Commonwealth LNG sees new interest after securing export license

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By Curtis Williams

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Commonwealth LNG has seen an increase in interest from prospective buyers since it secured an export license from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump last month, the project’s owner said on Monday.

The U.S. Department of Energy granted an LNG export license to the Commonwealth LNG project in Louisiana in February, the first approval of LNG exports after former President Joe Biden paused them early last year for environmental review.

“The…approval took a lot of risks off the table for the buyers and that’s something we have been waiting for for over two years,” Ben Dell, Managing Partner of energy management company Kimmeridge, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. 

“And yes, it has brought additional buyers into the market.”

Dell did not identify any of the new prospective buyers.

Kimmeridge acquired Commonwealth LNG in June last year. Commonwealth is developing a 9.5 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) LNG plant in Cameron, Louisiana.

The project currently has almost 8 million MTPA of its supply either under contract or under consideration, including 2.5 MTPA with Woodside Energy and 2 MTPA that Kimmeridge will keep for itself to trade.

Dell said the Trump administration’s pursuit of tariffs on imports from some trading partners has created uncertainty because Commonwealth plans to source some of its construction materials from abroad.

“Within our budget we have always had a line item for tariffs so really it is about understanding where we want to source our product from versus changing anything material in the project,” Dell told Reuters.  

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Nia Williams)