The United States gas and LNG sector has seen tremendous growth over the past year, as the vast majority of gas and LNG buyers are searching for a non-Russian supplier. The latest sanctions on Russia and its energy companies have left the market with a substantial gap in gas supply, which has become a problem due to increased demand for the transitional energy resource. A new set of pipelines is set to increase gas flow from Haynesville to the vast processing facilities in the South of the nation, paving the way for the United States to dominate the global gas and LNG market for many years.
Louisiana is set to increase gas flow to the Gulf Coast with two new pipelines
With the all-encompassing domination of the US in the gas and LNG market, it comes as no surprise that a litany of energy companies in the North American region are planning new pipelines over the coming years. Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale Region will supply vast amounts of gas to the surging market through the new pipelines, which have been built by Momentum Midstream and Williams Companies.
Momentum’s NG3 Pipeline, as well as William’s Louisiana Energy Gateway (LEG) Pipeline, have already begun flowing gas to the Gulf processing facilities, with expectations that the flow of natural gas is set to increase to a full operational capacity of 1.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by the end of 2025. Adding to that expansion of gas flow, DT Midstream is currently expanding its flagship LEAP Pipeline.
There is more good news for the midstream gas operators in the region
The LEAP Pipeline is aiming to add an additional 300 million cubic feet per day of takeaway capacity in the Haynesville region gas producers by mid-2026. These three pipelines are set to increase gas supply to processing facilities over the next year or so, with forecasts expecting a combined 3.9 Bcf/d of additional takeaway capacity to the Haynesville Basin gas producers over the next year.
“You go back to before 2015 – we were essentially exporting 0% of U.S. gas – and since then we’ve seen a truly remarkable increase in LNG exports, “Now the U.S. exports about 12% of the gas it produces, and the growth in LNG exports over the last 10 years has been an important driver in the in growth in the Haynesville Shale. The new pipelines are needed to connect the gas produced in the Haynesville Shale to the export facilities.” – Greg Upton, executive director and associate professor of Research at Louisiana State University’s Center for Energy Studies
The fluctuating gas production in the Hayneville region has been evident over the past two years, with 2023 seeing a 14.7 Bcf/d of gas supply. This year saw the market reacting to the latest sanctions on Russia, driving prices for natural gas through the roof. The gas market in the United States will continue its generational dominance into the new year as new pipelines are set to cover the needs of the growing demand for gas and LNG.
The Southern states are increasing gas production for the global market
The South has always been the cornerstone of the US gas market, and through the litany of new pipelines set to increase gas flowing to processing facilities, the new year is about to get a whole lot better for the American gas suppliers. Some companies have even opted to purchase entire operations from competitors to increase gas and LNG production, such as Targa Resources buying up Stakeholder Midstream for $1.25 billion. Regardless of the overwhelming calls to integrate the renewable energy sector, demand dictates production in the energy industry, and there is a lot of demand for gas and LNG.
