Study Suggests U.S. Better Off Using Natural Gas, Not Exporting
From Yahoo News
By Susan Graybeal
The America’s Energy Advantage organization called on the Department of Energy to pay close attention to a new study that suggests that the United States would be better off using its natural gas for manufacturing than it would be if it exports liquefied natural gas to other countries. Here are the details.
* The study was completed by Charles River Associates for Dow Chemical Company for the purpose of assessing the impacts of liquefied natural gas exports on the US economy.
* According to the study, a natural gas renaissance in the United States is being driven by favorable natural gas prices. “Since 2010, there have been announcements of more than 95 major capital investments in the gas-intensive manufacturing sector representing more than $90 billion in new spending and hundreds of thousands of new jobs all related to our domestic natural gas price advantage,” the study stated.
* The study found that using natural gas to continue to further manufacturing created more jobs than exporting it did — 180,000 annual jobs to 22,000 annual jobs.
* The jobs provided by manufacturing would be evenly spread across the nation rather than concentrated in a few coastal states, the study found.
* The trade benefit of manufacturing would also be higher than exporting, the study found, with manufacturing creating a $52 billion trade benefit through both increased exports and decreased imports, while the trade benefit of liquefied natural gas exports is estimated to be about $18 billion with gas at a price of two times what it currently is.
* Further, America’s Energy Advantage stated, domestic natural gas prices could triple under a high export scenario, which could place the current surge in U.S. manufacturing opportunities in jeopardy.
* The Department of Energy recently ended a public comment period on its own commissioned study and is considering 15 applications from companies which wish to export liquefied natural gas.
* According to the department, federal law requires approval of natural gas exports to countries which have a free trade agreement with the U.S. However, the Department of Energy can also authorize applications to export with countries which don’t have a free trade agreement if it is consistent with the public interest.
* America’s Energy Advantage reported that a number of other organizations, including the American Public Gas Association, are concerned about the exporting of liquefied natural gas.
* “We are concerned about the increased price of gas caused by unchecked LNG exports that would elevate consumers’ energy bills,” stated American Public Gas Association CEO Bert Kalisch.
