"We shouldn't have to live in fear just so gas executives like Michael Smith can get rich," said one local resident, referring to Freeport LNG's CEO.
Surveillance footage captures the explosion at the Freeport LNG plant on Quintana Island in Texas on June 8, 2022. (Photo: Quintana Beach County Park/Facebook)
JAKE JOHNSON
June 9, 2022
An explosion at a major liquefied natural gas plant in Texas on Wednesday heightened fears of pollution and other impacts in nearby communities—and served as the latest example of the threat the booming LNG industry poses to the climate.
"Freeport LNG really doesn't care about us. This is not the first fire."
The blast at Freeport LNG's export terminal on Texas' Quintana Island was reported around noon local time, and no injuries have been disclosed. Authorities said the fire and "release" from the explosion were swiftly contained and that an investigation into the cause is underway, but local residents voiced concern that they're going to be kept in the dark.
"This is terrifying," said Melanie Oldham, founder of Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water in Brazoria County, where the Freeport LNG facility is located. "We've been afraid of a disaster happening ever since Freeport LNG started exporting gas. We shouldn't have to live in fear just so gas executives like [company CEO] Michael Smith can get rich."
"This is dangerous business," Oldham added. "What kind of air monitoring are they doing out there? Will they even be able to tell what the explosion released? And will they tell us? Thankfully it looks like none of the workers or anyone else was injured or killed. We may not be so lucky the next time there's an explosion at this plant, or any of the polluting facilities surrounding us, for that matter."
Surveillance video footage posted to Facebook by Quintana Beach County Park appears to show the first moments of the explosion, which reportedly shook nearby buildings.
"I saw it blow up from my job site—biggest fireball I've ever seen," said one Freeport resident.
The facility, one of the largest LNG export plants in the United States, is expected to shut down for at least three weeks in the wake of the explosion and fire, injecting further chaos into global energy markets already roiled by Russia's war on Ukraine.
One industry analyst told Reuters that the temporary shutdown will likely take 1 million tonnes of LNG off the market.
But Harold Doty, who lives on Quintana Island, warned that "there is still no emergency action plan for that plant" despite Wednesday's explosion.
"Originally, the plant said that people on the island should go to the beach and have the Coast Guard pick them up in boats," said Doty. "Freeport LNG really doesn't care about us. This is not the first fire. There are often fire alarms at the plant that I can hear from my house. I can never get any explanation when I call, so I've quit calling."
The explosion came as U.S. LNG exports to Europe are surging as part of the Biden administration's plan to help E.U. nations wean themselves off Russian fossil fuels. According to federal data released this week, U.S. LNG exports averaged 11.5 billion cubic feet per day during the first four months of this year, an 18% jump compared to the 2021 annual average.
While the fossil fuel industry often characterizes LNG as a more climate-friendly alternative to coal and other dirty energy sources that are driving global warming, environmentalists stress that LNG is a major emitter of methane—a greenhouse gas roughly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
"In the United States, natural gas accounts for more than one-third of carbon emissions and almost half of methane emissions," notes Marisa Guerrero of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In a statement Wednesday, Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water in Brazoria County and the Texas Campaign for the Environment said that "the oil and gas industry has been benefiting from an 'export boom' that is sending gas and crude oil overseas in record amounts, but has resulted in leaks, explosions, and wrecked communities back home—from flaring and pollution in the Permian Basin to explosions like the one today on Quintana Island."
"Officials rarely disclose the contents of the tanks that explode, leaving local residents to just have to wonder whether or not they are in danger," the groups continued. "The boom is also jeopardizing global climate agreements, as the window to rein in emissions is closing."
An explosion at a major liquefied natural gas plant in Texas on Wednesday heightened fears of pollution and other impacts in nearby communities—and served as the latest example of the threat the booming LNG industry poses to the climate.
"Freeport LNG really doesn't care about us. This is not the first fire."
The blast at Freeport LNG's export terminal on Texas' Quintana Island was reported around noon local time, and no injuries have been disclosed. Authorities said the fire and "release" from the explosion were swiftly contained and that an investigation into the cause is underway, but local residents voiced concern that they're going to be kept in the dark.
"This is terrifying," said Melanie Oldham, founder of Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water in Brazoria County, where the Freeport LNG facility is located. "We've been afraid of a disaster happening ever since Freeport LNG started exporting gas. We shouldn't have to live in fear just so gas executives like [company CEO] Michael Smith can get rich."
"This is dangerous business," Oldham added. "What kind of air monitoring are they doing out there? Will they even be able to tell what the explosion released? And will they tell us? Thankfully it looks like none of the workers or anyone else was injured or killed. We may not be so lucky the next time there's an explosion at this plant, or any of the polluting facilities surrounding us, for that matter."
