Freeport, one of the largest US plants exporting liquefied natural gas, exploded on Wednesday.
Freeport represents a critical piece of infrastructure in Europe's divestment from Russian oil. Yet this story is almost no where in the mainsteam news, so let's dig in.
Freeport represents a critical piece of infrastructure in Europe's divestment from Russian oil. Yet this story is almost no where in the mainsteam news, so let's dig in.
Freeport is represents over 20% of US natural gas exports. A ten billion plus+ capex project, the plant processes two billion cubic feet a day of pipeline-quality natural gas.
the plant spits off $7.4b in revenue yearly. 80% of its shipments are direct to Europe.
the plant spits off $7.4b in revenue yearly. 80% of its shipments are direct to Europe.
As Europe attempts to divest from Russian oil, it becomes increasingly reliant on the constant stream of cargo ships from ports like Freeport.
LNG is the key to energy independence for western europe, and is crippled if we continue to lose infrastructure like freeport.
LNG is the key to energy independence for western europe, and is crippled if we continue to lose infrastructure like freeport.
So what exactly happened at Freeport?
We still do not know. The explosion occurred at 11:40 a.m. CT at on Quintana Island, 65 miles south of Houston. The explosion caused a fire that sent black smoke billowing into the air and could be felt from dozens of miles away.
We still do not know. The explosion occurred at 11:40 a.m. CT at on Quintana Island, 65 miles south of Houston. The explosion caused a fire that sent black smoke billowing into the air and could be felt from dozens of miles away.
While no one was injured, the response included 26 fire departments from across the state, and reports of half a dozen federal agencies.
Freeport's Explosion, even if by natural causes, represents a massive win for Russian interests.
Freeport's Explosion, even if by natural causes, represents a massive win for Russian interests.
Analysts believe that the outage will take 12+ cargoes off the market this summer, amounting to nearly one million tons of LNG that will not be available to Europe before winter.
Natural gas spot prices in the UK have jumped more than 30 percent percent on news.
Natural gas spot prices in the UK have jumped more than 30 percent percent on news.
As we find out exactly what caused Freeport, it's a shocking reminder of the fragility of our core energy infrastructure. A constant reminder that we are only a few bad actors away from total collapse.
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