EIA: U.S. Expected To Become Net Exporter Of Natural Gas By 2018 02/29/17 •lweb.es/f2648 •bit.ly/2peDp3W
The transition of the U.S. to net exporter of natural gas by 2018 is to be driven by declining pipeline imports, growing pipeline exports, and increasing exports of liquefied natural gas. The Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana became the first operating LNG export facility in the Lower 48 states in 2016. By 2021, four LNG export facilities are expected to be completed with a combined operational export capacity of 9.2 billion cubic feet per day. The EIA also projects the U.S. to become a net exporter of total energy in the 2020s.
Since 2013, the average wellhead break-even price (BEP) for key shale plays has decreased from $80 a barrel to $35/bbl. This represents a drop of over 55%, on average. The wellhead BEP decreased across all key shale plays, with Permian Midland falling by over 60% from $98/bbl in 2013 to $38/bbl in 2016 (for horizontal wells only). Rystad Energy forecasts an average WTI oil price of $60/bbl, which implies a 40% improvement in the cash from operations. This improvement will result in higher investments of the shale operators.