Jason Leopold: Off The Record -- From the Will It Ever End Department

[Tace]

(This is Jason's first post to his new blog -- Jason Leopold: Off the Record -- on the World News Trust site)

A virtually unknown, four-year old organization that calls itself the Gas Exporting Countries Forum is meeting through Wednesday in Trinidad to talk about the possibility of forming an OPEC-like cartel to control natural gas supplies, and prices, outside of the United States.

That may not seem like a big deal but we've been steadily increasing our natural gas imports for a few years now. The Energy Department predicts that that gas imports will increase 700 percent over the next 20 years.

If countries like Iran, Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Venezuela and others form a natural gas cartel, we're in big trouble. Expect natural gas prices in the U.S. to go through the roof (prices have already increased tenfold since 2000).

This is going to be a HUGE issue. Seriously. It's still criminally underreported, but I expect once people start complaining about their gas bills the mainstream will start writing about it.

(more)

http://worldnewstrust.org/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=7

[Spinzonner]

1. Oh heck, we'll just invade them

[etherealtruth]

2. That IS our foreign policy ... n/t

[Tace]

4. It Seems Short-Sighted

There are ominous signs that the U.S. economy cannot keep fueling extension of the BFEE empire.

[Tace]

3. My Limited Understanding Is That Shipping Natural Gas Is Impractical

Big trans-oceanic gas tankers are very dangerous -- literally floating bombs. I think I read a few weeks ago that either New Jersey or Pennsylvania denied an application for a natural gas terminal on the Delaware River near Philly. The local govt's said the terminal would be too dangerous to the community.

[etherealtruth]

5. That is correct

I am so sorry my initial response was more sarcastic than anything (I am sorry).

There are processes for liquefication of natural gas but it's an expensive process that there has been no $$ incentive to do so.

My original sarcasm was driven by the fact that if we put as much time and energy into developing other technologies (and making them financially feasible0 we could actually NOT depend on fossil and other organic fuels.