May 21, 2013 06:13 PM UTC

Nat Gas...Outta Here!

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• by: Duke Cox

I caught a piece on NPR just recently by reporter Jackie Northram. She tells the story of a $15 billion expansion project at the Sabine Pass natural gas terminal.

Phase one of the expansion will enable the facility to export (emphasis mine) U.S. natural gas worldwide. 5 LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) storage tanks, each containing 160,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas are nearing completion.

The terminal was built at a time when it was widely believed there would be a deficit of natural gas here in the U.S.  Charif Souki, the CEO of Cheniere Energy, says back then it was believed Sabine Pass would be busy and profitable for many years.

During the gas boom, many believed that America would benefit from the enormous reserves of natural gas being unlocked. Some foresaw a future with gas powered cars taking us back and forth to work. The industry would survive nicely and big money would be made. America would be energy independent and T Boone Pickens would be stylin'… he convinced a bunch of investors that the price of methane would be resilient. That hasn't happened.

The Big Five Oil companies don't really focus on the U.S., however. They have bigger fish to fry..and a much more lucrative market "out there".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/30/shell-gazprom-global-cooperation-pact

 Ay Caruso, an energy specialist with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the decision was met with a huge amount of skepticism. He says at the time natural gas prices were still high in the U.S. and it was hard to see how the costly process of liquefying and shipping the gas could actually turn a profit.

GUY CARUSO: In fact, when he first mentioned that idea, some of us were wondering how he could possibly think it would work. And now he's considered to be, you know, prescient and, you know, with a great vision. And…

Federal permission has been given to sell American natural gas to the Dominican Republic, Columbia, potentially Brazil, Chile, Uruguay.  The next step geographically would be to go to Europe…home of both Royal Dutch/Shell AND Gazprom…neat.

 The first tanker of LNG is expected to ship out of the Sabine Pass terminal in late 2015 or early 2016; it will mark the U.S. entry into the export market for natural gas – which until now has been dominated by countries such as Qatar and Russia.

I hope all the "Drill, Baby, Drill", patriots are ready to pay a LOT more to heat their gunsheds. America is being "fracked" to pieces in order to line the pockets of people like Rex Tillerson, Peter Voser, et al. A few jobs?…sure…a few trillion gallons of poisoned water? Count on it…

More lies from the "Lady in the Black Pantsuit"?

I wouldn't be surprised.