Oh snap! There goes more of our domestic–national energy security–fracked natural gas.
State-run Qatar Petroleum International owns 70% of Golden Pass, a company the Energy Department just granted a permit to liquify U.S. domestic fracked gas for export from their terminal in Texas. The other 30% is owned by Exxon Mobil.
We have this so-called “clean energy” that was supposed to supply us with energy security and cheap energy for decades to come. We had no worries other than the staggering environmental and health consequences of this extraction method: water depletion and contamination, air pollution, toxins on our land and ruination of farmland and special places. But it was cheap! Right?
In July that cheap gas averaged $2.96 MBTU in the U.S. while natural gas in Japan brought $18.07 in July.
So our fracked gas is going to Asia because it was never about anything but profit for the fracking mafia. But all the other stuff that comes with the fracked gas,–the staggering environmental and health consequences of this extraction method: water depletion and contamination, air pollution, toxins on our land and ruination of farmland and special places–that stays here in the U.S.
Oh! And the price of our gas will go way up.
Extraction colony r U.S.
I forgot to include the link: Qatar, Exxon venture wins first U.S. LNG export permit
Bloomberg News | Oct 4, 2012 1:22 PM ET
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
One more thing to note, I believe the regualtions or the original mineral rights agreements with mineral rights owners allow the drilling companies to pay the mineral rights owners only the price of natural gas in the US at the time the gas is sold. Therefore, the drilling companies get to keep all of the extra profit rather than pass on the percentage of the royalties to the mineral rights owners. In your example, the drilling companies get to keep the extra $15.11 profit per MBTU sold to Japan and they only have to pay the mineral rights owner his percentage of $2.96 per MBTU. So all of the financial gain promised to mineral rights owners who sign up to have their property ruined by gas drilling companies goes only to those companies rather than any extra profit passed onto royalty owners. As if the environmental devastation wasn’t enough, it’s just insult added to injury.
You are exactly right. US mineral leases will be paid based on local prices not foreign prices and royalty owners will not participate in the additional profit.
This saddens me immensely.
It’s one thing to have Americans suffer,
it’s another thing to ship the exact thing that made us suffer outside of the US!!
I wish that people really knew and understood the consequences of what we are doing.
In the meantime, I will keep praying.
Our gubment at work at all levels! No help for the peasants.
What we need is a good old fashioned dis-incentive EXPORT TAX on this gas export idea!
It would need to be a big one because they are going to make some serious profit from exploiting America’s resources.
Until the price of “international” natural gas drops to less than the cost to liquify & ship it to them, this isn’t going to stop. We have a few years of “enjoying” the net exporter position. Taxes can increase the cost some but the differential is pretty high currently. It won’t last, gas volumes are dropping quickly & more domestic use will also help stop it.
It’s not the drillers making the increment on the market difference, it’s the liquifier/exporter.
Not sure this is what you were looking for?
http://c1wsolutions.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/will-the-us-become-an-lng-exporter/
I know!!! Let’s pay American royalty owners a fair price to start with. Let’s not subsidize the oil and gas industry with super low royalties.