NGI’s Hub & Flow

Get up to date on the implications of President Trump’s wave of executive orders (EO), including one to restart approvals of LNG export projects, with NGI’s Jamison Cocklin, managing LNG editor, and Jacob Dick, senior LNG editor. 

The two break down a list of projects that could ultimately move forward as a result of the EO. They also review the challenges that remain for LNG projects working to reach a final investment decision. The discussion also examines how a study released by the Biden administration has slowed down President Trump's efforts to fast-track projects and how the new administration is addressing it.

As chilly winter weather took hold of the Lower 48 to start 2025, natural gas cash prices held in a volatile pattern, but they were still elevated compared with winter 2023/24. NGI senior markets editors Andrew Baker and Kevin Dobbs delve into the supply situation – from shrinking storage surpluses to wellhead freeze-offs – and how new LNG demand is factoring into the equation. Plus, as a new presidential administration takes the helm, Baker and Dobbs preview what could be in store for North American natural gas markets if tariffs become law of the land.

Dive into the balance of winter price forecast as NGI’s Kevin Dobbs, senior markets editor, interviews Paragon Global Markets LLC’s Steve Blair, managing director of institutional energy sales. The two discuss the winter ahead in natural gas markets and explore the potential price catalysts. 

Blair covers the strengthening production and stout storage situation, as well as domestic weather in LNG demand. He also addresses potential wild cards for 2025, including the ongoing buildout of the U.S. export complex and the incoming Trump administration’s plans for steep new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner, with about 75% of the country’s natural gas originating from the Lower 48 states. Cross-border energy trade in 2023 reached $66.5 billion, and imports of U.S. natural gas have increased for years as Mexico’s domestic production has decreased. 

With Mexico President Sheinbaum’s recent inauguration, however, the role of state-owned energy companies has been put in question. Now, with former President Trump’s re-election, NGI’s Andrew Baker, senior editor, sits down with Christopher Lenton, senior editor for Mexico and Latin America, to discuss how the cross-border energy trade may evolve. Baker and Lenton dive into the implications for Mexico’s export projects should Trump reverse the Biden administration’s LNG permit pause, as well as the outlook for natural gas demand in both Mexico and the United States as nearshoring and power generation needs evolve.

Spark Commodities CEO Tim Mendelssohn joins NGI's managing editor of LNG, Jamison Cocklin, to discuss how bearish market fundamentals have been driving down freight rates for LNG cargoes. A “massive vessel oversupply,” combined with delays in U.S. LNG export projects, has pushed freight rates well below market expectations. 

Mendelssohn explains why these rates could remain low for the foreseeable future and explores the potential implications for the LNG shipping market as new export facilities come online in the years to come.

NGI LNG editors Jamison Cocklin and Jacob Dick discuss the upcoming election and what a Harris or Trump presidency could mean for the U.S. LNG sector. They explore how either candidate may approach new export projects after a lengthy pause on authorizations that was imposed by the Biden administration. The conversation also focuses on Trump's tariff proposals and a potential trade war with China, as well as how down-ballot races could impact U.S. exports.

An "impressive" 500 million tons/year of capacity for carbon capture utilization and sequestration (CCUS) projects in the United States are on the drawing board, designed to trap emissions from natural gas and oil projects. Those ambitions, though, have been tempered by uncertainties that include permitting challenges and public opposition. NGI's Carolyn Davis, managing editor of news, discussed the status of the domestic CCUS sector with Enverus Intelligence Research's CCUS expert Graham Bain, who leads the subsurface group for the energy transition team. The supermajors – including ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., Equinor SA and TotalEnergies SE – are bankrolling several big projects, mostly in Louisiana and Texas. As Bain explained, if all the U.S. projects now in the queue were to be sanctioned, it would require an overall investment of $73 billion, with nearly one-half poured into carbon technologies and nearly one-third into carbon dioxide pipelines. The challenges are big, but the opportunities are too, he explains.

NGI senior markets editor Jodi Shafto interviews Andy Huenefeld, managing partner at Pinebrook Energy Advisors and contributor to The Energy Buyers Guide report. Huenefeld discusses key factors for the Lower 48 winter heating season that begins on Nov. 1.

NGI’s Christopher Lenton, senior editor for Mexico & Latin America, sits down with one of the leading voices in Mexico's energy sector and the former head of Comisión Reguladora de Energía, Guillermo García Alcocer. The two discuss what could be on the horizon as Claudia Sheinbaum takes the presidential office in Mexico on Oct. 1, including potential shifts in Mexico’s energy regulatory bodies. In addition, with the Sheinbaum administration’s plans for transitioning Mexico’s electric generation mix coming to a head with rising energy demand, García Alcocer explains what could be required of both domestic natural gas supplies as well as U.S. imports. How could Mexico’s electricity, exploration and production, and LNG sectors be impacted by nearshoring? How could Mexico’s relationship with the United States be impacted as the two work to build their economies?