Last weekend, I joined my college soccer mates to play in the annual North American Chinese Soccer Championship in Las Vegas. It is so special to see my old brothers and poke fun at each other on and off the pitch every year at this tournament. We get to be the younger versions of ourselves, at least spiritually.
Now, let’s look into two pieces of energy news from the past week.
Shangyou Nie
Editor, Well Read
QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil Achieve First LNG at Golden Pass
SLSK Photography/Shutterstock.com
On 30 March, QatarEnergy announced that it had produced first LNG at the Golden Pass plant located in Sabine Pass, Texas. This is the first major LNG project outside of its namesake country for the world’s biggest LNG producer, as it had to declare force majeure due to the ongoing war in Iran.
Golden Pass LNG will have five 155,000-cubic-meter LNG storage tanks and two marine berths to accommodate the world’s largest LNG carriers.
Project timeline:
The Golden Pass LNG project was conceptualized in the early 2000s. Initially, it was planned to be an LNG import terminal to supply the United States with LNG from Qatar.
Construction started in 2003, with the Golden Pass Pipeline completed in 2009 and the regasification terminal completed in 2010.
Golden Pass received its first LNG in October 2010.
As the shale revolution in 2008 led to more domestic gas production, QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil made a strategic decision in 2012 to convert the project into an LNG export facility.
In 2018, QatarEnergy announced that it would invest $20 billion into the United States during Trump’s first administration, with Golden Pass LNG being a key project.
In 2019, QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil took FID for the $10 billion Golden Pass LNG export project.
Zachry Group reached a settlement with QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil in July 2024, and Chiyoda and CB&I became contractors to lead engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC).
The bigger picture:
When Sebine Pass was initially selected in the early 2000s, the United States was experiencing gas shortages.
According to the Energy Information Agency, the average daily gas price for Henry Hub was about $8/MMBTU between 2003 and 2008.
Since then, associated and non-associated gas from shale production has made the United States abundant with gas.
During CERAWeek 2026, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright declared, “Natural Gas is the Super Power for the United States.”
The United States has quickly replaced Australia and Qatar as the world’s largest LNG exporter.
In 2025, the United States supplied the world with 111 million tonnes of LNG, or 15 billion cubic feet of gas per day.
The recent war in Iran has increased the importance of North America-sourced LNG for the Pacific and Atlantic basins.
What they’re saying:
“Golden Pass LNG is part of a wider QatarEnergy strategy for international investments that we have been planning over the past decade. It also represents a significant part of the plans,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs.
“The operational phase and market entry of Golden Pass LNG will come at an important time when global energy security ranks very high on energy agendas worldwide,” he added.
What to watch:
Golden Pass LNG will see its first LNG export in Q2.
Will QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil seek to expand Golden Pass LNG for the next wave of LNG growth in the United States?
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Recap: AAPG Academy Webinar on Opportunities and Challenges in Venezuela
More than 800 registrants from more than 65 countries registered for AAPG’s recent webinar “Venezuela: Opportunities and Challenges.” I was honored to host a dialogue with Dr. Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and Mark Oberstoetter, head of Americas Upstream Research for Wood Mackenzie.
If you missed this dialogue and want to watch a recording, register here. It’s free!
Key takeaways:
Venezuela has the resource base to grow its production from its current 1+ million barrels per day to 3+ million barrels per day within five years, potentially growing to 4+ million barrels per day within 10 years.
At least $120 billion in new investments will be needed in Venezuela to capitalize upon the oppotunities there.
Canada, which also has a significant amount of heavy oil, could serve as a key model of growth for Venezuela in some regards.
Indian companies will likely be welcome to play in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. China and Russia’s roles in Venezuela remain uncertain.
Key insights from Monaldi:
A “significant margin” of Latin American voters support Maduro’s capture.
Latin America’s oil sector has “underperformed” during the past two decades, mainly due to the decline of Venezuela and despite recent growth in Guyana and Brazil.
Monaldi thinks the next presidential election will happen in 2027 or 2028.
Venezuela used to be the world’s largest oil exporter, ahead of Saudi Arabia.
Production has dropped from more than 3 million barrels per day in the 2000s to less than 1 million barrels per day today, due to bad domestic policy and U.S. sanctions.
In 2025, production from national company PDVSA made up just 26 percent of Venezuela’s total oil production. Other leaders include Chevron (25 percent), a Russian company (11 percent), CNPC (10 percent), and European producers (Repsol, ENI, Maurel; 7 percent total).
The remaining 21 percent came from the holders of roughly 30 individual production sharing agreements.
Key insights from Oberstoetter:
Venezuela has by far the biggest resource base ($340 billion barrels) in Latin America.
Venezuela has the second least attractive fiscal terms for investors in Latin America, only better than those in Mexico.
Under the current agreement between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments:
Contracts would be governed by U.S. law with U.S. dispute resolution.
Russian and Chinese companies cannot participate in the Venezuelan oil sector.
General License 50 under OFAC allows Chevron and four European companies (ENI, Repsol, Shell, and BP) to conduct upstream operations in Venezuela.
What to watch:
Will the 29 contracts PDVSA signed with individual companies in 2024 and 2025 be legalized or made available for international tender?
Go deeper:
You can also read coverage of Venezuela’s geological potential and recent events in AAPG Explorer’s March and April issues.
AAPG members receive a complimentary subscription to AAPG Explorer. Not a member? Become one today. Just want to subscribe to Explorer? You can do that here.
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