Exporting Natural Gas Positive for the United States
From The Advertiser
It is no secret that an oil and gas shale revolution is taking place around the world. Right here in the United States, more than a dozen shale plays are being explored. Companies are drilling for oil and natural gas from South Texas to North Dakota. We have gone from a declining 60-year supply to a 100-year-and-growing supply. However, just six years ago, there were 45 LNG import projects in North America.
Today, the story has changed. The shale revolution has brought about a natural gas supply that is large enough to fulfill the U.S. demand and yet still ship natural gas around the world to the open market. More than a dozen companies have applications that have been submitted to the federal government for liquefied natural gas export facilities. Cheniere Energy, based out of Houston, is the only LNG facility that has been approved by the appropriate federal agencies. Cheniere has a facility that is being converted into an LNG export plant in Cameron Parish to the tune of $11 billion dollars. Four years ago, this same facility was constructed to import natural gas into the United States. Not only is the export plant good for the Louisiana economy, but it is also a win for our country.
The United States has recently surpassed Russia as the top producer of natural gas in the world. However, currently, Russia is the No. 1 exporter of natural gas in the world, followed by Qatar, Norway and Canada. Of the top 10 countries exporting natural gas, the United States does not make the cut.
