(6)LNG AT 50-HISTORY AND PROJECTED FUTURE FOR LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS EXPORTS IN AN UNCONVENTIONAL ERA

摘要

The year 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the start of the first export project for liquefied natural gas (LNG). During this time the LNG business has grown from a niche trade to one comprising almost one-third of the entire global natural gas trade. Much of the growth has occurred during the last two decades, when many countries sought to transition to natural gas due to its recognized environmental, safety, security of energy supply, and efficiency benefits. The future appears equally bright, with numerous new projects under construction or planned for the near to mid-term future, in part buoyed by rising demand for natural gas throughout the world.This chapter reviews the history of LNG from a commercial and technical standpoint, focusing on key contractual, regulatory, and other legal developments over the decades that helped shape this important global industry. It addresses key developments by decade, focusing primarily on export projects that helped shaped the LNG industry. Finally, this chapter identifies some of the key opportunities and challenges that future LNG exports may face following the development of plentiful North American unconventional gas supplies (and in turn the potential for Asian LNG buyers to access less expensive Henry Hub pricing-based U.S. gas), which many hope will usher in an even more promising era for the worldwide LNG industry.