U.S. is Exporting “Molecules of U.S. Freedom” via LNG After All
Remember back in May 2019 (the good old days, prior to hyperinflation, gasoline prices through the roof, electric and natgas prices through the roof) when Rick Perry (an actual, thinking adult) was Secretary of Energy and he and others at DOE referred to LNG exports as “molecules of U.S. freedom”? The Democrat media (i.e. mainstream media) went berserk. The arrogant “reporters” at the New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, NBC, CBS, ABC, et al ad nauseum pilloried and guffawed and maligned and ridiculed Perry and DOE for referring to U.S. LNG exports as “freedom gas” and “molecules of freedom” (here’s just one example from the NYT). It turns out Perry and the DOE were right–according to a veteran natural gas trader with decades of experience…
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Comrade Joe Biden has painted himself into a corner. As Biden entered office, the United States of America was, after more than 50 years, energy independent. Upon seizing power, Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada and illegally banned federal oil and gas leasing. Now we have an oil and gas shortage and Biden is begging OPEC+ to increase production. What a dunce. This is how inept socialists are. So what can Biden do to get himself out of the corner he’s painted himself (and us) into?
Although the U.S. is a big and getting bigger exporter of natural gas, it’s not the biggest exporter of natgas in the world. The distinction of being the biggest exporter of natgas in the world goes to Qatar. Saad al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Energy Minister and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said yesterday natural gas prices have reached “unhealthy levels” for both producers and consumers. Asia’s spot LNG prices soared by 40% on Wednesday as a cargo for delivery into North Asia in November was priced as much as $56/MMBtu–a record high that beat the previous record from last week of $34.52/MMBtu.
Prices for natural gas along the U.S. Gulf Coast may not, on the surface, have much to do with the Marcellus/Utica–but they do. The price gas is selling for along the Gulf Coast is important because M-U molecules flow to that region to feed petrochemical plants and (more importantly) LNG export facilities. S&P is reporting even though there’s been a big storage build along the Gulf Coast for natural gas, prices remain extremely high in the region. Why? LNG exports…
Yesterday we brought you the good news that two new LNG export facilities will, in all likelihood, begin full-scale operations by the end of this year (see 
The weather turning a bit cooler along with a three-week planned maintenance outage at the Cove Point LNG plant in Maryland is causing the spot price for natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica to fall precipitously. Of course the price recently, over the past few weeks, rose precipitously–so a sudden fall is not all that unusual. How much has the price fallen and how far will it go down?
While natural gas prices have always floated up and down, lately we’ve seen a rapid run-up in the NYMEX futures price that hit a seven-year high last week (see 
Here we go again. Although we understand self-interest and wanting to protect one’s profit margin, we continue to be distressed that some of the biggest chemical companies in the world (meaning in the U.S.) are actively trying to block LNG exports. Why? They want the natural gas they buy (in very large quantities) to be as cheap as possible. In April 2017, Big Chemical–companies like Dow Corning, BASF, Eastman Chemical and others–via their trade association Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA), launched an effort to try and persuade Energy Secretary Rick Perry and the Trump Administration to create barriers to exports of natural gas (see 
It’s that time of year again–for annual maintenance at the Cove Point LNG export plant, located on the shoreline of Maryland. The plant, built by Dominion Energy, is now controlled and operated by Berkshire Hathaway following Warren Buffett’s purchase of Dominion’s extensive pipeline network last year (see 
Although Germany and Europe are far behind the U.S. in many ways, they are ahead of us in one way: LNG by rail. Three European LNG (liquefied natural gas) companies combined to successfully test an LNG delivery by railcar to a German power plant in Bavaria owned by utility company Uniper. The LNG was shipped some 500 miles (800 kilometers) without any problems. The specialized tank cars, if widely adopted in Europe, will no doubt make their way across the planet, including here in the U.S. LNG by rail is an important alternative to pipelines, especially in the U.S.
Here’s a paradox for you that we can’t explain. Last week we reported the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) predicts natural gas production in the U.S. will hit an all-time high in 2022 (see