NEW YORK – Europe will build more terminals to import US liquefied natural gas, the head of the European Commission told US President Donald Trump during a meeting aimed at averting a transatlantic trade war.
“They want very much to do that, and we have plenty of it,” Trump said, referring to the US shale boom, which has unleashed record supplies of the heating and power-plant fuel. “They will be a massive buyer, and they will be able to diversify their energy supply.”
Imports to Europe are poised to rise almost 20% by 2040 from 2016 levels, according to International Energy Agency. While Russia has long been the region’s top supplier, it’s now facing significant challenges from both the US and Qatar, rivals with vast natural gas reserves.
Trump and the Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, spoke to the media after meeting at the White House. The comments quickly sparked investor reaction for both Cheniere Energy, America’s largest exporter of LNG, and Tellurian, which is working to get its export project in Louisiana approved.
Cheniere climbed as much as 3% in late New York trading, while Tellurian gained as much as 2.9%.
The comments come as at least four new US LNG export projects are slated to start up by 2020. Since early 2016, the US has shipped 41 cargoes of LNG to Europe, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s about 10% of US LNG exports.
Europe is looking to step up gas imports with its largest production field in the Netherlands slated to shut and France moves toward shutting nuclear power plants.
“There are plenty of supply options here to be able to meet increased European demand,” said Jason Feer, global head of business intelligence at Poten & Partners, in a telephone interview. European demand is rising as domestic production declines.
After Cheniere began shipping gas two years ago from its Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana -- the first to send shale output abroad -- the US became a net exporter of the fuel for the first time since the 1950s. This year, Dominion Energy opened the first export facility on the East Coast, providing a quicker route to European buyers.
Europe is “one of the biggest surprises” in terms of rising demand for gas, Tom Earl, chief commercial officer at US LNG developer Venture Global LNG, said at conference in Amsterdam in May. Venture Global, which is building an export terminal in Louisiana, has already signed supply deals with BP and Portugal’s Galp Energia SGPS.
Many of the continent’s buyers, particularly in Eastern Europe, are eager for alternatives to Russian supply. Gas flow to Europe was disrupted twice, in 2006 and 2009, over a pricing dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, Lithuania and Poland have built terminals to import cargoes of liquefied natural gas from overseas, reducing their reliance on Russia.
But Russia relies on gas exports for its budget revenue and Europe is its biggest customer, meaning the nation will “protect its turf at all costs,” Manas Satapathy, a MD for energy at Accenture Strategy, said in a telephone interview.