The US has approved additional exports from Cheniere Energy’s two LNG terminals in Louisiana and Texas to Europe and other regions.
According to a statement by the US Department of Energy on Wednesday, it has issued two long-term orders authorizing more LNG exports from the 30 mtpa Sabine Pass plant and the 15 mtpa Corpus Christi facility.
The two orders allow Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi additional flexibility to export the equivalent of 0.72 billion cubic feet per day of LNG to any country with which the US does not have a free trade agreement, including all of Europe, it said.
“While US exporters are already exporting at or near their maximum capacity, with today’s issuances, every operating US LNG export project has approval from DOE to export its full capacity to any country where not prohibited by US law or policy,” DOE said.
US LNG exports to Europe surge
The US is now the top global exporter of LNG and exports are set to grow an additional 20 percent beyond current levels by the end of this year as additional capacity comes online, the statement said.
The Energy Information Administration said in a report that US LNG export capacity would become the world’s largest this year after the launch of new liquefaction trains at Venture Global LNG’s Calcasieu Pass and Sabine Pass.
In January 2022, US LNG supplied more than half of the LNG imports into Europe for the month, DOE said.
“US LNG remains an important component to global energy security, and DOE remains committed to finding ways to help our allies and trading partners with the energy supplies they need while continuing to work to mitigate the impact of climate change,” it said.
The European Union recently announced plans to significantly slash Russian pipeline gas supplies this year by boosting imports of LNG and filling up gas storages.
By diversifying gas supplies, via higher LNG imports but also pipeline imports from non-Russian suppliers, Europe could replace 100 bcm of Russian gas imports or some two-thirds by the end of 2022, the European Commission claims.