U.S. Gas Exports Clear Hurdle:
Shipping some of the newly abundant U.S. natural gas overseas would benefit the nation's economy more than keeping it all at home, according to a long-awaited government study that has the potential to reshape the global energy market.
The endorsement could turn the tide in a politically sensitive issue. Gas producers are eager to export more, while big consumers including manufacturers and chemical companies are leery that exports could raise domestic prices. Environmental groups, meanwhile, fear that allowing exports would encourage more natural-gas production.
Gosh that would be terrible, wouldn’t it?
The administration had said the study would be central to its decision on approving exports. It analyzed more than a dozen scenarios for U.S. production and exports of natural gas. It found that "across all these scenarios, the U.S. was projected to gain net economic benefits" from liquefying and then exporting natural gas.
The looming prospect of the U.S.'s becoming a major exporter of natural gas underscores how the energy revolution is transforming the nation's economic prospects. Just a few years ago, many energy companies were planning to build facilities to import liquefied natural gas into the U.S.
The US shale gas boom has changed the global energy game. And that's good news for America and our future energy stability and security.
