The U.S. Must Lead on Natural Gas Production and Exports

As unlikely as it once seemed, the United States may soon become a net natural gas exporter, if only it does away with outdated regulatory barriers. Largely due to shale gas development, domestic production has increased by about 25 percent since 2006, from 18.5 trillion cubic feet (“tcf”) to 23 tcf in 2011. As a result, domestic prices are far below those overseas. Gas prices in the United Kingdom are more than double those at Henry Hub in Louisiana. In Japan, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) importer, prices are even higher. Such price differentials help explain a wave of permit applications for LNG export terminals filed with federal regulators in Washington, D.C.