Liquified natural gas surge could delay domestic projects

[primroselane]

As many as seven massive natural gas export terminals are expected to start up overseas this year, expanding worldwide capacity by 20 percent and flooding markets with new supplies of the key power plant and heating fuel. Dozens of new tankers capable of carrying natural gas in a liquefied form are slated to hit the seas.

Just as these new supplies come on line, worldwide demand is expected to drop as the global recession deepens.

Operators of these new facilities are unlikely to cut back production, however, so shipments of liquefied natural gas will most likely head to the deepest markets with the greatest amount of natural gas storage capacity — the United States.

The wave of imports might even be strong enough to challenge growing domestic natural gas production from various shale formations, including the Barnett Shale near Fort Worth and Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6239863.html

[rambler]

Most forms of N ferilizer come from ng. We are coming off of record fertilizer prices.

Will make the ups & downs of farming even more so if this ends up being true. We are always buying fert, chemicals, seed, etc, so we can put a crop in the ground the following year, sow e can harvest it the following fall, so we can sell it the following winter. Trying to guess the buying & selling prices of our stuff has become quite the high-stakes game.

--->Paul

[Michael Kawalek]

Operators of these new facilities are unlikely to cut back production, however, so shipments of liquefied natural gas will most likely head to the deepest markets with the greatest amount of natural gas storage capacity — the United States.

Not necessarily, because the liquified gas needs a dedicated regassing terminal to safely convert the fuel back to gas. These regassification terminals are few and far between, so the US won't be able to absorb the extra gas just because it's available.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I'm really working on not worrying about this. Hubby works in the oilfield, at least till this week. Dunno about next. Rigs are getting stacked left and right.

[primroselane]

Originally Posted by Michael Kawalek

Operators of these new facilities are unlikely to cut back production, however, so shipments of liquefied natural gas will most likely head to the deepest markets with the greatest amount of natural gas storage capacity — the United States.

Not necessarily, because the liquified gas needs a dedicated regassing terminal to safely convert the fuel back to gas. These regassification terminals are few and far between, so the US won't be able to absorb the extra gas just because it's available.

"Natural gas turns into liquid at minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit. In that condensed form, it can be transported in specially designed oceangoing tankers. When the tankers reach a gasification terminal, the liquid is heated back into gas for transport by pipeline.

2007 was a record year for LNG imports into the U.S., with some 770 billion cubic feet arriving through five terminals.

Three terminals came on line in 2008, including Houston-based Cheniere Energy’s terminal on the Louisiana side of the Sabine Pass south of Port Arthur and Freeport LNG’s terminal on Quintana Island south of Houston. The third, owned by The Woodlands-based Excelerate Energy, is near Boston"

[Alice In TX/MO]

Did they come online before or after the hurricane? Are they still functioning?