US LNG Export Facilty Update -- EIA -- August 28, 2026

 Locator: 51570LNG.

Link here. Note: this is April 23, 2026, data.

Golden Pass LNG, Texas, Set To Load First Export Cargo Amid Record Feedgas Intake -- April 3, 2026

Locator: 50416LNG.

Article at link was posted by Hart Energy on April 2, 2026.  

The LNG tanker HL Sea Eagle is expected to arrive at the Golden Pass export terminal in Texas on April 20 to load the plant’s first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export, according to a trading source and LSEG ship-tracking data.

******************************
The Book Page

Completed my notes on Volume 2, Norman Sherry's biography of Graham Greene. 

Link here. 

************************
Movie Night

Graham Greene's The Third Man. Perhaps one of the best movies ever. Others agree; from wiki:

In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Third Man the greatest British film of all time. In 2011, a poll for Time Out ranked it the second-best British film ever. 

It seems like a movie in which Orson Welles would have written the screenplay, acted in, and directed. And, yet, only one of the three was true -- Orson Welles played Harry Lime in the movie, and that was it. And on-screen he had less than eleven minutes.

Excellent movie. 

On the other hand Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana was a big disappointment. It was completely miscast. The lead needed to be played by Peter Sellers, had the latter been ten years older. Alec Guiness was either too old (possibly) or completely misread the play (hard to believe). The director of both movies: Carol Reed. The movie's premise (and the book's premise, of course) was brilliant, and based on factual events.

Operation EPIC FURY -- This Is Starting To Get Serious -- For Saudi Arabia -- March 28, 2026

Locator: 50351SAUDI.

This could be incredibly serious for Saudi Arabia -- it's not as if Venezuela doesn't exist? 

For the US:

• The original objective: help Israel take out Iran's nuclear program. 
• The new objective: find an off-ramp.   

*******************************
Long Term

AI prompt: 

Are Exxon, Chevron, others seriously considering Venezuela now with threat of Strait of Hormuz being controlled by Iran as the new normal?

Reply: 

And this is heavy oil, highly coveted by US refiners. 

 

You know, this is very, very interesting. Trump said today that going into the "war," he expected markets to fall much more than they have, and he expected the price of oil to surge much more than it has. That still may happen.

 

But presidents are change agents and think strategically. If one starts connecting the dots, it sure seems like Trump, Rubio, etc., are spending a a lot of time thinking about the Monroe Doctrine and acting.

 

Cuba.

Maduro / Venezuela.

 

The Panama Canal / kicking China out.

Stopping renewal energy growth -- is determined to end windmills in America. 

 

In the big scheme of things, it doesn't take oil companies to turn things around pretty quickly if they want.

Look at the time line for the Bakken revolution. Less than a decade to go from zero to a million bopd. 

 

And that was pretty much all "unproven" going in.

Venezuela: "they" already know what Venezuela has. 

 

Ticker: CVX -- 30-year horizon -- 

 

Windfall profits tax? Not under this administration, but in 2029? Certainly likely. 

 

LNG:

• Cheniere: share price up 26% over six months;
• Venture Global: share price up23% over same six months;
• Reported yesterday: Cheniere's fifth train is now operational -- 

AI prompt:  

How does Cheneire's current LNG export capacity with 5th train now operational at Corpus Christi compare with VG's total export capacity?

Reply:  

Astounding! Is anyone paying attention? 

• Cheniere: by far and away, the largest at 50 mtpa;
• VG: seeks to be exporting twice that amount in less than four years (100+ mtpa) 

QatarEnergy Took A Huge Hit At Home -- How's QatarEnergy Doing With Golden Pass, Texas -- March 24, 2026

Locator: 50309QATAR. 

Tag: LNG 

AI prompt was in the subject line.

The answer: 

How Big Was The Vitol Deal For Venture Global? March 23, 2026

Locator: 50305LNG.

And CP2?

Venture Global -- RBN Energy -- One Year Ago -- Re-Posting -- March 14, 2026

Locator: 50222VG.

Compare this chart with the chart at the bottom of the blog.

*******************************
Re-Posting

This was from a year ago, January 29, 2025, link here: 

Locator: 48428RBNVG.

RBN Energy: assessing Venture Global's assets in the wake of its $1.75 billion IPO. Archived.

