Global research firm Wood Mackenzie said recently it expects U.S. to become the world’s largest exporter of LNG in 2023 after ranking third in 2022. Giles Farrer of Wood Mackenzie said Feb. 22, “Record high prices and the need for energy security drove buyers … to seek long-term U.S. LNG deals in 2022 and created huge contracting momentum for projects. Last year alone 65 million tpy of long-term U.S. deals were signed – dwarfing the 18.5 million tpy we saw in 2021. This activity has pushed a host of pre-FID projects forward, and we could see a wave of FIDs this year and next.”
Wood Mackenzie said U.S. was third in LNG exports in 2022 at 76.4 million tpy. With resumption of the Freeport plant, second largest in the nation, the U.S. will surpass Qatar and Australia this year to export 89 million tpy. U.S. LNG capacity could double by 2030, Wood Mackenzie said in its North American LNG benchmarking report. On Wednesday FERC approved Freeport LNG’s request to restart the last of three liquefaction trains shuttered since a fire in June 2022.