QatarEnergy Eyes Up to 3 Million Tons a Year From Louisiana LNG as Global Gas Market Tightens

CALCASIEU PARISH, La. — One of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas suppliers is in talks to buy a major block of future production from Woodside Energy’s Louisiana LNG project, a potential deal that would strengthen the commercial foundation of the multibillion-dollar export terminal now under construction near Lake Charles.

QatarEnergy is negotiating to purchase as much as 3 million metric tons of LNG annually from the project, according to Reuters, which cited people familiar with the discussions. A potential agreement could run for 15 to 20 years.

Neither QatarEnergy nor Woodside has announced a final contract, and Woodside declined to comment on market speculation. The negotiations therefore should not be treated as a completed sale. But the scale of the talks is significant for a project designed to produce 16.5 million metric tons of LNG annually in its initial development.

Louisiana LNG, formerly known as Driftwood LNG, is being built on the Calcasieu River south of Lake Charles. Woodside acquired Tellurian in 2024 and later moved the project into construction, positioning it as one of the largest new LNG developments on the Gulf Coast.

A 3-million-ton annual commitment would represent roughly 18 percent of the project's planned initial production capacity. Long-term sales contracts are closely watched in the LNG industry because they can provide predictable revenue and help support financing for capital-intensive export facilities.

The negotiations are occurring against an unusual global backdrop. Disruptions affecting Middle East gas and shipping have tightened LNG supplies and pushed buyers to seek additional U.S. cargoes. Qatar, normally one of the world’s dominant LNG exporters, has itself been buying American LNG to help meet customer commitments.

That shift illustrates why Louisiana’s LNG buildout has implications far beyond the Gulf Coast. Export terminals in Cameron, Calcasieu and Plaquemines parishes increasingly function as part of the global energy-security system, capable of redirecting U.S. natural gas toward Europe, Asia and other markets when supplies elsewhere are disrupted.

QatarEnergy already has long-term exposure to U.S. LNG. Reuters reports that the company has a 4-million-ton-per-year supply agreement with Cheniere Energy divided between Cheniere’s Louisiana and Texas facilities and is also in advanced discussions for additional supply from Venture Global.

For Woodside, landing another large buyer would help address a central commercial challenge: converting the Louisiana project’s enormous future production capacity into contracted sales. The company has continued pursuing customers and partners as construction advances.

The pricing structure is also part of the negotiations. Reuters reported that Louisiana LNG has been seeking liquefaction fees above $2.50 per million British thermal units while offering buyers flexibility that can command a premium. Exact commercial terms remain confidential and could change before any agreement is signed.

The story for Louisiana is therefore not that Qatar has committed to buying the gas. It has not — at least not publicly. The development is that one of the most experienced LNG companies in the world is negotiating for a substantial long-term share of output from a Louisiana terminal already under construction.

If a deal is completed, it would add another international customer to Louisiana’s growing LNG network and further connect southwest Louisiana’s industrial economy to energy markets thousands of miles away.

Sources

Reuters — QatarEnergy in talks for Louisiana LNG supply, Oct. 23, 2026

Woodside Energy — Louisiana LNG project information

The Narrative Cracks: Anti-Carbon Capture Groups Deny Soros Ties as Funding Tells a Different Story

Over the past several years, a network of environmental groups working in Louisiana has helped drive opposition to oil and gas development, industrial expansion, and carbon capture projects across the state.

Many of those same groups are connected, directly or indirectly, to a national funding pipeline backed by George Soros and his affiliated organizations.

At the same time, activists at the center of Louisiana’s anti-carbon capture campaigns have repeatedly denied any connection to that network, dismissing such claims as false or misleading.

But a closer look at publicly available data tells a more complicated story.

Since 2019, Soros and his affiliated donor network, including the Open Society Foundations and the Tides Foundation, have directed at least $18.5 million into environmental organizations operating in Louisiana. These funds have supported a range of advocacy efforts aimed at opposing energy development in the state, including the expansion of carbon capture infrastructure.

While activists often point to the absence of direct checks from Soros himself, that framing ignores how modern advocacy networks operate. Funding rarely moves in a straight line. Instead, it flows through interconnected national and regional organizations that provide resources, staffing, legal support, and strategic coordination to local groups.

In Louisiana, that network is extensive.

Organizations such as Step Up Louisiana and Rise St. James have received funding tied to these national pipelines, either directly or through fiscal sponsors aligned with the same donor ecosystem. At the same time, national groups with an established presence in Louisiana, like the Sierra Club and Earthjustice, have collectively taken in more than $14 million from those same sources since 2019.

These organizations are not passive participants. They play a central role in shaping the anti-carbon capture campaign—bringing legal challenges, organizing opposition, and amplifying messaging across the state. In some cases, national groups have directly coordinated with Louisiana-based activists on efforts to block energy projects, further blurring the line between local advocacy and national strategy.

Taken together, the pattern is difficult to ignore.

What is presented publicly as a decentralized, grassroots resistance begins to look more like a coordinated campaign supported by a well-funded network with national reach. That distinction matters—not just for the sake of transparency, but for understanding what is truly driving the debate over carbon capture in Louisiana.

The stakes are significant. As global markets and domestic policy increasingly prioritize lower-carbon production, carbon capture is emerging as a key factor in determining where industrial investment flows. For a state like Louisiana, whose economy is deeply tied to energy, manufacturing, and exports, the ability to deploy that technology could shape its economic trajectory for decades.

Opposition groups are entitled to challenge those projects. But the argument changes when the movement is framed as purely local while drawing support from millions of dollars in national funding tied to George Soros and his broader network.

Sierra Club Quietly Teams With ‘Conservative’ Groups to Block Louisiana Energy Projects

President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have made increased energy production a top priority, arguing it lowers prices for consumers and creates jobs for skilled workers.

Environmental activists like the Sierra Club disagree. They oppose new oil and gas production, LNG export terminals, pipelines, and virtually any other form of fossil fuel energy infrastructure.

In the lead-up to Louisiana’s 2026 state legislative session, which kicks off next month, the Sierra Club is leading a highly coordinated legal and advocacy campaign targeting LNG terminal development, pipelines and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects, which have expanded in recent years to support the state’s growing manufacturing sector.

Read more: Sierra Club Quietly Teams With ‘Conservative’ Groups to Block Louisiana Energy Projects