North America is witnessing a fresh surge of natural gas production, which is encouraging investors to pump money into the industry, says a new report by natural resources expert GlobalData.
The report states that the increase in shale gas drilling has made the US less dependent on LNG imports, and the region now plans to export some of its own natural gas production.
The US has witnessed a huge increase in shale gas production, and consequently, the price of natural gas in the country has decreased, in turn attracting even more investors and LNG consumers.
Significant commercial production of shale gas is being attained by the Barnett shale play in East Texas, the Fayetteville shale play in northern Arkansas, the Haynesville shale play in northern Louisiana, the Woodford shale play in eastern Oklahoma, the Antrim in upper Michigan, the Bakken in North Dakota and the Marcellus shale play stretching into western Pennsylvania, western New York and West Virginia. The increase in the drilling of shale gas in the US has reduced its dependence on LNG imports, and now the region is even planning to export some of its natural gas production as LNG.
North America will witness significant additions to its LNG liquefaction capacities during 2012–2017, thanks to this increasing shale gas production. The Sabine Pass liquefaction terminal, Freeport Liquefaction terminal, and Cameron LNG Liquefaction terminal are all planned, and this new liquefaction capacity will lead the region to emerge as one of the top LNG exporters globally.
