Exports

A bill that would lift a ban on most domestically produced crude oil exports cleared the House of Representatives by a 261-159 vote on Friday, enough to ensure the measure moves on to the Senate but well short of the two-thirds needed to override a promised veto by President Obama.

The Obama administration has officially threatened to veto a bill expected to pass the House of Representatives on Friday that would lift a ban on most domestically produced crude oil exports, but such a move could be tricky if the bill wins more Democratic support.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has affirmed its approval of non-free trade (FTA) agreement liquefied natural gas exports by Cameron LNG LLC from its terminal in Louisiana over the objections of the Sierra Club.

Demand for natural gas in the United States is growing at the fastest pace since the early 1970s, but pipelines to Mexico and construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on the nation’s shorelines will help turn the country into a net exporter of gas by 2017, according to a study released Thursday by CoBank.

A bill that would lift a ban on most domestically produced crude oil exports passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a 31-19 vote on Thursday. It is to be taken up for consideration by the full House of Representatives later this month.

Improving U.S. production efficiencies, which are one reason oil prices have crashed, should send natural gas prices necessary to fuel domestic demand on a “downward sloping trend over time,” Raymond James & Associates Inc. said Monday. Bank of America Merrill Lynch also reduced its price outlook, but analysts remain bullish longer term.

Even partial success by a modest minority of Canadian and U.S. plans to enter global liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets would siphon off the supply gluts brought on by shale development, which has been depressing North American prices, according to a new forecast by experts on both sides of the border.

Canadian natural gas exports to the United States shrank last year to their smallest volume since 1995 as rival American shale supplies grew, according to  trade records kept by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Canadian natural gas exports to the United States shrank last year to their smallest volume since 1995 as rival American shale supplies grew, according to trade records kept by the U.S. Department of Energy.