America's Natural Gas Boom Has Far-Reaching Effects

choi

Clifford Krauss, US Boom in Natural Gas Could Ripple from the Arctic to Africa; Shift may upend power dynamics. New York Times, Oct 18, 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/ ... -world-markets.html

Quote:

"Mexico decided to import as much cheap gas as possible [from US]. Mexico replaced its dirtier burning coal and petroleum products, and now more than a quarter of the country's electricity is powered by American gas.

"Because Mexico has a border close to Texas oil and gas fields, pipelines have made the transformation relatively easy. Exporting and importing liquefied gas is more complicated. Gas is expensive to ship overseas because it must be cooled to minus 260 degrees, condensing it to what is called liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to be shipped in giant tankers. The importing country then has to turn the liquid back into gas so it can be transported by pipelines. But even though liquefied gas is usually more expensive than piped gas or even coal, demand and supplies are growing fast.

"Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy security expert at the Council on Foreign Relations[, said,] 'Russia will be the loser. We can already see their leverage on the gas market in Europe and the leverage they are trying to create over China dissipating.'

US natural gas export is growing fast, although "United States * * * only began exporting large supplies last year, giving Washington a new tool for its foreign policy toolbox and raising the country to the top tier of exporters, which includes Qatar, Australia and Russia.

"Russia has already been forced to lower its gas prices to Europe in an attempt to diminish European thirst for American gas. That effort has * * * made [Russia's] expansion of LNG facilities in the Arctic less economically feasible. [despite the fact that] Russia has gained European market share, in large part because North Sea and Dutch production are declining.

"There are few ways to punish Russia more than reducing its energy [ENERGY; not just natural gas, oil also] revenues, which account for nearly half of the Kremlin's budget and spreads political benefits to President Putin's powerful cronies.

"Only 15 countries imported liquefied gas in 2005. Twelve years later it has more than tripled, with such major economies as Pakistan, Thailand, Jordan, Egypt, Poland and Colombia becoming importers in the last few years. [I will not call these "major."]

"Germany has largely given up on nuclear power, and it needs natural gas [to generate electricity.] * * * Even Saudi Arabia is looking to * * * to import [LNG] gas to replace some of the oil the country burns for power.

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.