Steel Tariffs Cut Into Upstream Budgets, May Threaten LNG Projects

摘要

Production costs are taking a bigger bite out of US independents' 2018 budgets as the impact of the Trump administration's trade tactics is baked into spending plans for the second half of the year — and the impacts on LNG remain a longer-term concern. The decision made by companies like ConocoPhillips to open their wallets a little wider isn't based on the giddiness of a stable commodity price environment. Rather, inflation is a faster, stronger headwind than some anticipated, and one of the elements stirring things up is Trump's 25% tariff on steel imports.