Editorial comment

A. Blume, Editor

As trends in energy production and use evolve, so too must plans for networks to produce and consume that energy. In no subsector is this more apparent than gas liquefaction and its associated infrastructure—particularly in the US.

In February 2016, Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana became the first project in the US to export LNG from domestic shale gas. The terminal, inaugurated in April 2008, was originally designed to import LNG to supplement dwindling domestic gas supply. Then the shale boom hit, and the US suddenly found itself sitting atop vast reserves of shale oil and gas. In 2010, Cheniere became the first company to apply for a permit from the US DOE to export LNG to countries that do not have free-trade agreements with the US. A number of other companies have followed suit. More applications have been received for domestic LNG export projects than will be approved or built. Cheniere itself is adding more LNG trains to Sabine Pass, and building another LNG export terminal at Corpus Christi, Texas.

To support the ongoing operations and train additions at Sabine Pass, Kinder Morgan applied in December for authorization to add bidirectional capacity on its Louisiana pipeline. The $151-MM project would send gas to the terminal from 2019, when a fifth train is anticipated to come online. The pipeline was originally put into service in 2009 to send regasified LNG from Sabine Pass to US markets; however, the shale boom eliminated that need. Similar alterations to planned and in-service infrastructure are predicted over the next several years as more LNG export projects come online in the US. GP