[Graeme]

Canada And The US Are Competing Over Huge Gas Projects

Canada and the U.S. are competing for huge gas projects that would involve investment in much-needed infrastructure to help export the energy resource.

Giant energy companies are proposing a half trillion dollars in projects to export newfound North American natural gas from either Western Canada or the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Producers of natural gas are scrambling to profit from the gas boom in Canada and the U.S. by sending the cheap gas to Asia, where demand and prices are high. While some are looking toward Canada for its industry-friendly attitude and closeness to Asian markets, others are betting on the developed infrastructure in the U.S., which they think will outweigh any political uncertainty over large-scale exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG.

For natural gas to be exported, it has to first be converted into a liquid state by going through liquefaction terminals and then loaded onto tankers.

ibtimes

[Graeme]

U.S. approves natural gas exports from third terminal

The Obama administration on Wednesday approved natural gas exports from a third U.S. facility, the second permit issued in about three months, triggering debate over whether the review of a long backlog of export applications is picking up steam.

The export terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was given a conditional license from the Department of Energy to ship liquefied natural gas to all countries. The terminal is backed by BG Group Plc and Energy Transfer Partners LP's Southern Union Co.

The department's order gives the Lake Charles terminal permission to export up to 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day for 20 years. The approval is contingent upon the Lake Charles terminal receiving a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for construction of the facility.

The decision came nearly three months after Freeport LNG's Quintana Island, Texas, terminal got the go-ahead. This exceeded the eight-week wait that an Energy Department official recently suggested might be necessary between each of the nearly two dozen pending applications. But it still may set the stage for a more predictable review process going forward.

reuters

[Keith_McClary]

...2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day...

=3% of US production?

[ROCKMAN]

Keith – “Exported LNG” has become another lightning rod like “frac’ng” and “Keystone Pipeline”: they distract folks from the big picture. From Seeking Alpha regarding just plain ole non-liquefied NG:

Mexican demand for U.S. gas exports has surged by 92% over the last 5 years. And with proposed new export projects slated to take up to 10% of U.S. production, Mexico could be the surprise driver of marginal demand and gas prices. But first, where exactly will supply for growing Mexican exports - up to 7 Bcf/d based on current projections - come from?

The answer, in short, is the Eagle Ford.