The Wall Street Journal: Natural Gas Glut Pushes Exports

“Energy companies are racing to export natural gas from the U.S. as they search for more-profitable markets amid a continent-wide gas glut that has depressed prices to the lowest levels in a decade. A consortium including Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips Co. and BP PLC said late Wednesday it is moving forward with plans to export natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope in a project that could cost as much as $65 billion. The long-awaited effort is expected to have a significant impact not just on Alaska and its economy, but also on U.S. construction and manufacturing companies that would supply steel and other materials for an 800-mile pipeline and the plant that would convert the gas into liquid for export on tankers. . . . None of the proposed facilities to export gas are a sure bet for energy companies. They face opposition by environmental groups concerned that exporting will result in more gas-drilling. It takes years and costs billions of dollars to build such plants, and they would be competing with other such projects in Australia, Russia and Africa for a growing, but not unlimited, demand for gas around the globe. ‘It’s a race,’ said Majed Limam, a consultant at Poten & Partners, a global energy broker.‘ There will be winners and losers.”