$370 Million Payout
Key takeaways
- Liquefied natural gas vessels are fueled by their cargo—they’re built specifically to make use of the gas boiling off from their tanks.
- But Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. exporter of LNG, requested “alternative fuel” tax credits for that.
- Yet the Internal Revenue Service approved a $370 million payout to the company, a huge windfall that Phil and Peter predicted in an exclusive investigation earlier this year.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
By Phil Mc Kenna, Peter Aldhous May 10, 2026 Share This Video Republish Past Episodes Mining the Metal of the Future America’s Dirty Secret Memoir, Fiction and the Natural World Share This Video Republish Most Popular California’s Battery Array Is as Powerful as 12 Nuclear Power Plants. Here’s What’s on the Horizon. As a Colorado Aquifer Runs Low, Dangerous Heavy Metals Threaten Rural Communities’ Drinking Water A New Enbridge Pipeline Spurs Opposition in Central North Carolina ICN Sunday Morning Newsletter Go behind the scenes with executive editor Vernon Loeb and ICN reporters as they discuss one of the week’s top stories.
Liquefied natural gas vessels are fueled by their cargo—they’re built specifically to make use of the gas boiling off from their tanks.
But Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. exporter of LNG, requested “alternative fuel” tax credits for that. The claim baffled shipping experts, because what Cheniere Energy is doing isn’t, in any real sense, an alternative. It also provides little climate benefit over fueling the vessels with diesel and uses the credit in a way that tax specialists say was never intended.