US to add significant new LNG capacity in 2024

The US leapfrogged Qatar and Australia to become the largest exporter of LNG in 2023 but it set to further its lead as several new export-oriented LNG trains come online in the next few years and win more market share for the burgeoning US LNG export business.

Multiple new export projects will reach a final investment decision (FID) in 2024 and others are nearing completion. Analysts worry that the expansion will add to a growing glut of LNG that has recently been depressing prices. is expected to contribute to alleviating the supply glut and addressing persistently low prices in the domestic market.

The US was the standout in global LNG supply growth in 2023, Alex Munton, director of global gas and LNG research at consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group told Reuters, with an increase to 8.6mn tonnes leaving US terminals in December, reports Reuters. Qatar was the largest LNG exporter in 2022 and Australia the second largest that year, US government data shows.

Full year exports from the US in 2023 rose 14.7% to 88.9mn tonnes driven largely by the return to full production of the Freeport LNG plant that had suffered a fire in 2022, and as other facilities increased processing efficiency. US shipments in 2023 compared to 77.5mn tonnes in 2022

But by the end of 2023, production surged again by approximately 143 tonnes per year (20bn cubic feet per day) of new US LNG capacity will either be operational or under construction.

The US rise in LNG exports has been driven by an energy crisis in Europe in 2022 when Russian piped gas deliveries were greatly reduced after the destruction of the Nord Stream 1&2 pipelines in September 2022.

Europe remained the main destination for US LNG exports in December, accounting for 5.43 tonnes, or just over 61% of all US exports. In November, two thirds (68%) of US LNG exports were to Europe, US data shows.

The fall in exports between November and December reflects unusually mild winter temperatures and record high storage of gas in European tanks, according to Rystad Energy. But a cold snap in January is likely to push up demand again at the start of 2024.

New US facilities are being developed at Golden Pass and Calcasieu Pass, along with expansions at Cheniere’s Corpus Christi facility in 2023.

The Golden Pass export project in Louisiana, a collaboration between ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy, is expected to achieve mechanical completion of its first train by the end of 2024, according to Energy Intelligence, with operations commencing in 2025.

Construction of Corpus Christi Stage 3, a 10mn tonne per year (1.4 Bcf/d) facility on the Texas Gulf Coast, is also progressing, with the first LNG production expected by the end of the year, reports Energy Intelligence.

Delfin’s floating liquefaction project, with a capacity of about 10mn tonnes per year, is moving closer to FID in 2024. While it missed its targeted FID date in October 2023, the Gulf of Mexico project has garnered strong interest, selling out the capacity of its first vessel.

Commonwealth LNG is exploring the potential for an FID in the first quarter of 2024, aiming to add another 9.5mn tonnes per year to the region's LNG capacity. Additionally, Corpus Christi Trains 8 and 9 may reach FID in 2024, contributing an additional 5mn tonnes per year to the expanding LNG sector.