The seemingly overnight transformation of the U.S. and North American oil and natural gas gusher into a global supply source has upended many of the long-held assumptions about the American energy industry. This is particularly true for natural gas storage, alternately viewed as an unnecessary anachronism or an indispensable tool for the United States to emerge as a new net energy exporter. If gas storage is to be a hedge that distinguishes the U.S. natural gas market, the industry and regulators eventually need to resolve whether storage is going to be parceled out by market- or cost-based rates. Traditionally, U.S. pipeline-owned storage has been sold on a cost-based basis; the role of storage in a United States that becomes a gas and oil exporter is still evolving.
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