A liquefied natural gas plant

Falling crude oil prices becomes all the headlines, but the first global glut of natural gas in history is a driving even more drastic collapse in the cost of gas that cooks food, warm homes and run factories in the United States and other countries. Six giant plants capable of cooling and liquefying gas for export are due to come on line this year just as economies in Asia and European countries that most of the import gas to run their industries are slowing. Energy experts and company executives say that means loads of natural gas in Romania, Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria, which would otherwise be going to Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Spain have started to arrive in supertankers in the United States, even if it is not a gas glut here, too. With industrial and utility use of natural gas dropping, gas prices in the United States have already fallen by two-thirds of the summer. Prices are not likely to go down much more, experts say, but an increase in imports is likely to keep them low to the global economy recovers and drives demand back.

That is good news for American consumers and many businesses, since gas provides about a fifth of the electricity generated by utilities and is a vital component of fertilizers, plastics and other industrial products. But this is bad news for energy independence, which cheered the explosion of domestic gas drilling and production in the last four years. (more…)