US firm Constellation LNG, which operates the 5.1mn t/yr Everett import terminal near Boston, has applied to the Department of Energy (DOE) for authorisation to import LNG until June 2030.
Constellation is seeking permission to import up to 50bn ft³ of LNG — equivalent to around 1.1mn t — from 1 December 2024-1 June 2030 from Trinidad and Tobago and other sources.
The Massachusetts utilities regulator in May approved three downstream supply agreements between Everett and local gas distributors National Grid, Eversource and Unitil. The contracts appear to have provided Constellation with enough new business to keep the terminal operating after the closure of 1,413MW Mystic gas-fired power plant, previously Everett's biggest customer.
Mystic closed in May following the expiry of a ratepayer subsidy from the New England grid operator, which allowed the power plant to remain economically viable even though global LNG prices have held above US regional pipeline gas prices in recent years.
Scarce pipeline capacity in New England forces the region to rely on imported LNG to alleviate gas price spikes when demand is high, particularly in winter.
The LNG imported to Everett is to be sourced through a long-term supply and purchase agreement agreed in October 2022, Constellation said in its filing to the DOE. The 1.1mn t of LNG requested by the firm equates to around 220,000 t/yr of imports, assuming consistent quantities across the five-year period. This is a step down from recent years, for instance 2023 when the terminal imported 339,000t, and is likely a reflection of the requirements of the three new supply deals, compared with that of the Mystic power plant.
Everett last imported a cargo in March, according to shiptracking data from analytics firm Kpler. The terminal has received most of its supply from Trinidad and Tobago's 11.8mn t/yr Atlantic LNG terminal in recent years, although has also imported from Nigeria and Norway.
