Natural gas exports ignite feud

U.S. officials will soon weigh in on a fight between companies wanting to export some of America’s fast-growing supply of natural gas and big manufacturers opposing the exports because they rely on cheap domestic gas. In the next few weeks, Washington, D.C.’s number-crunchers are set to estimate whether exports would cause U.S. prices to swell—a finding they will use in deciding the fate of more than a half-dozen projects across the nation. The battle, which pits manufacturers such as Dow Chemical Co. against energy producers like ConocoPhillips, shows how the boom in U.S. fossil-fuel production is upending markets and forcing policy makers into decisions they didn’t imagine facing just a few years ago. Once seen as a likely significant importer of natural gas—before the boom in domestic shale-gas production provided enough to meet demand—the U.S. is now emerging as a potential supplier of the fuel to nations overseas thanks to the newly tapped sources in shale. Companies are setting their sights on markets in Europe and Asia where natural gas fetches three to four times the price in the U.S. To send natural gas across the oceans, companies must supercool the fuel to minus-260 degrees and convert it to liquid form so it can be loaded onto tankers. Building massive coastal facilities to make liquefied natural gas requires multiple permits from Washington. The Energy Department is looking at whether exports will drain U.S. supplies and inflate domestic prices. The Energy Information Administration, part of the department, is expected to deliver its analysis in a few weeks. Read the full story at the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association website here.