This Day In Snookland...All That Glitters May Not Be A Live Sparkle Pony.

WhenInDoubt
LayMoreTurfVille


Another bad news story for LNG megaprojects based on that old (i.e. actual/real) economic saw, supply and demand.

From Henning Gloystein of Reuters:

A sharp fall in European and Asian gas prices this year will put liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects worldwide under heavy cost pressure, and even kill some off, as expected returns on investments have to be revised down along with prices...

{snip}

...An unconventional gas production boom, including from underground shale, has led to a sharp fall in U.S. gas prices since 2008 to $3 to $5 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), equivalent to 17.5 to 30 pence per therm in British market terms.

French Bank Societe Generale said this week in a research note that it expected U.S. gas prices to range between $4 and $4.50 per mmBtu between 2014 and 2016...

In response, of course, there is the latest from the "hurry up and spend" (our money on the infrastructure required) crowd, as reported by the VSun's G Hoekstra:

If B.C. does not act quickly and aggressively to enter the market to export liquefied natural gas overseas to Asia, it will be beat out by competitors, warns a University of Calgary report.

Those competitors include global-heavyweights Qatar and Australia, but also new entrants to the LNG market such as the U.S. and Mozambique in East Africa...

{snip}

...So far, the B.C. government has shown little concern on the pace of policy decisions or lack of final investment decisions for LNG projects in B.C.

Natural Gas Development Minister Rich Coleman was not available for an interview on Thursday.

In a written statement in response to the new report, Coleman said B.C. has been aggressively pursuing a natural gas export industry.

“In a very short amount of time, we have made tremendous progress and I’m confident in how B.C. is preparing for this new industry,” he said. “We’ve seen major, global companies show a strong commitment to B.C.’s LNG future, making large investments in our province. These companies know we offer a stable business environment to build successful export facilities.”...

Sure thing Mr. Coleman. 

Maybe you could get those contracts signed if you just told the multinats to forget about all this low tax stuff when we can just pay them to process and sell the stuff.

After all, it worked with the fine folks with all their fingers and fists jammed in the massive IPP pie, right?

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And finally....

How could we possibly do the right thing on all of this without those purveyors and layers of the astroturf who won't say where they get their money:

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Speaking of the turf and the layers, from the big bosses right down to the grunts....Alison has another great expose up on something that sure does resemble a couple of the entagled arms of that giant cephalopod from the south....
Update: Glad to see the 'Dean' is keeping up....Kinda/Sorta...Most interesting that he used the same Reuters report to underpin his lede too (sans link, of course)....Following in the footsteps of Ron Obvious perhaps?

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