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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission News

26 Jan 2024

Biden Pauses New LNG Export Projects

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

President Joe Biden paused pending approvals of exports from new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on Friday, a move cheered by climate activists that could delay decisions on new plants until after the November 5 election.The Department of Energy (DOE) will conduct a review during the pause that will look at the economic and environmental impacts of projects seeking approval to export LNG to Europe and Asia where the fuel is in hot demand.The review will take months and then will be open to public comment which will take further time…

08 Dec 2023

The Curious Case of the 1,200 MW Transmission Size “Limit” in New England

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How the Maximum Contingency of 2,200 MW Was Recast to a 1,200 MW CeilingAs policy makers and energy developers look to develop and interconnect large offshore wind projects in the most economically efficient and least environmentally impactful way, an issue has developed. A relatively recent limit, set in place by the grid operator in New England in a planning process document, states that no single system loss of energy, or “contingency”, can be larger than 1,200 megawatts (MW). This 2016 addition to ISO New England’s (ISO-NE) Planning Procedure No.

08 Nov 2023

FOCUS-How Shipping More US Natural Gas to Europe Helped Fuel CO2 Pollution

Credit: alexlmx/AdobeStock

Carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. liquefied natural gas facilities have jumped to 18 million tons per year, up 81% since 2019, adding a volume of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere equivalent to that produced by several big coal plants, according to United States government data.They could more than double to 45 million tons per year by the end of the decade as new facilities, encouraged by soaring overseas demand for the super-cooled fuel, come online, according to company projections provided to the U.S.

17 May 2023

Alaska LNG Project Clears Legal Hurdle

(Image: Alaska LNG)

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging federal approvals needed to construct a $39 billion project that would move natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope across the state.A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's review of plans for the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corp's project satisfied the National Environmental Policy Act requirements to take a hard look at environmental impacts of major proposals…

07 Mar 2023

Asia Demand to Drive Cheniere's LNG Shipments this Year

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Cheniere Energy expects to ship more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia this year, after European customers took the lion's share of its 2022 cargoes, an official said on Monday.The top U.S. exporter of LNG shipped a total of 638 cargoes last year, with slightly over 70% delivered to Europe, Chief Operating Officer Corey Grindal said at the CERAWeek energy conference.Cheniere last year gave the financial go ahead for an expansion of its Corpus Christi, Texas, liquefaction plant and has sought an early environmental review with federal regulators for an expansion at its Sabine Pass…

21 Feb 2023

Fire-damaged Freeport LNG Receives Approval for Partial Restart

(File photo: Freeport LNG)

Freeport LNG, the second largest U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter, said on Tuesday it had received regulatory approval to restart commercial operations at its Texas processing plant.The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the partial restart of two liquefaction trains, two tanks, and one loop and dock each, a filing showed on Tuesday. Restart of a third train, along with a tank, a loop, and a dock, would require additional permission."The second LNG berth and third LNG storage tank are expected to return to service in May," Freeport said.The closely-held U.S.

09 Feb 2023

Regulators Green Light Freeport LNG to Return Ship Loading at Texas Plant

(Photo: Freeport LNG)

U.S. federal energy regulators on Thursday approved Freeport LNG's request to return ship loading to service at its long-idled Texas liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant.Freeport, the second biggest U.S. LNG export plant, shut after a fire in June 2022. The energy market expects gas prices to rise once the plant starts producing LNG again.When operating at full power, Freeport can turn about 2.1 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into LNG each day. That is about 2% of total U.S.

26 Jan 2023

Freeport Gets US OK to Begin Steps to Restart LNG Plant

(Photo: Freeport LNG)

Freeport LNG, the second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, got approval from federal regulators on Thursday to take early steps to restart its fire-idled LNG export plant in Texas.Freeport, however, has not yet sought permission to restart the liquefaction trains that turn natural gas into LNG for export. That resumption of LNG production will have to come in a later request with federal regulators.Energy analysts have said they still expect most of the plant's…

23 Jan 2023

Freeport LNG Says Texas Plant Repairs Completed

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Freeport LNG, the second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter, on Monday said it had completed repairs to its Texas plant and asked U.S. regulators for permission to take early steps to restart the fire-idled facility.The closely-held liquified natural gas (LNG) company's export facility was knocked offline by a fiery blast on June 8 and barred from resuming production until federal regulators completed an extensive safety review and approved resulting changes.Freeport LNG sought permission to begin introducing LNG into the plant's piping system…

11 Jan 2023

Freeport LNG May Extend Texas Plant Restart to February

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Top U.S. gas exporter, Freeport LNG, is expected to further extend the seven-month-long outage of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas to February, as it awaits regulatory approvals, three sources told Reuters on Wednesday.Accounting for 20% of U.S. LNG exports, resumption of the facility is important to ease the squeeze of global LNG supplies, especially as Europe is rebuilding its gas storage after Russia cut gas exports following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine."There has been no official messaging…

21 Nov 2022

Delfin Gets More Time to Build U.S. Gulf of Mexico LNG Export Plant

Credit: Delfin (file image)

U.S. energy regulators on Friday extended until September 2023 the amount of time liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Delfin LNG has to put the onshore part of its proposed Gulf of Mexico floating export project off Louisiana into service. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in its order that Delfin sought the extension in July. Delfin is one of several North American LNG export developers that delayed construction in recent years in part because coronavirus…

20 Oct 2022

Freeport LNG Plant to Require Full US Approval Before Partial Restart

(File photo: Freeport LNG)

The second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas export plant, idled for five months by a fire, must receive full approvals before a planned November restart can begin, regulator Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) said on Wednesday.Full approval adds to the hurdles for restarting Freeport LNG, one of the earliest and biggest U.S. export facilities. The closely-held company aims to restore more than 85% of pre-fire processing capacity next month and complete…

22 Jul 2022

Delfin Seeks More Time to Build US Gulf of Mexico LNG Export Plant

Credit: Delfin LNG

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Delfin LNG has asked federal regulators to extend the amount of time it has to put the onshore part of its proposed Gulf of Mexico floating LNG export project off Louisiana into service until September 2023.The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said on Thursday that Delfin sought the extension on July 15.Delfin is one of several North American LNG export projects that delayed decisions to start construction in recent years…

17 Mar 2022

US Push to Export LNG Amid Ukraine Conflict Slowed by Climate Concerns

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Early White House efforts to boost U.S. liquefied natural gas exports and cut Europe's reliance on gas from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine are proceeding slowly, because of concerns about climate change impacts, government and industry sources said.The Ukraine crisis has underscored Europe's dependence on Russia, which supplies about 40% of its natural gas used to heat homes and generate electricity, and the Biden administration has promised its allies it will help break…

08 Feb 2022

First LNG Tanker Arrives Near Venture Global's Louisiana Calcasieu Plant

A tanker, the Yiannis, arrived near Venture Global LNG's Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Louisiana on Monday and could be first vessel to pick up a cargo at the facility, according to data from Refinitiv.Last week, Venture Global sought permission from federal energy regulators to load the first commissioning cargo from Calcasieu Pass.Venture Global asked the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to authorize the first cargo before Feb. 9 so the company could load that cargo on or after that date.Officials at Venture Global were not immediately available to comment on whether the Yiannis would be the first tanker to pick up LNG at the facility.Calcasieu started producing LNG around Jan.

09 Dec 2021

Cheniere Asks for More Time to Build Texas Corpus LNG Expansion

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Top U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter Cheniere Energy Inc asked federal regulators to extend the amount of time it has to build the proposed Stage 3 expansion at its Corpus Christi LNG export plant in Texas due to pandemic delays.When the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved construction of Stage 3 in November 2019, the regulator gave Cheniere five years, or until around November 2024, to complete the project.Cheniere asked FERC in a filing late Tuesday…

14 Sep 2021

BOEM Taps Doug Boren to Lead Pacific Office

Doug Boren (Photo: BOEM)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced Doug Boren has been appointed as the new regional director for the agency’s Pacific Office in Camarillo, Calif. Boren will be responsible for managing the development of energy and mineral resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.“Doug has many years of service with BOEM, working on aspects of OCS energy and minerals programs at the regional, national and international levels,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton.

01 Jul 2021

Delfin Asks for Another Year to Build Louisiana Floating LNG Project

Credit: Delfin LNG

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Delfin LNG asked federal energy regulators for a third extension until September 2022 to bring into service the onshore facilities of its proposed floating LNG export plant off the coast of Louisiana.The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in September 2017 authorized Delfin to build its project by September 2019.In June 2019, Delfin asked FERC for an extension to finish the project until March 2023. FERC, however, only gave Delfin a one-year extension until September 2020.In June 2020…

01 Apr 2021

Ready Your Salad Fork for Biden’s Offshore Energy Plans

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In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare coined the phrase “salad days” to mean a youthful time filled with unbridled enthusiasm and idealism. Indeed, youth, much like salad, is often raw, flavorful and most of all… green. Therefore, it is fitting to think of our present time as the salad days of offshore energy in the United States. Let’s dig in.Executive Order appetizersOn January 27, President Biden took early steps to implement his campaign promise to transition the United States away from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy…

18 Feb 2021

'Fireboats are Basically an Insurance Policy'

(Photo: MetalCraft Marine)

“Fireboats are basically an insurance policy.” -Meeting minutes, Southeast Texas Waterways Advisory Council (SETWAC).Developments in America’s coastal ports are causing officials to closely review maritime safety operations and equipment. Fireboats draw a lot of attention. The reference here is to big fireboats – 40-50 feet, crewed by specially trained firefighters, outfitted with the equipment required to confront and take on a range of waterway emergencies. [CBRN is a frequent acronym used with these fireboats: Chemical…

09 Nov 2020

Biden Expected to Roll Back Trump's Offshore Energy Rollbacks

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Joe Biden could erase much of President Donald Trump’s four-year legacy of energy and climate deregulation with the stroke of his pen, according to regulatory experts, but replacing it with something new and durable may prove trickier.Trump’s rollbacks are on shaky ground because most were done not through Congressional lawmaking but via presidential executive orders that can be easily torn up by a new administration. That means signature measures ranging from the withdrawal of…

03 Dec 2020

US Axes Environmental Reviews of LNG Marine Transport

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The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday issued a rule to exclude environmental reviews for marine transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the Trump administration unleashes last minute rules supporting the fossil fuel industry.The rule, which the Energy Department issued in a pre-publication notice in the Federal Register, frees LNG transport license applications from including environmental reviews that have been required under a bedrock environmental law, the National…

16 Jul 2020

Delfin LNG Gets Another Year to Build Floating LNG Project Off Louisiana

Image Credit: Delfin LNG

U.S. energy regulators on Wednesday granted Delfin LNG a second one-year extension until September 2021 to build its proposed floating liquefied natural gas export facility off the coast of Louisiana.Delfin is one of several North American LNG developers that have delayed decisions on whether to go ahead with multibillion-dollar projects as gas prices slumped worldwide and buyers became reluctant to sign long-term agreements needed to fund construction.Global gas prices collapsed because of an oversupplied market and coronavirus demand destruction.