U.S. Natural Gas Prices Fall Over Texas Terminal Repairs That Will Take Months

“It’s significant for both the U.S. market and the global market,” said Lindsay Schneider, a natural gas expert at RBN Energy, a Houston consultancy. “It could mean lower prices here as more gas is available to refill storage inventories, and for global markets it means a loss of supply and potentially stronger prices in Europe and in Asia.”

European countries are expanding their gas import facilities and pipelines, and they are lobbying Qatar, Australia and other exporters to hurry up and ship more gas. But Europe is in competition with Asian countries that look to gas to replace coal, a major pollutant of city air around China and India.

While international markets are tight, the Freeport accident and decline in prices could bolster critics who say gas exports are raising domestic prices, which could go lower permanently if less were exported.

That the closing of one export terminal “is having such a significant impact to prices” should be “alarming to federal policymakers,” said Paul Cicio, president of the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a lobbying group.

Oil and gas companies counter that there is plenty of gas in shale fields around Pennsylvania, Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas for export and domestic use if only regulators would approve the building of more pipelines.

While gasoline prices attract the most headlines, natural gas prices have surged over the last year and reached their highest level since 2008 last May, though they have eased in recent weeks.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/14/business/natural-gas-prices-texas.html