Venture Global put U.S. LNG on center stage after going public on January 24. The company, now listed as VG on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), launched one of the largest initial public offerings (IPO) in U.S. energy history. The IPO shares were priced at $25 each, raising $1.75 billion but valuing the company at $60 billion, a significant drop from the company’s initial target of up to $110 billion. While Venture Global was able to capitalize on some truly fantastic timing, going public just as President Trump took office and lifted the export permit ban, the market remains cautious about LNG and the energy sector. While Trump will certainly smooth the path at least somewhat to new LNG buildout, lawsuits and regulatory hurdles won’t simply disappear overnight. In addition to the general regulatory uncertainty facing the industry, there is also the matter of Venture Global’s contentious relationship with its original customers: Shell, BP and others have brought arbitration cases against the company that have yet to be resolved. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at Venture Global, its assets and what its IPO says about U.S. LNG. 

Venture Global is one of the largest players in U.S. LNG, with the 10-MMtpa (1.32 Bcf/d) Calcasieu Pass operational, although still technically commissioning (more on that shortly); the 20-MMtpa (2.65 Bcf/d) Plaquemines LNG under construction or commissioning now; CP2 in the late stages of development and nearing a final investment decision (FID); and two more speculative projects to pursue after CP2. Between Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines, the company will own and operate 30 MMtpa (4 Bcf/d) by the end of 2027, leaving it second to only Cheniere Energy when it comes to U.S. LNG output (see King Creole for more on the big three players in U.S. LNG). And with more projects in the queue, Venture Global is obviously shooting for Cheniere’s crown. All of Venture Global’s LNG projects use midscale modular technology rather than traditional large-scale trains, promising investors shorter construction timelines and requiring less startup capital to build these smaller, factory-fabricated, but scalable units.

Venture Global took FID on its first U.S. LNG terminal, Calcasieu Pass, in August 2019, although the project had been under construction since February of that year. The terminal has 18 mini trains, grouped into nine blocks, for a total nameplate capacity of 10 MMtpa (1.32 Bcf/d) and an expected peak capacity of 12.4 MMtpa (1.64 Bcf/d). Nameplate capacity is what is guaranteed by the design of the project by the engineering partners, but all LNG terminals have the ability to produce above that level. 

With This Project, Venture Global Should Be On Track To Become The Largest US LNG Exporter -- March 13, 2026

Locator: 50213LNG.

Tag: Venture Global  

Venture Global shares up 40% in one month. 

Link here. 

US LNG Export Terminal Update -- February 21, 2026

 

US LNG export terminals status 2025 - 2026:

From November, 2025:

Today, update, February 21, 2026: 

Cheniere To Significantly Increase Production At Its Corpus Christi, TX, Facility --

Locator: 49926TEXASLNGEXPORTTERMINAL.

I remember vividly the day I posted about the number of LNG export terminals planned along the US Gulf Coast -- many years ago. A reader reminded me that just because the terminals were planned did not mean they would built.

It's been comments like that, over the years, that have made my desire to keep posting the blog. The blog will continue -- the question is whether to keep posting. Whatever. Back to the subject at hand.

Cheniere Energy (LNG) announced in February, 2026, that it has filed an application with FERC to construct a new LNG plant in Texas. The project will expand LNG production capacity. Well, duh.

• location: Corpus Christi, Texas
• project: the "Stage 4" expansion of its existing terminal at that location
• will add four new liquefaction trains, two storage tanks, and a 26-mile pipeline
• capacity: will add a million tones per annum (MTPA) 

Update: the FID for Cheniere's "Stage 3" expansion announced in 2025; construction on that project was scheduled to last through 2030; budgeted at $8 billion. That project would only add two Midscale Trains 8 and 9. 

Venture Global -- LNG Exports -- Setting Records -- November 11, 2025

Locator: 49395LNG. 

Link here. 

I have no position in this company, never have, unlikely I ever will.

I am posting this to help me keep track of LNG export facilities.  

From the linked article:

U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global booked a net income for the third quarter, compared to a loss a year earlier, as revenues and LNG exports soared amid rising liquefaction capacity at its plants.

Venture Global, the second-largest U.S. LNG exporter behind Cheniere, on Monday, November 10, 2025, reported a net income attributable to common stockholders of $429 million for the third quarter, versus a loss of $347 million for the same period of 2024. Wow.

Revenues soared by 260% and income from operations surged by 598% as Venture Global’s exported LNG volumes jumped by 237% to 100 cargoes in the third quarter of 2025, up from 31 cargoes exported in the same period last year.

Venture Global has been ramping up its Plaquemines export project, and 34 of 36 liquefaction trains at the site are now producing LNG.

34 of 36 trains! Wow.

