Energy secretary lays out challenges to greater LNG use in US
Washington (Platts)--16Jun2005
US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman on Thursday outlined a series of steps the US should take to leverage liquefied natural gas imports as a means of easing a domestic supply-demand imbalance and "creating more stable energy environments in other parts of the world." In a speech to a Washington LNG conference, Bodman said the US must overcome a number of obstacles to aid the development of a global gas market. The US government and industry, he said, should address the fact that US gas-fired power plants cannot use the "higher heating value" gas produced in many exporting countries; encourage development of a "workable spot market price mechanism" for LNG, as opposed to the long-term contracts by which gas imports have traditionally been sold, and develop a tanker fleet capable of moving more LNG to the US. Noting that the world's proven reserves stand at more than 6 quadrillion cubic feet, Bodman said "enough natural gas exists to meet the world's needs comfortably well into this century. The challenge is to get it to the places whose growing economies need it." This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com
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