The Americans are coming

The arrival of more US LNG in the Atlantic basin should cap European gas prices and help the bloc cut emissions

The impact of US shale gas production is starting to be felt in Europe, with Turkey receiving its first cargo of American liquefied natural gas, and Ineos its inaugural cargo of ethane. Two earlier US LNG cargoes have also made their way across the Atlantic and many more-both of ethane and LNG-will follow in the coming years. They should cap European gas prices and force established exporters, Norway and Russia, to cheapen the price of their gas, even as domestic European production shrinks. Over recent years most of Europe's LNG has arrived from Qatar, Algeria or Nigeria, and demand is now edging up, helped by new Baltic regasification terminals. The US LNG deliveries should begin in earnes