Gas Glut Coming

Massive expansions in liquefied natural gas capacity (LNG) over the past several years are scheduled to come online soon, and they may start flooding the market with LNG. While – somebody alert T. Boone Pickens – LNG has been the fastest-growing fossil fuel over the past decade, demand for it has declined right along with other energy sources (and everything else, except perhaps spam). All this led LNG prices to a 29-month low last week.

But what’s bad for energy might be good for chemicals. The drop in energy prices amounts to a stimulus for both consumers and businesses, just at the time when we all need it, ACC chief economist Kevin Swift says. With OPEC set to cut oil production even futher, companies should be quite happy to tap into cheap and abundant LNG.