Tuesday's EIA "Energy Cookie" -- April 21, 2015; Update On Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass

Today's EIA "energy cookie":

In its recently released Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015) Reference case, EIA expects U.S. crude oil production to rise through 2020 as oil prices recover from their steep decline, reducing net petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) imports.

AEO 2015 explores the effects of domestic crude oil production under various assumptions about world oil prices and domestic resource availability. --- EIA

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Update On Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass

FuelFix is reporting:

Federal regulators cleared Cheniere Energy to expand its Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas export terminal but construction will hinge on the company’s ability to secure financial backing for the project.

LNG companies may have a difficult time persuading buyers to commit to new long-term contracts amid a global collapse in crude oil prices, Moody’s Investors Services said in a new report. Although U.S. gas remains inexpensive, international buyers now have access to cheap oil and gas products closer to home, making it less attractive to import from the U.S.

In addition, the demand in Asia, which triggered the flurry of new LNG products, no longer appears strong enough to soak up all the excess LNG that could flood the market by 2020. Against that backdrop, Moody’s expects many of the 30 proposed LNG export terminals will get canceled.

Despite the skepticism surrounding LNG projects not yet under construction, Cheniere told investors that it hopes to start work on at least part of the expansion project this year.

More:

The expansion calls for adding two additional LNG production facilities, called trains, to the four-train Sabine Pass terminal, which remains under construction in Louisiana.

Adding a fifth and sixth train would boost the terminal’s authorized processing capacity by half, from 2.76 billion cubic feet per day to 4.14 billion cubic feet per day, according to filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The first phase of the terminal is nearing completion, pushing Cheniere closer to becoming the first large-scale plant in decades to ship LNG from the continental United States. The first train is expected to begin producing LNG this year with shipments going out by early next year.

The company has been cleared to ship to countries with which the United States does not have free trade agreements, but it has not received approval from the Department of Energy to export the full amount that would leave its docks if Sabine Pass LNG gets fully expanded.

Cheniere has already signed contracts to sell liquefied gas produced by the first four trains. That $18 billion project was cleared for construction years ago. However, the company has not yet made a final investment decision on trains 5 and 6.

Interesting how things play out.