The prospects for liquefied natural gas development in the US

The objective of our paper is to analyze the prospects for LNG development in the US. In particular, we discuss LNG investment projects with respect to natural gas supply and demand, existing transmission infrastructure, and competing pipeline projects. At the same time potential competition between natural gas and coal in power generation is taken into account. We conclude that in the mid-term, LNG will assume an essential role in meeting US demand because of stagnating and declining domestic production in North America accompanied by an expected increase in demand for natural gas. Additional net imports will be required in the western US (mainly southern California), the Southeast, and in the Northeast—three areas of the nation that lack adequate supply. When accounting for the current status of existing natural gas infrastructure and forthcoming investments, we conclude that there should be little concern about sufficient investment incentives and supply security in the US competitive natural gas market.