Tracking LNG export, US vs Qatar:

NextDecade Completes Commercialization of Rio Grande LNG Train 5 -- September 8, 2025

Locator: 49043LNG.

Tag: Ben Franklin, US revolutionary war.

Link here.

NextDecade completes the commercialization of Rio Grande LNG Train 5 with 1.0 MTPA LNG sale and purchase agreement with ConocoPhillips.

Train 5 commercialization is now complete, positive final investment decision expected in fourth quarter 2025.

NextDecade Corporation announced today that it has executed a 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with ConocoPhillips for offtake from Rio Grande LNG Train 5.

ConocoPhillips will purchase 1.0 MTPA of LNG for 20 years on a free on board basis at a price indexed to Henry Hub, subject to NextDecade making a positive final investment decision (FID) on Train 5.

**************************
The Book Page

Wow, wow, wow!

Link to The Wall Street Journal. 

This is a very, very long article and dovetails wiht many biographies of Ben Franklin of which I have read. This is truly spectacular. 

Venture Global: Top US LNG Firm With CP2 Project Approval -- Charles Kennedy -- May 23, 2025

Locator: 48659LNG.

Link here.

Venture Global is on track to surpass Cheniere Energy to become the biggest U.S. LNG company by liquefaction capacity if regulators approve the CP2 export project.

Venture Global is urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to greenlight its third liquefaction plant, CP2 in Louisiana, by the middle of the year.

The CP2 LNG facility will be located adjacent to Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

CP2 LNG was initially proposed to be a facility with a capacity of 20 million metric tons per annum (mtpa), but Venture Global has raised the maximum capacity to 28 mtpa.

Venture Global’s two operational LNG export terminals, Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines, have a combined capacity of 38.5 mtpa. CP2 would add another 28 mtpa and raise the company’s total export capacity to 66.5 mtpa, above Cheniere’s 60 mtpa.

Venture Global more than doubled its first-quarter revenue from a year earlier as its Plaquemines and Calcasieu Pass plants have launched operations and exports in recent months.

Last month, Venture Global started contractual deliveries from its first LNG export project, Calcasieu Pass, to its long-term customers amid an ongoing dispute with major oil and gas firms over the delays to the official commercial operations date at the export project. 

Much more at the link.

*************************
LNG Termainals

From May 14, 2025: link here.

****************************************
North American LNG Project Tracker

Flashback: from November 6, 2023.

Locator: 45962LNG.     

Link here. 

"We Own 70% Of That" -- Qatar -- Golden Pass -- Update -- May 14, 2025

Locator: 48582GP.

Updates

May 14, 2025: Golden Pass update. Link here.

Golden Pass #LNG timing update.

"We [Qatar] own 70% of that. But these projects take time to actually deliver and we expect first LNG to come by the end of this year (2025) and hopefully to inaugurate officially the project in the 1st qt of 26,"  Qatari Energy Minister.
.

This is for Train 1 of 0.68 bcf/d. No ETA for Train 2 and Train 3 start.

That $400 million Boeing? Probably paid for in several weeks. LOL.  Best part? Trump living rent-free in Schumer's brain.

Original Post 

From March 4, 2025:

March 5, 2025 -- link here. This was the extension that the project needed -- back in March, 2025 -- thank you, Mr Trump and Mr Biden. The FERC commissioners. If I have this correct, three of the four were appointed by President Biden in 2024, and the current chairman was appointed by President Trump during the latter's first term in 2021. Link here.

April 28, 2025 -- within Trump's first 100 days! Another win for Trump. 

Link here.

US LNG Export Terminals -- Eleven -- Graphic Update -- May 4, 2025

Locator: 48582GP.

Updates

May 14, 2025: Golden Pass update. Link here.

Golden Pass #LNG timing update.

"We [Qatar] own 70% of that. But these projects take time to actually deliver and we expect first LNG to come by the end of this year (2025) and hopefully to inaugurate officially the project in the 1st qt of 26,"  Qatari Energy Minister.
.

This is for Train 1 of 0.68 bcf/d. No ETA for Train 2 and Train 3 start.

Original Post 

 ************************************
Easter 2025

Golden Pass -- Update -- May 4, 2025

Locator: 48581GP.

March 5, 2025 -- link here. This was the extension that the project needed -- back in March, 2025 -- thank you, Mr Trump and Mr Biden. The FERC commissioners. If I have this correct, three of the four were appointed by President Biden in 2024, and the current chairman was appointed by President Trump during the latter's first term in 2021. Link here.

