Startup of Plaquemines LNG is boosting flows on Kinder Morgan (KMI) and Enbridge (ENB) gas pipelines, passing 1.3 Bcf/d last week from the export project. KMI’s Midcontinent Express Pipeline (MEP) is also positioned to gain from the new demand in southeastern Louisiana.
Pipeline deliveries to Plaquemines LNG have been steadily climbing since early December ’24 as Venture Global moves the initial trains through the commissioning process. Satellite imagery monitored by East Daley Analytics shows all nine blocks of the Phase 1 liquefaction trains to be in place, while four of nine blocks for Phase 2 are in place (see image). Construction is likely still ongoing for the later blocks of Phase 1, as the earlier blocks have begun commissioning and liquefaction. Plaquemines reported that it achieved first liquefaction on December 14 and that its first cargo departed on December 26.
East Daley tracks Plaquemines LNG in the Southeast Gulf Supply & Demand Report. The project receives gas from KMI’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) and the Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) system owned by ENB. Venture Global built the 42-inch Gator Express to connect to the pipelines 15 miles southwest of the Plaquemines project. As shown in the second figure, combined deliveries at the two Gator Express meters jumped to over 1.2 Bcf/d on Jan 15 and passed 1.3 Bcf/d last Wednesday (Jan 22), according to pipeline samples.
The ramp at Plaquemines LNG leans on recent expansions by KMI and ENB to accommodate the new demand. KMI built the 1.1 Bcf/d Evangeline Pass project to move gas south on TGP and its Southern Natural (Sonat) system, while ENB constructed the 1.26 Bcf/d Venice Lateral extension from the TETCO mainline in southeastern Louisiana.
Plaquemines also is supporting volumes on a third pipeline, Midcontinent Express. East Daley views the KMI asset as well-positioned to gain from new LNG demand. We will dive deeper into the outlook for MEP in a future post – clients can read about this now in the latest weekly Data Insights.
Clients can also check out EDA’s new Fundamentally Speaking blog to learn more about the latest news in LNG and pipeline projects. The Fundamentally Speaking blog monitors supply and demand trends in commodities, including unique coverage of flows on the Matterhorn Express Pipeline. Contact us to learn more. - Oren Pilant and Ian Heming Tickers: ENB, KMI.
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