Thursday, May 29, 2008

Natural Gas

Natural gas shipments to U.S. in pause mode

Only a month after Cheniere Energy inaugurated its $1.4 billion liquefied natural gas terminal here, an empty supertanker sat in its berth with no place to go while workers painted empty storage tanks.

The nearly idle terminal is a monument to a stalled experiment, one that was supposed to import so much LNG from around the world that homes would be heated and factories humming at bargain prices.


Expectations meet realizations.

Andrew Grams, head of North American power and gas trading at Deutsche Bank, said the United States may eventually pay dearly for not importing more LNG now. He calculated that given the reduced LNG imports and expected energy use through the summer, the country will have only 3.1 trillion cubic feet of gas in storage at the end of October — almost 1 trillion cubic feet below full storage.

Under a normal scenario, that's just barely enough to get through winter," Grams said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that we may not get enough LNG supply in the United States unless our pricing structure becomes more competitive with the rest of the world."


There's always hope though.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stag,

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080530/usa_economy_sentiment.html

Expectations meet realizations.

Stagflationary Mark said...

MAB

However, any signs that prices are getting out of hand would require higher interest rates, which would pummel stocks and bonds.

I certainly don't have the market cornered on parody/sarcasm. Fortunately, there aren't any signs prices are getting out of hand (other than the largest price signs on the planet, those at gasoline stations).

The report heightens worries that the United States could be entering a period of stagflation like the late 1970s and early 1980s, characterized by a sluggish economy and accelerated price growth.

It also calls into question the view of some Fed officials that long-term inflation expectations have remained well anchored despite sky-high commodities prices.


All ships (especially the Nevada) are ordered to remain well anchored during this crisis. We've been through this before.

December 7, 1941
http://www.nps.gov/archive/usar/extendweb1.html

The USS Nevada attempted to run out to sea but took several hits and had to be beached to avoid sinking and blocking the harbor entrance.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/econ-m01.shtml

The worst-hit state was Nevada, where one out of every 54 homes received some type of foreclosure filing. In Las Vegas, the state’s biggest city, one out of every 44 homes went into foreclosure.

Damn. Nevada is blocking the "safe harbor" entrance yet again. There's just too much liquidity flooding the engine room.

October 24, 2006
Where Is All This Excess Liquidity Coming From?
http://seekingalpha.com/article/19107-where-is-all-this-excess-liquidity-coming-from

But, then, neither are you hearing the term Stagflation from many sources either, but that’s what’s happening. People don’t want to hear that term because the implication is deadly for stocks and bonds, which goes against our positions, and is a negative for wealth.

I wish I'd have read this article before starting my blog. I just don't understand marketing to the masses. Had I known, I would have named my blog "The Greatest Economy (Never Sold!)" and named myself Candy Mountain Mark.

Maybe it isn't too late. The few people who know me could no doubt still see the sarcasm as I desperately try to turn every negative into a positive.

Here's a sampling.

Gloom & Doom Economist: Credit Crunch Will Spread
http://www.cnbc.com/id/24703745

"I personally think we are just starting the credit crunch and it is going to be worse," he said. "I think the economy really stinks and the next sector to be hit, in America and elsewhere, is retail."

Once we outsource retail to India using the power of the Internet it will become THEIR problem. We'll be basking in the really cush job of doing nothing for something! It is even better than a free lunch program!

Goldilocks economy? Try lollipops economy! Only a sucker would bet against it! The prosperity machine hasn't even begun to fire up yet!