Private Equity Fuels LNG at the Expense of Communities and the Climate

Private equity firms have significantly enabled the U.S. to become the world's largest LNG exporter, with investment in 86% of operating terminals. The report argues that these investments drive climate change via methane emissions and pose safety risks to frontline communities, citing the 2022 Freeport LNG explosion as an example of operational failure linked to worker fatigue and mismanagement.

• Private equity has been a primary driver of the U.S. LNG export industry, with investment in six of the seven existing operational export terminals, representing 86% of such facilities. These private equity-backed terminals account for approximately 80% of domestic daily export capacity, exporting 8.94 billion cubic feet per day.
• The document asserts that LNG is not a clean energy source because natural gas consists predominantly of methane. Methane is identified as the second largest driver of climate change, being 86 times more damaging than CO2 during its first two decades in the atmosphere and contributing to 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution.
• The June 2022 fire and explosion at the Freeport LNG facility—partly backed by $2.4 billion from IFM Investors—was linked to operational failures and worker fatigue. An independent investigation cited 'operator fatigue as a result of significant overtime needs' as a contributing cause, with 97% of employees reporting considerable overtime and 20% working over 130% of their scheduled hours.
• The expansion of LNG infrastructure is concentrated in the U.S. Gulf Coast, supported by the Permian Basin's extraction. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved 13 additional export terminals for construction over the next five years, which the report claims will more than double the number of facilities and increase impacts on local communities.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2022). Private Equity Fuels LNG at the Expense of Communities and the Climate. https://pestakeholder.org/news/private-equity-fuels-lng-at-the-expense-of-communities-and-the-climate/

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Private Equity Fuels LNG at the Expense of Communities and the Climate. 2022. https://pestakeholder.org/news/private-equity-fuels-lng-at-the-expense-of-communities-and-the-climate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=Private Equity Fuels LNG at the Expense of Communities and the Climate |date=22 November 2022 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/news/private-equity-fuels-lng-at-the-expense-of-communities-and-the-climate/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2022private, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{Private Equity Fuels LNG at the Expense of Communities and the Climate}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/news/private-equity-fuels-lng-at-the-expense-of-communities-and-the-climate/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }