US NATGAS: USGC LNG Projects Face Pipeline and Vessel Congestion Restraints

Natgas pipeline infrastructure and LNG carrier vessel congestion are emerging as operational constraints for new and expanding USGC LNG export terminals, with a K&L Gates associate flagging the issue at the Breakbulk conference in Houston, reported Kpler * The takeaway is that the US LNG buildout story is increasingly not just about terminal capacity or offtake contracts. Pipeline feedgas access and waterway access are becoming binding constraints that could delay or cap actual export volumes, adding execution risk to projects that look fully subscribed on paper. * The pipeline bottleneck is significant enough that Energy Transfer suspended development of its Lake Charles LNG project in December 2025, citing a backlog of natural gas pipeline projects, and developers are racing to advance pipeline work now while the current administration is seen as more permitting-friendly than a potential future one. * Vessel congestion is an additional and underappreciated constraint, particularly on the Calcasieu Ship Channel, which serves Venture Global's 11.3 MTPA Calcasieu Pass, its planned 22.5 MTPA CP2, and Caturus' planned Commonwealth project, and on the Sabine River channel, which serves