The much-touted coming boom in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the US may not be quite so spectacular the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) warned on Friday, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Houston-based Cheniere Energy last month marked a milestone with the first shipment of US-produced LNG from its new $11bn Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana.
The shipment, bound for Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras, was hailed as the start of a new wave of US exports to Asia and Europe as the US capitalizes on its huge shale gas resources inland.
It was the first LNG export from a non-Alaskan US port.
But the EIA’s Friday report urges caution, saying the plunge in global oil prices could hamper development of – and markets for – LNG. It mentions falling LNG demand from China, Japan and South Korea as well as competition from new LNG terminals in Australia.
