemines and Corpus Christi Stage III continue their ramps, and Golden Pass could start taking feedgas volumes soon. For more, see this week’s RBN LNG Voyager.
After a record run of negative pricing last spring and summer, the Permian Basin collectively cheered as WhiteWater’s Matterhorn Express pipeline began flowing last October, bringing much-needed takeaway capacity to the area. Cash prices at the Waha Hub rebounded and the basin had a relatively uneventful winter, but prices began dropping in early March and have once again traded below zero for most of the past few weeks. This has taken the market somewhat by surprise, as many expected the impact of Matterhorn’s startup to last more than a few months. Prices jumped back above zero on Wednesday and above $1/MMBtu on Thursday, but with major pipeline maintenance coming next week, any relief is likely to be short lived. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at what’s driving the recent run of negative pricing in the Permian Basin and what it means until additional infrastructure comes online next year.
U.S. LNG was poised for a year of massive growth in 2024, with new terminals and expansions set to cause feedgas to rise and commercial success in the years following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine set to spur further LNG project development. Instead, construction delays have pushed projects back and feedgas in the past three months has averaged about 500 MMcf/d less than the same period last year. Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s pause on non-free trade (FTA) export licenses, lengthy delays to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization process and the resulting legal challenges to both have brought project development to a near-standstill. In today’s RBN blog, we look at current U.S. LNG feedgas demand and how construction delays have shifted expectations for the next few years.
Natural gas futures contracts can be highly liquid and trade at high volumes, with prices constantly moving as new information arrives. But some contracts are far less liquid, so when a swing occurs it tends to last — and attract attention. That’s been the case this year for some prices on Texas Eastern Pipeline (TETCO) in Louisiana. Starting in the spring, TETCO’s East and West Louisiana zones have seen unusually elevated prices for the 2026-29 time frame, a result of the East zone’s transition into a demand hub. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss what is driving prices to historic premiums — and why they aren’t likely to become the new normal.
As mightily as U.S. LNG exports have impacted global trade dynamics, so have U.S. natural gas flows been reshaped by the pull toward Gulf Coast export terminals. The next new terminal on deck is Venture Global’s enormous Plaquemines facility in Louisiana, which could begin taking feedgas as early as late fall 2024 and will eventually ramp up to more than 2.6 Bcf/d. For Southeast Louisiana, home to a massive industrial corridor along the Mississippi River as well as the U.S. natural gas benchmark Henry Hub, the introduction of such a huge source of demand will change how gas flows into and out of the region — with knock-on effects across the Gulf Coast. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll turn once again to our Arrow Model to help illuminate what the path forward may look like.
