Passing Gas

ExxonMobil recently completed an LNG import facility in west Louisiana. The project name was Golden Pass and cost about $1 billion and took three years to construct. The plan was take LNG, warm it up to gasify it and put it into the nation's pipeline network.

But now Golden Pass has applied to become a export facility and build a $10 billion LNG facility on the same site. The plant will liquify and export some 15.6 million tons of LNG per year. That's about 2 billion cubic feet per day. Why would they do this before they have even reached the break even point from their first project, you ask?

The answer is that the US now has an abundance of natural and the oil companies see us becoming an exporter instead of an importer. But, but, but, I though we had an energy crisis? Where did this natural gas come from you may wonder?

In a word - hydraulic fracturing. This technology has unlocked vast reserves of natural gas and has caused the long term planners to re-think their markets. Plus, they can get more dollars for their gas in the overseas market. Here's the story.

Now, ask Obama why he'd rather shut down coal plants instead of using this natural gas to generate electric power.