April 28, 2025 -- within Trump's first 100 days! Another win for Trump. 

Link here.

 ****************************
Golden Pass

For "all"posts on "Golden Pass" on the blog, click here.

From June 21, 2022 -- link here.

Number 8?

• if Calcasieu Pass was the seventh US LNG export terminal to be built, is Golden Pass #8?
• Magnolia LNG, Louisiana, would be #9?
• I remember an "anonymous expert" wrote me in 2015 that just because all these projects were "on the board," there was no guarantee all of them would be built, implying that "we" were all getting way ahead of our headlights. 
  

US LNG export capacity: link here.

• record set in 2021, averaging 9.7 billion cubic feet per day = 3.54 trillion cubic feet annually
• forecast:
• an increase of 2.4 Bcf/d in 2022 --> a total of 5.94 trillion cubic feet annually
• an increase of an additional 0.5 Bcf/d in 2023 = 6.44 trillion cubic feet annually

Qatar:

• capacity to reach 126 million tonnes yearly by 2027
• current capacity: 77 million tonnes, 2022

Conversion:

• one million tonnes (LNG) = 48.7 Bcf
• 77 * 48.7 = 3.750 trillion cubic feet annually
• 126 million tonnes = 6.136 trillion cubic feet annually

Usual disclaimers apply:

• there will be typographical and content errors;
• I often make simple arithmetic errors

Golden Pass, XOM:

• 18 million tons of LNG per year = 877 Bcf
• Golden Pass + 2023 US forecast = 0.877 trillion +6.44 trillion = 7.3166 trillion cf/d
• Golden Pass as percent of current US export capacity: 0.877 trillion / 3.54 trillion = 35%

SPGlobal, June 21, 2022 (today):

• capacity: 18 million mt / year
• XOM / Qatar Energy
• project scheduled to open in 2024
• US in talks with XOM to accelerate the project
• one may want to look at this "press release" from just a couple of months ago:

A request by the Golden Pass LNG Terminal developer to bring in more workers to build the Texas natural gas export facility is still pending after a year at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission amid concerns of delay.

FERC staff issued an environmental assessment on March 22 that concluded a Golden Pass plan to boost the peak workforce from 2,900 to 7,700 people per day would not cause significant harm to the environment (CP14-517). But the request still requires approval at a time when FERC is facing pressure over a recent permitting policy overhaul, which commissioners are scheduled to revisit on March 24.

Critics of the policy changes, including gas industry groups and Republican lawmakers, have argued that FERC's new approach will hinder the development of gas infrastructure, even as the White House looks to boost LNG supplies to Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Golden Pass told FERC in its original February 2021 request, which also sought to increase traffic volumes and extend construction hours around the clock, that "construction progress would be severely hampered and successful execution of the project would not be feasible" without the regulator's approval for a larger workforce.

Golden Pass -- Update -- Delayed But Meeting Revised Milestones -- May 4, 2025

Locator: 48580GP.

Within the first 100 days of Trump's watch! FERC approval. Another win for Trump.

Link here.

Tech Investing; LNG Exports -- Plaquemines -- December 30, 2024

Locator: 44574TECH.

For those with traditional IRAs and turning 73 years of age or older in 2025, tomorrow is a most critical day.

On another note, link here: 

In a graphic like this, ticker symbols missing are as important than those on the list.

Intel, Oracle, Dell, QCOM, AVGO, Micron, META, AMZN are not on the list.

**********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

• I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
• Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  
• If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
• Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution.
  
• Longer version here.   
  

********************
LNG

Link here. 

Definitely Not A Manic Monday -- December 30, 2024

Locator: 44569B.

Some love for Linda Lavin, link here:

LNG update: with Cheniere's 1.4 Bcf/d Corpus Christi III (#8) now on line, what's next:

• QatarEnergy/ExxonMobil’s 2.4-Bcf/d Golden Pass LNG (#9) in Sabine Pass, TX, which will start coming online in the first half of 2025; 
• Sempra's 0.43 Bcf/d Energía Costa Azul (ECA) LNG Phase 1 in west Mexico, to start up in spring, 2026 (this is a delay, had been scheduled to go online summer of 2025); update, June 6, 2026: production has begun. Links everywhere.
• NextDecade Corp.’s 2.3-Bcf/d Rio Grande LNG (#10) in Brownsville, TX, starting up in 2027; and,
• Sempra and ConocoPhillips’s 2-Bcf/d Port Arthur LNG (#11), coming online in 2027-28.

