U.S. LNG could upset Gazprom’s dominance in Europe under Trump’s administration

Following the appointment of Rick Perry, former Texas governor, as the head of the US Department of Energy, U.S. LNG exports could threaten Russia’s position in the European gas market. 

Reuters reports Valery Golubev, Gazprom’s deputy chief executive saying at a conference that the obvious source of rivalry would come from the United States, as it is expected that they will boost the production of natural gas.

A major share of the new production is expected to land in Europe as liquefied natural gas since the U.S. oil and gas industry players called on Trump’s administration and Rick Perry to make natural gas exports a top priority.

So far the LNG exports and the construction of LNG export facilities had to go through a strict permitting process.

Set to take the office on January 20, Donald Trump pledged to cut back on federal regulation in order to promote oil and gas drilling.

Although Gazprom previously dismissed the possibility of U.S. LNG being any competition for its piped gas in Europe since transporting it via the Atlantic Ocean made it unfeasible, Golubev added that new LNG production capacity could impact the European market.

It was also predicted that the United States could take advantage of gas rising gas demand in the Latin America and Asia.

The United States are currently exporting LNG from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass export facility in Louisiana, but it is expected to have four terminals commissioned from 2017 to 2020.

LNG World News Staff