LNG needed in US as 'cushion' against gas prices: DOE official
platts.com
Washington (Platts)--21Jan2004
The US needs a significant amount of liquefied natural gas as a "cushion" against higher gas prices in the short-term, and the Bush administration believes LNG can be imported for less than $4/MMBtu, a senior Energy Department official said Wednesday. Under Secretary of Energy Robert Card said LNG would help stem the rise of gas prices in the US, which are now high at around $6/MMBtu and could damage the economy. "This is big deal in our system. The economy is not set up to deal" with current natural gas prices, Card said in a speech to Resources for the Future, a think tank. He noted high prices especially hurt chemical companies who use gas as a feedstock.
There are some drawbacks to LNG for the US, Card said, including a major Alaska gas pipeline desired by many policy-makers that would have to compete with LNG. "That's going to be hard to do," he said. In addition, importing more LNG to the US is a security risk because it would make the heating and electricity sectors dependent on foreign supplies. |