*********************************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $71.05.

New wells reporting:

• Tuesday, December 31, 2024: 51 for the month; 154 for the quarter, 682 for the year
• None.
• Monday, December 30, 2024: 51 for the month; 154 for the quarter, 682 for the year
• None.
• Sunday, December 29, 2024: 51 for the month; 154 for the quarter, 682 for the year
• None.
• Saturday, December 28, 2024: 51 for the month; 154 for the quarter, 682 for the year
• 40731, conf, Rockport Energy, Camden 10-3 3H,
• 39499, conf, Enerplus, Brown Bear 158-99-36-25-5H, 
• 37664, conf, BR, Kellogg Ranch 1A TFH, 

RBN Energy: Gray Oak stands out as the only Permian crude pipeline to greenlight an expansion. Archived.

As crude oil production in the Permian continues to grow and pipelines from West Texas to the Gulf Coast edge closer to full utilization, it’s becoming a challenge for producers and shippers alike. Amid this capacity crunch, one pipeline stands out as the only one with a detailed expansion plan: the 850-mile, 900-Mb/d Gray Oak Pipeline from West Texas to Corpus Christi and Sweeny, TX, which started up in late 2019 and became fully operational in early 2020. In today’s RBN blog — the latest in our series on Permian crude oil pipelines — we discuss Gray Oak Pipeline’s dynamic story, including its shifting ownership, strategic connectivity and expansion plans.

In Part 1 and Part 3 of this series, we looked at Longhorn Pipeline and BridgeTex Pipeline, respectively, and what ONEOK has accomplished with these systems since it acquired Magellan. In Part 2, we looked at EPIC’s Crude Pipeline to the Corpus Christi area, which has been operating at full capacity. Today, we’ll cover Gray Oak.

We’ll begin by noting that Gray Oak started up shortly before crude oil demand cratered as the pandemic hit. In response, Permian producers shut in a significant amount of production during the summer of 2020. Additionally, two other new Permian pipelines — also to Corpus Christi — started up during the second half of 2019: Plains All American’s Cactus II (585 Mb/d) and EPIC Crude (400 Mb/d, expanded in 2020 to 600 Mb/d), resulting in a glut of crude pipeline egress.

Despite these challenges, Gray Oak’s outflows quickly ramped up throughout 2020. As shown in Figure 1 below, Gray Oak has operated near its 900-Mb/d capacity (dotted horizontal black line) for some time now. Earlier this year, Gray Oak Pipeline LLC sanctioned a 120-Mb/d expansion following a successful open season. Contracted volume commitments of 80 Mb/d start in April 2025 and one year later another 40 Mb/d is committed to the pipe. Gray Oak could offer early service for new or existing shippers if capacity is desired sooner.

 

Figure 1. Gray Oak Outflows. Source: RBN Crude Oil Permian

The ownership journey of Gray Oak Pipeline is complicated, to say the least. When the project was in its planning stage, Phillips 66 (P66) held a 75% stake and refining company Andeavor owned the remaining 25%. In 2018, Marathon Petroleum acquired Andeavor for $23 billion, inheriting its 25% stake in Gray Oak (box #1 in Figure 2 below), along with a similar stake in the South Texas Gateway (STG) export terminal in Ingleside, across the bay from Corpus. (More on that later ­— spoiler alert: STG’s traded hands a couple of times since then.) We should note that Andeavor and its old Andeavor Logistics master limited partnership (MLP) had its own intricate corporate history with Marathon and its MPLX unit.

Much, much more at the link. 

*********************************
Cheniere

December 30, 2024: Cheniere produces first LNG at Corpus Christi, stage III, link here.

April 16, 2024, flashback:

From RBN Energy, today: new JV's focus is moving Permian natural gas to LNG export terminals. Archived here.

Projects already approved / permitted by the US government ...  expected to increase U.S. LNG export capacity to about 25 Bcf/d from the current 14 Bcf/d.

Of that 11 Bcf/d of incremental capacity, more than 8 Bcf/d will be sited along the Texas coast.

These projects include Cheniere Energy’s 1.4-Bcf/d Stage III at Corpus Christi LNG, which is scheduled to begin starting up late this year; QatarEnergy/ExxonMobil’s 2.4-Bcf/d Golden Pass LNG in Sabine Pass, TX, which will start coming online in the first half of 2025; NextDecade Corp.’s 2.3-Bcf/d Rio Grande LNG in Brownsville, starting up in 2027; and Sempra and ConocoPhillips’s 2-Bcf/d Port Arthur LNG, coming online in 2027-28.

All the way back to 2017: