ShareUS likely to impose limits on LNG exports
Executives from two major oil firms said they believed the United States government was likely to impose limits on liquefied natural gas exports in order to maintain low domestic natural gas prices.
The prices of natural gas in the US have fallen to 10-year lows, because of a boom in production of gas trapped in shale rock, but Christophe de Margerie, Chief Executive of French oil company Total assumes that the US might use the surplus to keep prices down and limit exports in order to achieve this.
According to an article published on the Brookings Web site in January 2012, in order to be economically feasible, US LNG exports would have to be competitive with respect to those from other global suppliers.
If such a policy is implemented, European prices are likely to remain comparatively high, said de Margerie at the Petrostrategies conference in Paris.
It could also benefit the US industry as it would “offer manufacturers a competitive advantage”, said Mark Williams, downstream director for Royal Dutch Shell.
He added that in such conditions, natural gas could even gain market share in the transport sector.
According to an article published on the Brookings Web site in January 2012, in order to be economically feasible, US LNG exports would have to be competitive with respect to those from other global suppliers.
If such a policy is implemented, European prices are likely to remain comparatively high, said de Margerie at the Petrostrategies conference in Paris.
It could also benefit the US industry as it would “offer manufacturers a competitive advantage”, said Mark Williams, downstream director for Royal Dutch Shell.
He added that in such conditions, natural gas could even gain market share in the transport sector.