Vol. XXII, No. 2 - January 20, 2012
Controversy greets EIA’s US LNG export market impact study
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) knew before Jan. 19 when it released its assessment of how LNG exports will affect U.S. gas prices that the conclusions would be controversial. In December, Deloitte issued a preemptive assessment of its own, which predicted LNG exports would have virtually no effect (1.7 percent) on domestic gas prices. Project developers, like Cheniere Energy, have reached similar conclusions as part of studies for regulatory applications. They note that EIA did not consider the economic benefits of building and operating the export infrastructure.
Since then, President Barack Obama has added heat to the mix by killing the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. "People are pissed," one labor official told the online website, Politico. "The emotions are really, really raw right now. This is a big deal...Full Article