USA Today is reporting that companies are planning to invest $120 billion in North American natural gas export projects: "In the United States alone, 31 facilities have applied for federal approval to build export facilities, which condense natural gas into a liquid before it’s shipped overseas via tanker. Since May 2011, six of them — two in Cameron Parish, La., one in Lake Charles, La., one in Texas, one in Maryland and one in Oregon — have received conditional approval. Only one, Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction terminal in Cameron Parish, has received the final construction go-ahead and is slated to begin operation next year. *** The potential impact could be huge. Though not all of these projects will likely come to fruition, Lux analyst Daniel Choi says their combined capacity could export nearly 30% of U.S.-produced gas by 2020. Much of this gas is extracted from shale deposits via the combined use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing or fracking."
