Norwegian developer eyes new LNG export project in US Gulf

An upstart liquefied natural gas developer that first considered constructing import terminals in Scotland and India is now turning its sights to building out export capacity from the US Gulf Coast, joining a slew of projects vying to supply the world. 

Norwegian company Crown LNG Holdings Ltd. plans to start a new US LNG export project offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, Chief Executive Officer Swapan Kataria said. 

Crown’s project — still in its conception — would join an incoming wave of new supply from Qatar and the US that’s pressuring prices globally. While lower prices would help open up price-sensitive markets such as India, BloombergNEF expects global LNG supply to exceed demand by 2030. 

Kataria says Crown’s concept is unique because the export project would be directly tied to its planned import terminals in India and Scotland, which remain in the feasibility stage. 

“Most of our customers, they do not have ability to go to the US to buy on their own — they depend on traders,” Kataria said in an interview. “They will then have access to better rates and more capacities coming to us.”

A location for the US project hasn’t been finalized, and permitting hasn’t yet been filed. The project could cost just under $10 billion for two production units that would each have as much as 5 million metric tons a year of capacity, Kataria said.

Aspiring US LNG developers have faced multiple challenges in recent years, with only a handful of projects reaching final investment decisions. The permitting moratorium by the Biden administration was a major setback for expansions and new projects, while a court ruling has yanked the key federal permit for NextDecade Corp.’s Rio Grande LNG.