Surveillance video footage posted to Facebook by Quintana Beach County Park appears to show the first moments of the explosion, which reportedly shook nearby buildings.
"I saw it blow up from my job site—biggest fireball I've ever seen," said one Freeport resident.
The facility, one of the largest LNG export plants in the United States, is expected to shut down for at least three weeks in the wake of the explosion and fire, injecting further chaos into global energy markets already roiled by Russia's war on Ukraine.
One industry analyst told Reuters that the temporary shutdown will likely take 1 million tonnes of LNG off the market.
But Harold Doty, who lives on Quintana Island, warned that "there is still no emergency action plan for that plant" despite Wednesday's explosion.
"Originally, the plant said that people on the island should go to the beach and have the Coast Guard pick them up in boats," said Doty. "Freeport LNG really doesn't care about us. This is not the first fire. There are often fire alarms at the plant that I can hear from my house. I can never get any explanation when I call, so I've quit calling."
The explosion came as U.S. LNG exports to Europe are surging as part of the Biden administration's plan to help E.U. nations wean themselves off Russian fossil fuels. According to federal data released this week, U.S. LNG exports averaged 11.5 billion cubic feet per day during the first four months of this year, an 18% jump compared to the 2021 annual average.
While the fossil fuel industry often characterizes LNG as a more climate-friendly alternative to coal and other dirty energy sources that are driving global warming, environmentalists stress that LNG is a major emitter of methane—a greenhouse gas roughly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
"In the United States, natural gas accounts for more than one-third of carbon emissions and almost half of methane emissions," notes Marisa Guerrero of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In a statement Wednesday, Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water in Brazoria County and the Texas Campaign for the Environment said that "the oil and gas industry has been benefiting from an 'export boom' that is sending gas and crude oil overseas in record amounts, but has resulted in leaks, explosions, and wrecked communities back home—from flaring and pollution in the Permian Basin to explosions like the one today on Quintana Island."
"Officials rarely disclose the contents of the tanks that explode, leaving local residents to just have to wonder whether or not they are in danger," the groups continued. "The boom is also jeopardizing global climate agreements, as the window to rein in emissions is closing."
Freeport LNG Fire Cuts Key Source Of U.S. Gas Supply To Europe, Asia
By Marwa Rashad
06/09/22
By Marwa Rashad
06/09/22
Model of LNG tanker is seen in front of the EU flag in this illustration taken May 19, 2022.
Photo: Reuters / DADO RUVIC
By Marwa Rashad
LONDON (Reuters - An at least three-week shutdown at Freeport LNG, operator of one of the largest U.S. export plants producing liquefied natural gas (LNG), is expected to delay cargoes to Europe, further stressing the continent's drive to phase out Russian gas.
The outage at the plant, which provides around 20% of U.S. LNG processing capacity, began with an explosion at its Texas Gulf Coast facility on Wednesday. It has triggered alarm bells among players in market already struggling with reduced Russian supplies and resurgent demand in Asia.
The plant historically sent most of its cargoes to Japan and Korea, but the outage will affect Europe, which has been pulling U.S. cargoes from the east because of the higher prices. Russia's invasion of Ukraine - actions that Moscow calls a "special military operation" - shifted flows to Europe from Asia.
A three-week shutdown will mean the loss of around 13-15 cargoes, although Europe should be able to make up its losses from gas storage. But the risk remains if the shutdown extends for a longer period, said analysts.
"An outage for three weeks minimum is a loss of around 940,000 tonnes of LNG. If you took an average cargo size around 70,000 tonnes, that's about 13 cargoes," said Alex Froley, LNG analyst at data intelligence firm ICIS.
The outage coincides with Nord Stream 1 maintenance and some Norwegian gas maintenance measures; however the market might be able to deal with it by withdrawing some volumes from storage potentially, said a person familiar with the market.
"If the outage lasts months rather than weeks, the total loss can be much greater, and Europe's more comfortable inventory situation will not be quite as reassuring. We would then expect the strong European LNG price premium over Asia to return," said Tamir Druz, managing director at Capra Energy.
The news has initially sent U.S. natural gas futures down as much as 14% as traders anticipated the outage would free up supplies and help rebuild U.S. storage for winter demand.
However, prices recovered later on Thursday and were up about 2% as the market focused more on high air conditioning demand from a heatwave blanketing parts of the United States, especially Texas. [NGA/]
In Europe, gas prices rose by up to a fifth on Thursday morning on fears lost U.S. shipments would stress a market already struggling with reduced Russian supplies. Prices cooled off at the market close. [NG/EU]
Japan-Korea-Marker (JKM) prices - which are widely used as a benchmark for Asian LNG - also rose, with The Platts JKM LNG assessed at $23.486 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu) on Thursday, an increase of $1.694, or 7.8%, from the previous day.
