US & Canada
Gulf Coast communities are dealing with increasing storms from climate change and higher levels of pollution from U.S. LNG terminals. Those facilities are also heavily subsidised by local and state governments.
The OECD is meeting this week and will consider a restriction on financing from export credit agencies for overseas fossil fuel projects. With Trump set to take power, campaigners are urging Biden to act.
Trump’s return to the White House will usher in an era of U.S. backsliding on climate policy. But attempts to slow the energy transition will be self-defeating, experts say.
A highly-anticipated peer-reviewed study finds that LNG has a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33 percent larger than coal. The data suggests the expansion of LNG is a major threat for the climate.
An Oregon county added NW Natural, a gas utility serving 2 million customers, to its climate accountability lawsuit targetting fossil fuel companies. It is the first time a gas utility has been named as a defendant, but experts say it won’t be the last.
A new California law directs utilities in the U.S. state to set up 30 pilot projects that will transition households off of the gas system. Experts say it will help speed up the transition and avoid stranded asset risk.
At Gastech, industry representatives said overhauling permitting procedures would make it easier to build gas and LNG projects. With Congress taking up legislation, the gas industry senses an opportunity.
Gas prices remain low despite the extraordinary increase in U.S. LNG exports. At Gastech, industry analysts warned that the gas industry may have trouble supplying more LNG terminals without leading to a spike in prices.
Analysts and executives convened at Gastech saw possible threats to the industry if methane emissions are not addressed.
Attendees at Gastech agreed that gas will play a vital role in the energy transition. But uncertainty over the pace of demand was palpable. The future of LNG demand is highly uncertain, and the rapid uptake of renewable energy and battery storage around the world has raised some doubts about bullish forecasts for LNG.
The controversial LNG export terminal Calcasieu Pass has had operational problems for more than two years, resulting in chronic air pollution. A landowner reports witnessing excessive gas flaring at the site in late September.
Top leaders in the global gas industry gathered at Gastech described renewables as unreliable, and said that gas production and consumption would grow for several decades. But there were also some warnings from insiders that the industry’s confidence may be misplaced.
Gas Outlook will be reporting from Gastech, one of the largest global gatherings of the oil and gas industry, in Houston next week, at a time when the fate of the U.S. LNG sector is unclear.
Constrained by a court decision, the Biden administration said it would auction off land for new oil and gas drilling. But climate activists see the move as backtracking on climate progress
Already scarred by climate change, southwest Louisiana is on the frontlines of the rush to build new LNG.
Commercial fishing in southwest Louisiana is already facing hard times. But the rush to build Louisiana LNG export terminals may put an end to a once-vibrant industry.
The proposed Woodfibre LNG project has seen costs soar, and is not competitive with larger LNG projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast, despite generous public subsidies. Critics say it will not offer the economic benefit for which British Columbia is hoping.
The scenic Howe Sound, in British Columbia, has seen a stunning improvement in marine life. But this “success story” is under threat from the proposed Woodfibre LNG project, critics say.
A major Texas LNG project is promising to be the “greenest” LNG project in the world. But critics say it rests on ‘speculative’ and unproven carbon capture and sequestration technologies.
While much of the Texas coast is inundated with oil and gas infrastructure, the southern coast remains largely untouched by heavy industry. That could change with big plans for Texas LNG export terminals.