Mercuria Builds in USA Gas With Louisiana Storage Investment

Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. has invested in Black Bayou Energy Hub LLC — an early-stage gas storage facility in Louisiana — as the Geneva-based commodity trading house looks to build on its position in the gas industry.

The investment in an undisclosed capacity of gas storage in Louisiana comes as the next wave of liquefied natural gas export facilities comes online from the US, which was the largest super-chilled fuel exporter in 2023. Five new LNG projects or expansions are currently underway in Texas and Louisiana, with more planned.

Mercuria has brought in a team of industry veterans in the past year and a half to grow its already large natural gas and power businesses and to start trading physical LNG. Nick O’Kane, who helped build Macquarie’s commodities division into a major player in natural gas, particularly in the US, started last month at the firm. Mercuria has also brought in dealmaker Robert Lawson from BP Plc and Shell’s Steve Hill to lead LNG.

Mercuria has been making a series of investments in gas and renewables after notching more than $4 billion in profits over the past three years. It made a $200 million private placement into renewables venture MN8 Energy LLC, bought UK biofuel retailer Roadgas and became the largest shareholder in North Sea gas producer Serica Energy.

The proposed facility calls for using an underground, naturally-forming salt cavern that then would be technically equipped to store natural gas, a process employed by other existing natural gas storage facilities in the US Gulf. 

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