The United States could be the 3rd-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world by the end of the decade, a short-term federal report found on August 9, 2017.
Thanks in large part to shale operations, the U.S: in 2009 passed Russia to become the largest natural gas producer in the world.
Most of the transport, however, is contained within North America.
In 2016, the last full year for which the U.S. government reported data, natural gas made up about 34 % of total domestic electricity generation, followed by coal with 30 %.
Renewable energy that year accounted for about 15 % of the total mix, though renewable energy momentum has since accelerated.
There's only one facility in the U.S. with the necessary permits to export gas in the super-cooled liquid form.
The company that runs it, Cheniere Energy, made a European debut in June when it shipped LNG to Polish PGNiG.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expects LNG exports to increase as more capacity comes online.
5 new projects will be in service within the next 3 years and expand the U.S. capacity to process LNG from 1.4 billion cubic feet per day as of last year to 9.5 billion cubic feet per day by the end of 2019.
«Based on construction plans, EIA expects that by 2020 the U.S. will have the 3rd-largest LNG export capacity in the world after Australia and Qatar,» the report read.
Export capacity and real export volumes depend, however, on a variety of factors.
The EIA report said actual utilization of LNG from the U.S. depends on the rate of LNG demand growth and competition from other suppliers.
European leaders have said LNG sourced from U.S. shale basins could present a source of diversity with the right infrastructure in place.
With U.S. President Trump stepping away from the free-trade deals that would facilitate LNG exports, the U.S. prospects face further headwinds.
Without mentioning the U.S. in particular, Cecilia Malmstrom, the trade commissioner for the EU, said «the scourge of protectionism» may create issues for multilateral trade.
The head of German Wintershall, a partner with Russia, said after Trump signed off on new Kremlin sanctions the U.S. should avoid playing «geopolitical football» with the European energy sector.
Asian economies, meanwhile, are taking on more LNG as their demands increase.
The Korea Gas Corp. commenced a 20-year sales and purchase agreement with Cheniere Energy Inc. in June and in May, the Commerce Department made a decision to allow China, which doesn't have a free-trade agreement with the U.S., to receive LNG.
Author: Daniel J. Graeber