A coalition of liquefied natural gas export developers and partners advocating for projects in the US state of Louisiana has disbanded after only three years in operation due to market headwinds resulting from weakened demand in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In an email to Louisiana Energy Export Association (LEEA) members, chairman Jason French said the organisation's board had decided in a 13 April meeting to disband and refund dues paid in 2020.

Past members included Venture Global, LNG Ltd's Magnolia LNG, and Driftwood LNG developer Tellurian. French told Upstream there were as many as eight board members representing different projects at one point, but there were five at the time of disbandment. There were also 12 associate members.

French said the developers that made up the organisation's board had decided to focus their time, energy and people to moving their individual projects forward against the backdrop of an uncertain market outlook.

"It's just a fact of market conditions," French, who is also Tellurian's vice president of Government and Public Affairs, told Upstream.

The outlook for project sanctions has dimmed in recent weeks as demand for LNG has plummeted as a result of worldwide lockdowns amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In its first-quarter presentation, US LNG player Cheniere Energy said it had cut its expectations for positive final investment decisions over the next two years in half because of Covid-19.

For its part, the LEEA group was small but powerful. It came together in 2017 to push for changes to the state constitution to expempt projects from taxes while under construction, an effort that proved successful.

French called it the group's "biggest win".

"That change will benefit our projects and all Louisiana industry for generations to come," he said in the email.

LNG

US LNG advocacy group disbands