Companies such as Cheniere Energy, the United Arab Emirates’ ADNOC, Japan’s JERA and Australia’s Woodside Energy are planning for the long haul when it comes to an energy transition timeline.

But they’re also investing in a so-called bridge fuel to lower emissions right away—natural gas, executives said during a Sept. 17 panel discussion at Gastech Houston 2024.

Jack Fusco, CEO of Cheniere Energy, the largest producer of LNG in America, said the pace of the energy transition would take longer than expected, but that there were signs the world was starting to input natural gas as part of the energy transition equation.

“There's $1.5 trillion of investment today in natural gas infrastructure, so half of that's already into construction. The other half of it is planned and being permitted,” Fusco said during the panel.

“That to me sends a sign that the world is shifting into combined cycle natural gas power plants, regasification terminals, pipelines, trying to get to a cleaner, more reliable, more sustainable, more dispatchable fuel source and power source for the world,” he said.

Investments are going into natural gas to be used as a bridge fuel from coal, but right now more infrastructure is needed. Fusco said it was taking longer to get permits to build the needed infrastructure the company needs to continue its growth and expand its abilities.

Despite the delays, Fusco said Cheniere was very optimistic about continuing to grow its LNG business.

The demand is there—organizations like the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) continue to forecast increases in energy demand in future decades.

The challenge is for traditional energy providers to decarbonize the current energy system while investing in the new energy system of tomorrow, according to Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC’s  executive director of low carbon solutions & international growth.

Al Kaabi said that between the expected demand growth and pressures to decarbonize, ADNOC still targets net zero emissions by 2045.

“I think the task is challenging but doable. We are doing our part to decarbonize the energy system of today and we're embarking on an aggressive strategy to be part of the future,” Al Kaabi said during the panel.

JERA’s Global CEO, Yukio Kani, said it was necessary to find a common ground with governments on how to introduce renewables and decarbonize fossil fuels.

“If we cannot find a common ground, it's really difficult to build up from there to make a common story to introduce renewables, such as ammo-hydrogen, in the future, or carbon capture and storage,” Kani said.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said it was important for governments and the private sector to work together, but “with a clear understanding that the goal is progress over time, not perfection tomorrow.”

“We need the policy settings, the regulatory framework right [and] the investment appetites. But again, you have to have all three of those things working together to be able to unleash progress in this lower carbon space.” O’Neill said during the panel.

The Biden pause

In January 2024, the Biden administration announced a temporary pause on pending LNG exports permits until the Department of Energy completed an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions impacts when making the authorizations. A federal judge overturned the pause in July.

Discussion around the pause remains topical due to its impacts on the U.S. LNG sector.

Fusco, whose company produces one out of every nine LNG cargoes worldwide, said he hoped “cooler heads [would] prevail at the end of the day,” when asked during the panel if there was risk the Biden pause could become the new Keystone XL pipeline.

“I'm hopeful that at the end of the day that we get to the right conclusions and we can move forward and we can meet the needs of a cleaner energy transition for the world and for energy security for our allies,” Fusco said.

U.S. elections in November are being watched around the world amid the uncertainties that could emerge from a second presidential term for former President Donald Trump or new leadership by Vice President Kamala Harris. Executives in the energy-intense energy sector are keeping watch as they ponder their investments in the long term.

“We're making very long-term investment decisions,” Fusco said. “President [Barack] Obama signed our export license that let Cheniere export. President Trump was our biggest salesman with ‘Freedom Gas.’ [Under] President Biden we've been able to grow our business significantly.”

Under the past three administrations, he said, Cheniere has still been able to provide energy security and jobs in the U.S.

Woodside’s O’Neill echoed Fusco’s comments about the long-term orientation of investment decisions in the energy sector.

“Any individual president or prime minister will be gone before our projects are finished. So, we have to be very long-term in our thinking,” O’Neill said.

Woodside, which agreed to acquire Tellurian Inc. in July and build on its U.S. presence in the LNG space, would be unaffected by the Biden pause, O’Neill said. Tellurian’s export permit was granted before the LNG pause.

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But O’Neill is concerned by what she described as wobbly support for LNG, especially in Australia and the U.S.—two of the world’s largest LNG exporting nations.

“And that causes concern amongst our buyers and the buyer communities who are scratching their head and saying, well look, we've built our economies depending on a product from you. And often these nations are nations that are strategically allied with the U.S. and Australia, and now there's a threat of disruption to the energy supply that's core to their economies,” O’Neill said.

Even if the pause is short-lived, its implications could cause a “long-lasting ripple of concern” for many of the key nations buying LNG, she said.

Still, ADNOC’s Al Kaabi remained positive on the U.S. as an investment destination, citing the U.S.’ strong natural gas industry.

“When you look at the fundamentals of the U.S., the sheer size of the energy landscape or the energy system, it’s massive. The fundamentals are strong policies,” Al Kaabi said. “Of course, you expect some challenges, but I think based on what we've seen historically and based on the strong fundamentals that the energy landscape provides here, that remains attractive for an investor like us.”

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