Royal Dutch Shell Plc pulled out of a major US LNG export plant under development following the recent crash in energy prices, quickly followed by its partner, Energy Transfer LP, delaying its final decision on whether to go ahead with the project to next year.
The collapse in global energy prices has delayed the Lake Charles, Louisiana, facility. Thanks to big demand from Asian countries like India and China, global LNG demand for years has been hitting record highs.
However, the crash in prices of oil and gas has caused Exxon Mobil Corp and major LNG exporter countries like Qatar to put off gigantic new facilities or expansions of existing projects. Recently, US gas prices have slumped to their lowest level since 1995.
Analysts have expected that a number of the projects under development worldwide would not come to the realization. In total, over 50 bcfd of new export capacity is being developed alone by US energy firms. The amount is more than 46.3 bcfd which was the worldwide consumption of LNG in 2019.
