The US administration will no longer approve any new LNG terminal projects

The US administration has announced that it will no longer grant authorisation for the construction of liquefaction terminals on US coasts, despite the fact that the LNG industry is booming and numerous projects are under development. The United States is the world's largest exporter of LNG. 17 projects were in the approval process when the decision was made. The decision appears to have been taken for two reasons: the construction of new terminals is encouraging the production of unconventional gas in the United States, and the use of polluting production processes, such as hydraulic fracturing, is being criticised, particularly when it comes to producing gas for export; the increase in gas exports is driving up gas prices on the US domestic market. Seven liquefaction terminals are currently in operation, with a total capacity of 87 million tonnes of LNG per year, and five projects are in production, representing an additional capacity of 63 million tonnes of LNG per year.