Can the Search for a Global LNG Benchmark End With a European or U.S. Natural Gas Contract? – Column

Editor’s Note: This column is part of a regular series by industry veteran Brad Hitch for NGI’s LNG Insight dedicated to addressing the complexities of the global natural gas market.

While the early LNG market mostly developed in Asia and the Middle East, the super-chilled fuel was first commercialized in the United States and Europe.  

Many of the earliest contracts – particularly for the import of Algerian LNG to the United States – could not survive waves of American regulatory change or gas discoveries in the North Sea. By the time LNG imports began to be reconsidered at the turn of this century, the natural gas markets in North America and Northwest Europe had been completely transformed by forward and futures contract trading.  

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