Keeping natural gas costs low key to US export success amid transition: Venture Global

US liquefaction project developers’ success in advancing new projects hinges in part on their ability to keep costs low enough to compete with coal globally, Venture Global LNG CEO Michael Sabel said May 19.

Even as the energy transition takes aim at fossil fuels, coal remains a major fuel in power production in emerging markets in Asia.

During the second day of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Forum on Economic Recovery, Sabel said that natural gas can maintain its share of a diversifying energy mix as long as the industry is able to build sufficient infrastructure.

“The demand for global energy is going to continue to grow and accelerate and, in particular, in Asia,” Sabel said. “If we don’t support gas exports, you’re going to have a lot of renewables and a lot of coal.”

Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass export terminal in Louisiana is under construction and preparing to possibly begin production in the coming months. The company said in March that it plans a phased operational start-up that, with the requisite review and approvals from US regulators, could include the first exports of LNG in late 2021.

That would be about a year earlier than originally anticipated. Full operations at the export terminal are currently expected in mid-2022.

Venture Global is developing three other proposed LNG export facilities in Louisiana. Plaquemines LNG, which would be built in two phases and have a production capacity of up to 20 million mt/year, has not yet been formally sanctioned .

While he did not specifically address construction progress at Calcasieu Pass or commercial progress for the other projects, Sabel said Venture Global’s work over the last decade in the LNG space has informed the company’s perspective on the current global energy transition.

“Gas is going to be a critical part of the short-, middle- and long-term transition to alternative energy production and uses,” he said.

That is especially true when it comes to countries’ stated goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Sabel said.

“We view it as impossible to achieve these targets without gas,” he said.
Source: Platts