An apparently illegitimate tweet claiming “cracked pipes” had been discovered at the Freeport LNG terminal sent methane gas prices tumbling as traders worried the delayed restart of the LNG export facility would lower gas demand. The company told Bloomberg the tweet contained “false information.” U.S. methane gas futures dropped precipitously when the facility, which accounted for about 20% of U.S. exports, exploded in June and the export terminal is set to resume operations soon.

In addition to highlighting the volatile online information landscape caused by the turmoil at Twitter, the incident also highlights how LNG exports are driving up U.S. methane gas prices, which are contributing to higher expected winter home heating costs. A recent report from Climate Action Tracker also found the recent expansion of LNG export and import terminals is “incompatible” with pathways to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F). (Freeport tweet: Bloomberg $, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal $, The Facts; CAT report: E&E $; Twitter: New York Times $, Washington Post $)