Even In A Calm Hurricane Season, The Energy Industry Faces Plenty Of Challenges

The weather may be less volatile than a year ago – but with a looming trade war with China, the forecast for the Liquefied Natural Gas industry could get stormy.

By Alexandra HartAugust 13, 2018 3:43 pm,

We’re still in hurricane season, but you’d hardly know it here in Texas. This season has been a stark contrast to a very turbulent summer last year. Summer of 2017 certainly dealt a blow to the energy industry but this year, the stiffest winds they face may not be storms blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico, but trade winds from across the Pacific.

“In terms of natural gas, we’re seeing it just holding below the $3 MMBTU (million British Thermal Units – a measure of energy content of fuels), where it has basically been since mid-2016,” says Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Clipper Data. “So far, [hurricane season] has been vert quiet, and hopefully that’s the way it will be going forward.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– How LNG prices are shaping up this year

– Why the U.S. has so much extra natural gas

– How a trade war with China could impact LNG costs.