NATURAL CAS IN THE EMERGING GLOBAL ENERGY LANDSCAPE

摘要

Energy was not on the mind of Heraclitus of Ephesus (circa 500 BCE) when he wrote "The only constant is change." However, his words ring true as you read this issue of Elements. Within a decade, the energy world has witnessed a tectonic shift that is roiling the international economic, political, and environmental landscapes. Technological advances, made largely by the Canadian and United States oil and gas industries, have converted North America from a gas-importing to a gas-exporting continent. Had the "shale boom" never happened, the US would currently be importing more than 280 million cubic meters of natural gas per day (New York Times, April 2014). Today, the US is poised to export an equal amount as liquefied natural gas (LNG).