Natural Gas: A group of US senators opposes exports to Europe
US exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) serve as a mechanism to help keep lights on and homes heated in Europe this windless winter, but this aid could be jeopardized by the US. A group of Democratic senators sends a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm urging her and Biden administration to take action to limit US LNG exports.
In their letter , these 10 senators “… urge the Department to conduct a review of LNG exports and their impact on domestic prices and public interest, and develop a plan to ensure that natural gas remains affordable for American households. Until such a plan is completed, the Department should consider stopping permits approvals for US LNG export facilities . "
This protectionist approach could have very heavy economic and strategic repercussions:
- first of all Europe is in desperate need of US LNG this winter and probably beyond, as wind is increasingly proving to be a disappointment. Among other things, the European energy crisis is also linked to the strategic position of the USA towards Russia.
- The second is the fact that, despite record levels of LNG exports in recent months, US natural gas production continues to enjoy a constant surplus over domestic demand. The price in the US, currently around $ 4.80 per Mmbtu at the Henry Hub, is unrelated to international prices for natural gas, which is currently sold 6 to 7 times the US price in Europe. US companies would lose significant cash flows.
The proven US resource of natural gas equals hundreds of years of current consumption. therefore there is no danger to US stocks even supplying the EU in a marginal way. Among other things, as we have said, the crisis was caused by the wrong energy and strategic policies adopted by governments that share the general vision of energy of Granholm, Biden and the democratic senators.
Here is a list of the senators who signed this letter: Jack Reed (D-RI), Angus King (D-ME), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) , Tina Smith (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
These are senators who come from Minnesota or New England, very “Dem” states and whose wealth does not derive from US exports of Liquefied Natural Gas, obviously they don't care about this factor at all. Indeed, if there was an excess of domestic gas, their constituents could benefit from it, but this to the detriment of producers, who would not have the funds to invest, as well as for Europeans. A short-sighted view common in modern politics.
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The article Natural Gas: a group of US senators opposes exports to Europe comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/gas-naturale-un-gruppo-di-senatori-usa-si-oppone-alle-esportazioni-in-europa/ on Mon, 07 Feb 2022 11:00:14 +0000.