U.S. Department of Energy authorized Houston-based Cheniere Energy to export an additional 720 MMcfd of natural gas from its LNG plants in Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass. Exports were authorized March 16 to any country with which U.S. does not have a free trade agreement, including all of Europe. Oil and Gas Journal said U.S. exporters are already shipping at or near maximum capacity, but the new authorizations make it so that every U.S. operating plant now has DOE approval to export its full capacity to any country not prohibited by U.S. law or policy.
“U.S. LNG remains an important component to global energy security,” DOE officials said, “and DOE remains committed to finding ways to help our allies and trading partners with the energy supplies they need.” Four of the top five countries importing U.S. LNG in January were European. U.S. is already the top LNG exporter, and exports are expected to grow an additional 20 percent by yearend.