For the time in 60 years, the United States in 2017 will likely sell more natural gas to the world than it buys, Bloomberg reports.
Next year, capacity to export liquefied natural gas from the lower 48 states will more than double to 3.2 billion cubic feet per day. So far, all the LNG exports are leaving from the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, which owned by Houston-based Cheniere Energy. The company opened two liquefaction plants in 2016 and plans to add two more next year in Louisiana, making it among the biggest buyers of natural gas in the U.S.
Dominion Resources is also scheduled to start its Cove Point plant in Maryland in 2017. Together these plants will be able to liquefy 3.2 billion cubic feet a day, almost as much gas as New York state used per day in 2015. That extra demand could push up prices in 2017, which would make producers happy. A lot of the U.S. exports will go to Latin America.
Since the first LNG tanker left the Louisiana coast in February, 34 cargoes have departed through early October, with two-thirds of them going to Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.
Colombia will be a new buyer in 2017. The country is on track to begin importing LNG from a new floating regasification vessel by the end of this year. Shipments to Asia are also set to rise as India increases LNG imports amid low prices.
By becoming a net exporter of natural gas next year, the U.S. will take a big step toward achieving its own energy independence. The EIA sees total energy exports being balanced with imports sometime between 2020 and 2030.
