Freeport restart boosts US LNG exports

The outage highlighted the tightness of the global LNG market, and its return should help keep a lid on prices

The Freeport LNG export terminal on the US Gulf Coast is back online after about eight months. The plant, where operations were suspended following a fire in June 2022, is receiving feedgas again and has seen the return of tankers ready to load cargoes. Freeport’s restart will be gradual, with consultancy Rystad Energy anticipating that all three liquefaction trains will be back online in March and that the plant will have ramped up to full operations by early April. The facility has the capacity to produce 15mn t/yr of LNG, and as this represents more than 20pc of US export capacity, its return to service is significant. It comes as the US continues to supply more LNG to Europe, which is se