US LNG exporters are looking to Europe as energy crisis intensifies

• US exporters of liquefied natural gas announce agreements to increase supplies to Europe.
• US exporters are looking to fill the void left by Russia’s withdrawal from LNG imports.
• Long-term supply agreements have locked up purchases of U.S. gas for future decades.

Wednesday, US exporters of LNG announced plenty of agreements to increase supplies to Europe, which is experiencing an intensifying energy crisis.

Cheniere, the largest U.S. exporter, has achieved a final investment decision to move through with a project that would increase its capacity by more than 20% in the next years, while a series of long-term supply agreements have locked up purchases of U.S. gas for the future decades.

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The development of Cheniere’s operation on the Texas Coast will increase its annual liquefaction capacity by 10 million tonnes to 45 million tonnes. The total US capacity is around 99 million tonnes.

The announcements followed the unveiling of a flurry of US LNG transactions on Wednesday, as American exporters seek to raise production and position themselves to fill the void left by Europe’s withdrawal from Russian imports.

In the meantime, the chemical company Ineos revealed ambitions to begin trading liquefied natural gas. Under the terms of the agreement, the largest privately held corporation in the United Kingdom will purchase 1,400,000 tonnes per year for 20 years from Sempra Infrastructure’s proposed projects.

In the meantime, Venture Global, another major Gulf Coast developer, announced on Wednesday that it had reached a 20-year agreement to sell 2 million tonnes per year to oil giant Chevron.

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Wednesday, Cheniere also signed a separate agreement with Chevron to sell 2 million tonnes per year over 15 years.