The facility, one of the largest LNG export plants in the United States, is expected to shut down for at least three weeks in the wake of the explosion and fire, injecting further chaos into global energy markets already roiled by Russia's war on Ukraine.
One industry analyst told Reuters that the temporary shutdown will likely take 1 million tonnes of LNG off the market.
But Harold Doty, who lives on Quintana Island, warned that "there is still no emergency action plan for that plant" despite Wednesday's explosion.
"Originally, the plant said that people on the island should go to the beach and have the Coast Guard pick them up in boats," said Doty. "Freeport LNG really doesn't care about us. This is not the first fire. There are often fire alarms at the plant that I can hear from my house. I can never get any explanation when I call, so I've quit calling."
The explosion came as U.S. LNG exports to Europe are surging as part of the Biden administration's plan to help E.U. nations wean themselves off Russian fossil fuels. According to federal data released this week, U.S. LNG exports averaged 11.5 billion cubic feet per day during the first four months of this year, an 18% jump compared to the 2021 annual average.
While the fossil fuel industry often characterizes LNG as a more climate-friendly alternative to coal and other dirty energy sources that are driving global warming, environmentalists stress that LNG is a major emitter of methane—a greenhouse gas roughly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. LNG = METHANE
"In the United States, natural gas accounts for more than one-third of carbon emissions and almost half of methane emissions," notes Marisa Guerrero of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In a statement Wednesday, Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water in Brazoria County and the Texas Campaign for the Environment said that "the oil and gas industry has been benefiting from an 'export boom' that is sending gas and crude oil overseas in record amounts, but has resulted in leaks, explosions, and wrecked communities back home—from flaring and pollution in the Permian Basin to explosions like the one today on Quintana Island."
"Officials rarely disclose the contents of the tanks that explode, leaving local residents to just have to wonder whether or not they are in danger," the groups continued. "The boom is also jeopardizing global climate agreements, as the window to rein in emissions is closing."
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