Texas Set To Rake In From LNG Export Boom

Texas energy regulators believe that the state is poised to capitalize on the nation's potential to export liquefied natural gas.

Christi Craddick, who chairs the Railroad Commission of Texas — and therefore oversees its energy industry — recently told a conference in Houston that LNG exports could cement the U.S. as a global energy superpower, according to UPI.

"The export of natural gas represents one of the most promising economic opportunities of the new American shale boom," Craddick said at the event.

Domestic natural gas production declined in 2016 for the first time in more than a decade, but analysts expect output to increase once again this year.

A special permit is required to export natural gas unless the U.S. and the recipient nation entered into a free trade agreement, and the current administration's aversion to broad trade pacts could make those exports more complicated.

But the Trump administration earlier this year authorized China to receive LNG from the U.S., and Poland signed a contract to receive U.S. LNG in April. Some hope that the U.S. could diversify the global natural gas market and, in particular, provide an alternative to Russian natural gas in Eastern Europe.

Federal energy officials suggested that additional export opportunities would improve commodity prices, and Craddick said the energy sector is racing to establish the infrastructure needed to take advantage of those trends.

"The industry has been working as quickly as possible to transition LNG import terminals to export terminals," she told the conference.