Ex-US Official: LNG Development Will Continue to Grow Under Trump Administration

The development of LNG (liquefied natural gas) will continue to advance under the administration of US President Donald Trump while the country will also increase its exports, former US Assistant Secretary of Energy Chuck McConnell told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — McConnell stated that LNG will be exported to both Europe and Asia.

“Under this administration, LNG development will continue to grow. It is incredibly important for our future,” McConnell said. “I think the exporting of that not just in Europe but especially to Asia will be incredibly important going forward. I think it will increase.”

In February, the US Energy Information Administration said that constant increases in US natural gas production combined with the expansion of LNG terminals will likely make the United States a net exporter in 2017.

“We will be making more, we are going to have more. We are making more investment here to put in the liquefaction, build the terminals, we are permitting off terminals for exports,” McConnell noted. “The global market wants gas. And so I think competition in terms of bringing oil, and especially gas, globally is something that the US will be participating.”

The former official pointed out, however, that the LNG price will be higher than of pipeline gas.

“When you take gas out of the ground, liquefy it, transport it half way around the world, regasify it and put it in, it’s not as competitive as pipeline gas. It never will be,” he said. “As you look around the world, where people have an option of getting pipeline deliveries or liquid deliveries, it will always be a compelling choice to choose pipeline gas, unless the pipeline gas supplier is not reliable or chooses to charge too much for the product, or is an unstable provider.”

US Energy Association Executive Barry Worthington told Sputnik earlier in March that the United States plans to construct at least 24 liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the near future, with two expected this year.

Currently, the United States has one major terminal that was finalized in 2016. The Sabine Pass LNG terminal, owned by Cheniere Energy Inc., is located on the border between the states of Texas and Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.