Energy Transfer nears greenlight on Lake Charles LNG project

U.S. pipeline company Energy Transfer said it is nearing a go-ahead on its Lake Charles, Louisiana (U.S.) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project after an unnamed Japanese company agreed to buy 1 MM tonnes (t) of LNG from the proposed export facility.

Lake Charles was the first LNG project impacted by the Biden administration's refusal to grant an extension to Energy Transfer's license to export to countries other than those that have free trade agreements with the United States. The former president subsequently declared a moratorium on new export licenses for LNG plants pending an environmental impact study.

President Donald Trump in January issued an order for the U.S. to resume processing export permit applications for new LNG projects as part of an effort to raise U.S. energy output and dismantle his predecessor's climate policies.

Energy Transfer said it now had 10.5 MMtpy of the 16.5 MMtpy in committed LNG sales and that it was confident it can get to a final investment decision by the end of the year.

The company said it was working through estimated costs to construct the facility.

Meanwhile, the company said it had secured all of the pipeline steel for its new Hugh Brinson natural gas pipeline from U.S. mills.

Trump introduced a 25% tariff on all U.S. imports of steel in March, raising concerns about a spike in costs for pipeline construction.

Construction of phase one of the Hugh Brinson pipeline started in the first quarter. The 442-mi (711-km) project will transport natural gas from processing facilities in west Texas to existing pipeline infrastructure south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Energy Transfer is looking at making the Hugh Brinson pipeline bidirectional, meaning it will be able to ship gas in both directions, which will be relatively inexpensive, said Marshall McCrea, Energy Transfer's co-chief executive officer.

Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $4.10 B compared with $3.88 B for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

 

 

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