Intense competition between developers and escalating costs are complicating efforts to bring new liquefied natural gas projects on line in the U.S., even amidst a rising appetite for American fuel exports, reports Financial Times.
A new wave of multibillion-dollar LNG projects on the Gulf Coast has gathered pace over the past year as the energy upheaval triggered by the war prompts a global dash to secure fossil fuels from vast Texas shale fields.
But others have faced repeated delays as they vie with each other to secure the long-term purchase agreements needed to underwrite their projects and contend with sharply escalating construction and financing costs.
“It’s dramatically more expensive,” says Charif Souki, who pioneered the development of the LNG export industry more than a decade ago. “There are fewer and fewer construction companies that can actually handle these kinds of loads. But you have to confront . . . your supply chain issues and all the cost inflation.” Read the entire story.