FREEPORT'S BUYERS
BP, TotalEnergies, Osaka Gas, Japan's biggest power generator JERA and South Korea's SK Gas Trading are listed as the buyers of Freeport LNG cargoes, industry sources said. BP has the largest contract at 4.4 million tonnes per annum through 2040.
Japan typically imports 6-7% of its total LNG supply from the United States during June, with LNG from Freeport accounting for at least half of the volume, said Kpler gas and LNG analyst Ryhana Rasidi.
South Korea has imported an average of about 20% of its LNG from the United States in June over the last two years. It could potentially lose at least 0.13 million tonnes of LNG, about 17% of its consumption, from the facility, she said.
In March, 21 cargoes loaded at the Freeport facility, carrying an estimated 64 billion cubic feet of gas to destinations in Europe, South Korea and China, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That was up from 15 cargoes in February and 19 in January.
Around 70% of Freeport's monthly supplies in the past few months went to the European Union and Britain. France, Britain, Turkey and the Netherlands have been the biggest European importers from Freeport LNG this year, industry sources said.
"Of 14 Freeport cargoes arriving at destinations in May, 10 of them went to Europe, two to Asia and two to the Americas." Froley said. (Graphic: Freeport exports by destination -
By Marwa Rashad
LONDON (Reuters - An at least three-week shutdown at Freeport LNG, operator of one of the largest U.S. export plants producing liquefied natural gas (LNG), is expected to delay cargoes to Europe, further stressing the continent's drive to phase out Russian gas.
The outage at the plant, which provides around 20% of U.S. LNG processing capacity, began with an explosion at its Texas Gulf Coast facility on Wednesday. It has triggered alarm bells among players in market already struggling with reduced Russian supplies and resurgent demand in Asia.
The plant historically sent most of its cargoes to Japan and Korea, but the outage will affect Europe, which has been pulling U.S. cargoes from the east because of the higher prices. Russia's invasion of Ukraine - actions that Moscow calls a "special military operation" - shifted flows to Europe from Asia.
A three-week shutdown will mean the loss of around 13-15 cargoes, although Europe should be able to make up its losses from gas storage. But the risk remains if the shutdown extends for a longer period, said analysts.
"An outage for three weeks minimum is a loss of around 940,000 tonnes of LNG. If you took an average cargo size around 70,000 tonnes, that's about 13 cargoes," said Alex Froley, LNG analyst at data intelligence firm ICIS.
The outage coincides with Nord Stream 1 maintenance and some Norwegian gas maintenance measures; however the market might be able to deal with it by withdrawing some volumes from storage potentially, said a person familiar with the market.
"If the outage lasts months rather than weeks, the total loss can be much greater, and Europe's more comfortable inventory situation will not be quite as reassuring. We would then expect the strong European LNG price premium over Asia to return," said Tamir Druz, managing director at Capra Energy.
The news has initially sent U.S. natural gas futures down as much as 14% as traders anticipated the outage would free up supplies and help rebuild U.S. storage for winter demand.
However, prices recovered later on Thursday and were up about 2% as the market focused more on high air conditioning demand from a heatwave blanketing parts of the United States, especially Texas. [NGA/]
In Europe, gas prices rose by up to a fifth on Thursday morning on fears lost U.S. shipments would stress a market already struggling with reduced Russian supplies. Prices cooled off at the market close. [NG/EU]
Japan-Korea-Marker (JKM) prices - which are widely used as a benchmark for Asian LNG - also rose, with The Platts JKM LNG assessed at $23.486 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu) on Thursday, an increase of $1.694, or 7.8%, from the previous day.
FREEPORT'S BUYERS
BP, TotalEnergies, Osaka Gas, Japan's biggest power generator JERA and South Korea's SK Gas Trading are listed as the buyers of Freeport LNG cargoes, industry sources said. BP has the largest contract at 4.4 million tonnes per annum through 2040.
Japan typically imports 6-7% of its total LNG supply from the United States during June, with LNG from Freeport accounting for at least half of the volume, said Kpler gas and LNG analyst Ryhana Rasidi.
South Korea has imported an average of about 20% of its LNG from the United States in June over the last two years. It could potentially lose at least 0.13 million tonnes of LNG, about 17% of its consumption, from the facility, she said.
In March, 21 cargoes loaded at the Freeport facility, carrying an estimated 64 billion cubic feet of gas to destinations in Europe, South Korea and China, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That was up from 15 cargoes in February and 19 in January.
Around 70% of Freeport's monthly supplies in the past few months went to the European Union and Britain. France, Britain, Turkey and the Netherlands have been the biggest European importers from Freeport LNG this year, industry sources said.
"Of 14 Freeport cargoes arriving at destinations in May, 10 of them went to Europe, two to Asia and two to the Americas." Froley said. (Graphic: Freeport exports by destination -
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