U.S. regulators to inspect shuttered Texas LNG plant in September

Both the FERC and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said they would not allow the facility to return to service until they approve of that restart. The shutdown of Freeport in June caused gas prices in Europe and Asia to jump because it reduced the volume of available exports from the United States at a time when the world is short on natural gas supply.

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will inspect Freeport LNG's shuttered liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas in September, the agency said on Tuesday.

The plant shut on June 8 because of a fire and was expected to remain out of service until late October, according to past statements from Freeport LNG. Both the FERC and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said they would not allow the facility to return to service until they approve of that restart.

The shutdown of Freeport in June caused gas prices in Europe and Asia to jump because it reduced the volume of available exports from the United States at a time when the world is short on natural gas supply. Europe has been buying U.S. LNG heavily due to reduced flows from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 and subsequent sanctions placed on Russia by the United States and its allies.