7. The new geopolitics of natural gas

The emergence of unconventional gas and its rapid development in the United States have completely changed the landscape of the gas industry. At the turn of the century, imports were expected to account for half of US consumption by 2010. Imports, with the exception of a significant but limited fraction from Canada, were to be in the form of liquefied natural gas. Regasification terminals were built. Designed to handle tens of billions of cubic meters a year, they never operated at more than 15% or 20% of capacity, as the development of unconventional gas led to a complete reversal of the situation.

In 2011, the American company Chénière announced that it would be exporting liquefied natural gas from a terminal – Sabine Pass. This terminal, initially designed for imports, has been modified to allow the export of liquefied natural gas. Numerous projects have followed....