(P&GJ) – With U.S. LNG producers bringing new projects online in Texas and Louisiana, U.S. gas demand is expected to hit record levels through at least 2026.
Haynesville’s location in east Texas and northwest Louisiana is ideal for exports from LNG facilities and projects clustered on the nearby Gulf Coast. Additionally, the region’s gas is easy to covert to LNG because it contains fewer impurities.
Both the NG3 (New Generation Gas Gathering) and LEG (Louisiana Energy Gateway) pipelines in the Haynesville region are under active construction and are targeting completion and in-service dates in the second half or end of 2025.
With such a mini-boom underway, Haynesville is undergoing a notable amount of expansion. Among the recent projects under construction or planned.
Momentum Midstream (NG3) – The NG3 pipeline is on track to begin service at the end of 2025, following the resolution of legal disputes with Energy Transfer, which had previously delayed the project from its original 2024 target.
The 1.7 Bcf/d capacity pipeline, expandable to 2.2 Bcf/d will run 275 miles (442 km) from Haynesville to the Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Construction is proceeding, and Chesapeake Energy, the anchor client, has reaffirmed that the project is “back on track” for a fourth quarter in-service date.
LEG Pipeline (Williams) – The LEG pipeline is also under construction and is expected to be in service by the second half of 2025 as well, after getting past legal and regulatory challenges, highlighted a favorable court ruling in August 2024 that allowed construction to continue without further delays from Energy Transfer.
Williams has said the 1.8 Bcf/d LEG will be completed during the second half of 2025.
LEAP Expansions (DT Midstream): Phase 3, with a capacity of 200 MMcf/d, began shipping ahead of schedule last month, with Phase 2 (400 MMcf/d) having begun service in January.
A potential Phase 4 expansion, with a capacity of 200-400 MMcf/d, could begin service in late-2025 or 2026, with further expansions possible up to 4 Bcf/d, according to DT Midstream.
Other important recent projects to the region include:
Enterprise Products Partners’ Acadian Haynesville expansion, which added 400 MMcf/d of capacity.
Gator Express Pipeline project, which consists of two 42-inch pipelines, with 2 Bcf/d capacity each, designed to deliver gas to the Plaquemines LNG export terminal near New Orleans. Phase 1 includes 15-mile and 12-mile segments.
Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s 1.1 Bcf/d Evangeline Pass expansion project, a 36-inch pipeline running 13 miles to the Plaquemines terminal.
The Haynesville will need to deliver 10 Bcf/d of additional capacity over the next eight years to meet LNG and industrial demand, it has been estimated by operators.
Analysts and midstream insiders have been expressing a modestly positive outlook of the second half, based on predicted steady growth and the robust use of assets.
The sector, which is historically conservative, will be weighing the potential high cost of legal challenges to its potential projects. If the changes to the approvals process are not handled carefully it could leave companies vulnerable to court challenges. P&GJ