[20180504]IF10878_美国液化天然气贸易增长但国内航运无增长.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov May 4, 2018U.S. LNG Trade Rising, But No Domestic ShippingAs U.S. natural gas production sets new records, trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) has risen sharply. Since 2016, when the first plant in the lower 48 states to cool gas to minus 260F for export opened in Louisiana, the United States has exported LNG by ship to 27 countries. The inauguration of a second liquefaction facility in Lusby, MD, in April 2018, portends a further increase in LNG exports. Yet despite abundant gas supplies and a growing volume of LNG exports, the United States continues to import LNG as well. Imports, including the January arrival of a shipment containing Russian gas to Boston, persist in part because there is negligible domestic trade in LNG. The lack of U.S.-built LNG tankers, a legal requirement in order to move LNG domestically by sea, may be encouraging the use of imported rather than domestic gas in some locations. LNG Export Expansion In 2017, the United States became a net exporter of natural gas for the first time since 1957, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Total exports, pipeline and LNG, were 8.7 billion cubic feet per day (B