5:06 (Dow Jones) The US will begin exporting liquefied natural gas from the lower 48 in 2015-2016, BG Group (BG) Chief Operating Officer Martin Houston says at IHS CERA conference. “I think this will be the first renaissance of American exports,” he says, adding that exporting LNG from the mainland US won’t greatly affect domestic gas prices.
[I]- Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones & Company[/I]
Great!
Export American energy on foreign flag ships. No point in putting any more Americans to work than absolutely necessary.
Steamer, do you realize that Americans sail on BG’s LNG carriers?
Yeah, Americans work all over the world. The reason there are any Americans working those ships at all is because we still have a few well trained survivors of the “good old days” when Americans hired Americans. The US flag LNG trade was sold out about 10 years ago so that a few bankers could cash in on cheap labor.
If BG said it would flag a fleet of LNG ships in the USA that would be news. The information that yet another carpetbagging foreign corporation is sucking America’s tit is hardly news anymore.
I see it as another slap in the face for American mariners. If we are destined to become nothing more than a source of cheap natural resources, we should at least attempt to haul them overseas on American ships.
Singapore is now LNG trading hub of Asia. There are so many companies like GGSPL.com, slng.com trades LNG internationally.
A good number of US mariners working on foreign LNGc’s are pawns in a scheme…MARAD made some backroom deals a while back. Usually 3rd’s but I am sure some have advanced. Mostly Exmar/Suez.
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Exporting-LNG-Are-US-Mariners-Included-2013-06-25/ for additional thoughts