Liquefied natural gas such as the United States has become world leaders

The road to the American LNG business seemed to have come to an end. Yet, at the very end of the administration of former President Barack Obama, the construction of the Ggnl Sabine Pass plant, intended for export, was approved. It was the prelude to a rebirth.

A few months after Donald Trump took office in the White House, the construction of 5 new plants: others would follow until today. The result is that in the first half of 2022 the United States have become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Going from zero in 2015 to 14 billion cubic meters of LNG in 2022 and aiming to reach 20 billion cubic meters by the end of 2025thanks to the realization of other 4 extraction plants approved this time under the presidency of Joe Biden. And the geopolitical situation has made the fortune of these investments: last August, for the first time since 2008, the prices of futures of natural gas nearly i 10 dollars per million Btu. Almost five times as much as in 2016.

From Obama to Biden, passing through Trump

In November 2015, in the middle of Obama’s presidency, the construction of the LNG plant was announced Sabine Pass. One of the most popular monitoring sites on the greenwashing, Desmogdescribed at the time as Cheniere Energythe company that owns Sabine Pass, had been “the first fracking-era company to receive an export permit from the Obama administration in 2012”And that he was on his board of directors Heather Zichal, Obama’s consultant on energy and climate issues. Also Ankit Desaia former assistant to then Vice President Joe Biden, had worked as a lobbyist for Cheniere Energy.

The arrival at the White House of Donald Trump gave a decisive impetus to the construction of new LNG plants. Under his leadership, the US Department of Energy has made it possible to extend liquefied natural gas exports to countries not adhering to free trade agreements (non-FTA) until the year 2050. The declared goal (to date, achieved) was to become the first exporter to the Old Continent. During the years of the Trump administration, five LNG extraction plants were built: Cove Point, Corpus Christi, Elba Island, Cameron, Freeport. On the other hand, it is with the arrival of Joe Biden in Pennsylvanya Avenue which has almost passed the doubling of liquefied natural gas production in the USA for export purposes. During his administration four other systems were built and designed: Calcasieu Pass, Golden Pass, Corpus Christi stage IIIand finally Plaquemines. By January 2026, these four extractive facilities will allow to go from the current 12 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas in the United States to 20.