The energy market expects gas prices to rise once the plant starts producing LNG again. But gas futures were trading near a 25-month low mostly because mild weather this winter has kept heating demand for the fuel low. Federal regulators will hold a public meeting on Freeport on Feb. 11 to provide members of the community and other interested parties an opportunity to voice concerns about Freeport's restart plans and to receive an update on what is happening at the plant. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino, editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jason Neely)
Messaging: scott.disavino.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) (Adds company comment, paragraph 4)
Feb 7 (Reuters) - Freeport LNG's long-idled liquefied
natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas was on track to receive
no natural gas from pipelines on Tuesday after receiving small
amounts over the past 12 days, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
Since Jan. 26, when federal regulators approved the
company's plan to start cooling some pipes, the plant has pulled
in an average of 34 million cubic feet per day of pipeline gas.
That is a fraction of what it can pull in when operating at
full power. Freeport can turn about 2.1 billion cubic feet of
gas into LNG each day, which is about 2% of total U.S. daily gas
production.
"We continue to progress our work towards the safe restart
of our liquefaction facility," Freeport LNG spokesperson Heather
Browne said in an email. The company had no comment on the gas
flows to the plant.
Many analysts have said they do not expect the plant to
return to full power until mid March or later. A couple of
Freeport's customers - Japan's JERA and Osaka
Gas - have said they do not expect to get LNG from the
plant until after March.
Last week, Freeport told Texas regulators it would start
sending gas to one of three liquefaction trains, which turn gas
into LNG.
The plant, however, is waiting for permission from federal
regulators to start loading LNG on ships to free up space in its
storage tanks.
Freeport, the second biggest U.S. LNG export plant, shut
after a fire in June 2022.
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