Surging LNG Exports Show US is a Global Natural Gas Superpower | Newgeography.com

Two
decades
ago,
the
accepted
wisdom
in
the
energy
sector
was
that
the
US
was
running
out
of
natural
gas.
In
2005,
Lee
Raymond,
the
famously
combative
CEO
of
Exxon
Mobil,
declared
that
“gas
production
has
peaked
in
North
America.”
Raymond,
who
retired
from
the
oil
giant
in
2006,
said
that
his
company
was
intent
on
building
a
new
pipeline
that
would
bring
Arctic
gas
from
Canada
and
Alaska
south
and
that
more
natural
gas
supplies
would
be
needed
“unless
there’s
some
huge
find
that
nobody
has
any
idea
where
it
would
be.”

It
turned
out
that
huge
finds
were
right
under
our
feet.
Over
the
past
two
decades,
thanks
to
private
ownership
of
mineral
rights,
entrepreneurial
capitalism,
extensive
pipeline
infrastructure,
and
ongoing
technology
improvements
in
drilling
and
hydraulic
fracturing,

US
gas
production
has
more
than
doubled.

The
result
is
a
stunning
turnaround
in
energy
geopolitics.
The
US
has
gone
from
a
natural
gas
weakling
that
would
have
been
heavily
dependent
on

LNG
exporters
like
Russia,
Australia,
Nigeria,
and
Qatar
to
a
global
gas
behemoth.
More
evidence
of
the
turnaround
came
on
Thursday
when
Energy
Secretary
Chris
Wright
and
Interior
Secretary
Doug
Burgum
visited
Louisiana
to
celebrate
the
ongoing
construction
and
expansion
of
Venture
Global’s
Plaquemines
LNG
export
terminal.
Venture
Global
announced
an

$18
billion
expansion
of
the
plant,
making
it
the
largest
LNG
export
facility
in
North
America.

In
a
speech
in
front
of
more
than
1,000
workers,
Wright,

who
pioneered
hydraulic
fracturing,
said
that
15
years
ago,
the
US
was
the
world’s
largest
LNG
importer.
Today,
he
said,
it
“is
the
largest
net
exporter
of
natural
gas
in
the
world
and
growing.”

Last
year,
Doomberg,
everyone’s
favorite
green
chicken
and
Substack
writer,
got
it
right
when
he/she/them/they
wrote
that

“Cheap
natural
gas
is
the
bedrock
of
the
US
economy.
It
explains
much
of
the
country’s
economic
resilience.”

Read
the
rest
of
this
piece
at

Robert
Bryce
Substack.

Robert
Bryce
is
a
Texas-based
author,
journalist,
film
producer,
and
podcaster.
His
articles
have
appeared
in
a
myriad
of
publications
including
the

Wall
Street
Journal,

New
York
Times,

Forbes,

Time,

Austin
Chronicle,
and

Sydney
Morning
Herald.

Photo:
courtesy
Robert
Bryce
Substack

Go to Source
Author: Robert Bryce