Sunday, December 14, 2014

The politics of natural gas... W T & G Letter the the editor

The politics of natural gas

Massachusetts has two deep-water liquid natural gas (LNG) import facilities connected to shore by pipeline. A billion dollar investment, six years old, no longer used. They are capable of, but have not yet exported LNG.

With the strong rise in U.S. domestic production, there is now a major trend to develop LNG export facilities in the U.S., in many cases reversing the flow of existing import facilities. Numerous companies have filed with the federal government for export licenses; said government is projecting that we will become a net exporter of LNG by 2016.

The new line, at 36 inches, would triple the amount of natural gas to the region. Why would a company spend $5 billion on tripling the gas supply if it weren't intending to export it?

Who NEEDS natural gas? Europe — starved by Russia, which has recently cancelled major gas pipeline expansion. And Lithuania has just opened an import terminal for LNG to relieve its 100 percent dependence on Russia. Most European nations use more gas than they produce.

Electric rates are reported to be going up 37 percent, so the promise of savings due to lower prices caused by more gas sounds more like a shell game than a payback. If the gas companies can get a higher rate in Europe, why would they lower the rates here?

So, however the inevitable is financed or routed; the export of LNG from Massachusetts to Europe will occur, it's political.

CHRISTOPHER GAGNON

Ashburnham
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2 comments:

  1. When big money is on the line can the Inquisition be far behind? With the Bakken OIl fields in the mid-west and fracked gas in between the Dakotas and the Atlantic suddenly America has an abundance of energy products. It seems to me these big corporations will do anything to get what they want, torture, no problem. The number three man in Al Qaeda Abu Zebaydah who was tortured for his evidence turns out not to be Al Qaeda at all. Much of Zayn's testimony which was false was used for the 9/11 Commission Report. Much of The 9/11 Commission Report was based on torture evidence. Here is Abu Zebaydah's story. Torture

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  2. We can see trickle down big oil at work today at the gas pump. The price of crude oil per unit has drop in half and a trickle has come to the pump. Where is the investigation on the prices now? Why do we get the stinky end of the stick and our government allows it. May be the big interests the lobby people have as Pete tells us they own them and in turn us!
    We should have gas prices at a much lower amount than we now see.

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