from Oil and Glory
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The U.S. gas glut solution: Oil and gas companies are moving fast to eradicate a scourge -- fire-sale natural gas prices in the United States. The latest to move is Shell, which says it will carry out a dual strategy of exporting some of its U.S. shale gas in the form of liquefied natural gas, since prices in Europe and Asia are far higher, and meanwhile produce more lucrative oil from shale in North Dakota and elsewhere. As discussed previously, Chesapeake Energy and ConocoPhillips have announced they are dialing back on their shale gas production.
Then there is Alaska, where the gas equivalent of some 6 billion barrels of oil is stranded for lack of an export pipeline. For a long time, companies such as BP, ExxonMobil and Conoco had sought to build an expensive gas pipeline to the Lower 48 States, but they have been stymied, most recently by lack of demand. In November fall, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell urged the companies to instead ship their gas to Asia in the form of LNG. Now, these Big Oil companies say they have seen the light -- they will export their North Slope gas to Asia, reports Reuters. So serious are they taking this issue that last month, the CEOs of all three companies themselves flew up to Alaska to meet with Parnell and nail down the decision. The line they are discussing to the port of Valdez could move 3 billion cubic feet of gas a day and cost $26 billion.
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