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Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass LNG terminal near Cameron, La.
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Landmen are once again roaming the hills of the Southern
Tier of New York, hoping to entice landowners to sign leases allowing drillers
to extract natural gas. One of their mantras is that this fuel will provide
domestic energy for US consumers and free us from dependence on foreign oil.
What they don’t say is that for the past couple of years
these same energy companies have been lobbying the federal government for
permits to build LNG export facilities – or modify import facilities so they
can export the gas. So, let’s catch up on the news….
On Tuesday Reuters reported that Cheniere Energy is building a $5.6 billion project in Sabine Pass, Louisiana. The project, expected to be
ready by 2015, is getting a $1 billion boost from China and Singapore.
“New technology,” writes Stephen Aldred, “has opened up
supply of natural gas from previously inaccessible shale fields in the U.S.,
altering the global dynamics of the industry, and turning the country from an
importer to a potential exporter.” He notes that Cheniere has already signed
long-term commercial contracts to supply gas to India and Korea.
Then yesterday, a reporter from South Korea Public
Television called a colleague in Pennsylvania’s GasLand to arrange a tour of PA
gas fields and to speak with residents. “He said the US Chamber of Commerce and
the US State Department went to his country to promote shale gas,” she says. “His
country is considering importing natural gas.......liquified natural gas.......to
meet their energy needs.”
