US backlash against LNG exports despite increased production

Despite increased shale-gas production and slumping prices, the business and environmental opposition against liquefaction plants grows stronger and loude

Despite the rush from overseas buyers to sign supply contracts and invest in US liquefaction facilities, large chemical companies are in the odd position of siding with green groups in the rebellion against liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.The US is brimming with gas thanks to the surge in shale extraction over the past few years. US gas prices plummeted to decade lows of under $2/million British thermal units (Btu) at the beginning of the year, and a mild winter has left storage facilities well stocked. They could hit bursting point during the traditional summer injection season.But the US shale boom has also sparked a renaissance in the industrial sector, fuelled by cheap gas. US indust