Cheniere Energy eyes new gas pipeline
Published by Sara Simper,
Editorial Assistant
World Pipelines,
Cheniere Energy Inc, the largest US LNG exporter, says it may build a new pipeline to link its Louisiana expansion project to other pipelines in major shale-gas producing regions as it seeks to diversify its risk.
Cheniere's Sabine Pass facility has been expanding since its production began in 2016 but needs additional natural gas beyond current supplies to reach its planned ‘Stage 5’ capacity, top company officials said.
"We will likely build a pipeline to where we can access other pipelines. That will get us Haynesville (shale gas), any additional Marcellus (gas) that will come down, mid-continent, Permian as well as Eagleford as it continues to be developed," Corey Grindal, Cheniere's Chief Operating Officer, told journalists recently.
Cheniere previously retooled some of its pipeline infrastructure to send gas to its Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana, but those pipelines now shoulder additional demand and are unavailable, Grindal said.
The exporter already spends US$800 million a year in pipeline transit fees to transport 7.5 billion ft3/d of natural gas from 26 different pipelines to its LNG plants in Texas and Louisiana, CEO Jack Fusco also said in the interview with reporters at an LNG conference in Vancouver. He gave no detail about the new pipeline's cost or size.
Oren Pilant, a pipeline analyst with midstream industry experts East Daley Analytics, said the project likely requires a small header system that aggregates gas from several lines. "The expansion is adjacent to their existing Sabine Pass facility and would be supplied by a combination of new and existing pipes," Pilant said.
The new project is being designed to produce up to 20 million tpy of LNG but has not yet been funded, Cheniere said on its website.
Proposed LNG and gas pipeline projects in the Gulf Coast region have not faced the same environmental push back as elsewhere and should get approved, said Alex Gafford, a Capital Markets Analyst at East Daley Analytics.
Read the latest issue of World Pipelines magazine for pipeline news, project stories, industry insight and technical articles.
World Pipelines’ July 2023 issue
Here’s a preview of the July 2023 issue of World Pipelines: the keynote article focuses on pipeline activity in South America; technical articles cover compressors, pipeline mapping and welding; and there’s insight into CO2 transport and HDD best practice.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/project-news/02082023/cheniere-energy-eyes-new-gas-pipeline/
You might also like
World Pipelines Podcast: Going global with IPLOCA
In this episode, Elizabeth Corner speaks to Georges Hage, Executive Secretary at IPLOCA, about IPLOCA's insights on the culture and characteristics of the pipeline contractor community, and how it works to support sustainable energy infrastructure.
Energy industry faces short-term instability, yet remains optimistic about long-term prospects, DNV report reveals
The energy industry is braced for short-term uncertainty caused by global instability, but remains optimistic in the long-term, according to DNV’s annual Energy Industry Insights survey.
