There she blows
LNG from the US’ lower 48 has set sail on troubled waters
AT LONG last, the first shipment of liquefied natural gas left from Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass export terminal on the Gulf of Mexico for Brazil on 24 February, marking the entrance of the US as a major player on global gas markets. Celebrations, though, were muted. New US exporters will have to carve out a role for themselves in a glutted market with a markedly poor short-term demand outlook. Sabine Pass was the first of a wave of five LNG export projects that are under construction and will start exporting the US’ bounty of shale gas riches before the end of the decade. A second train at Sabine Pass will be completed in the coming months followed by trains three and four in six-to-nine m
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
