U.S. Natural Gas to Flow Through Mexico | EarthxNews | EarthX - video Dailymotion

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EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/   The fracking boom turned the United States into the world's largest natural gas producer—and exporter. EarthxNews spoke to Baird Langenbrunner at Global Energy Monitor to learn more.   About EarthxNews:  A weekly program dedicated to covering the stories that shape the planet. Featuring the latest updates in energy, environment, tech, climate, and more.    EarthX  Love Our Planet.  The Official Network of Earth Day.    About Us:  At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.     EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.       EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/    Follow Us:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxtv/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxtv  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthxtv      How to watch:   United States:   - Spectrum  - AT&T U-verse (1267)  - DIRECTV (267)  - Philo  - FuboTV  - Plex  - Fire TV   #EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #Eco-friendly #Conservation #EarthxTV #EarthX

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00:00Fracked U.S. gas will now flow through Mexico. The fracking boom turned the United States

00:07into the world's largest natural gas producer and exporter. Energy giants like ExxonMobil,

00:13based in the U.S., have the supply. Countries around the world, including many in Asia,

00:19have the demand. They are using even more natural gas, partly to move away from coal

00:23and oil. Mexico is key to America's continued dominance, as the natural gas will flow through

00:29terminals in or near the Gulf of Mexico, bypassing the drought-stricken Panama Canal. Recently,

00:35we spoke with Baird Langenbrunner, research analyst at Global Energy Monitor. Here's that

00:40conversation.

00:41So when it comes to this global supply of natural gas, where does the U.S. fit in?

00:47In terms of exporting natural gas, the U.S. is in the lead in the world and followed closely

00:52by Qatar and Australia. And the U.S. is also the world's largest producer of natural gas.

00:58So then how did the U.S. rise to become such a key player in fracking, and is this a good

01:03thing for us?

01:05So yeah, the U.S. wasn't producing or wasn't exporting a ton of gas. In the mid-2000s,

01:13this fracking boom happened, so U.S. energy producers realized that they could shoot water

01:18into bedrock and release a lot of gas in a couple different bases in the U.S. And at

01:25the same time, some other forces made natural gas prices go up, so the U.S. started exporting

01:31a lot.

01:32The question of whether it's good for us or not, it really, I think, depends on who you're

01:35asking or what you're asking about. I think it's been really good for oil majors and energy

01:43companies. It's also been a good geopolitical tool for the U.S., so that's a positive in

01:49some ways for some people. And there's also a lot of reasons that increased gas exports

01:55is not great. Increasing gas exports in the U.S. exposes gas prices to the international

02:03market, so it can raise prices domestically, and so that can affect what we pay at home

02:08or at the gas pump. And burning them creates greenhouse gas emissions, so it can lead to

02:14climate warming.

02:16In order to export it right now, the Panama Canal is having a whole slew of issues. It's

02:21drought-stricken. There's a lot of backlog with boats trying to get through it. So now

02:25the U.S. has turned to rely on Mexico for that distribution. Can you explain some more

02:30of the issues happening with the Panama Canal and how Mexico is now taking on this responsibility?

02:37Sure, yeah. So the U.S.'s natural gas export, to get natural gas out of the U.S., you have

02:46to pipe it out of the basins where it's produced, and then you have to liquefy it, so cool it

02:51down a lot from gas to liquid state. You load it on the ships, and you ship it out. And

02:56the major places that the U.S. is shipping to are Europe and Asia. So the majority of

03:02export terminals in the U.S. are along the Gulf of Mexico, so along the Louisiana and

03:07Texas coast. And to get natural gas to Europe, it's a pretty straightforward ship trip across

03:14the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf Coast. But to get that gas to Asia, you have to cross

03:19the Panama Canal. And that is a major thoroughfare for ships going from the Atlantic to the Pacific

03:24Ocean. And this year specifically, it's an El Niño year, which is leading to a pretty

03:29large drought in the region around Panama and the canal. And because of that and also

03:35population change, a lot of the fresh water that's needed for that canal to operate is

03:39not quite there. And Mexico is becoming a potential alternative for this route because

03:47there are some liquefied natural gas export terminals proposed along the Mexican Baja

03:53Coast, and that would allow ships to load up on the Baja Coast or on the Pacific Ocean

03:59side of things and go straight to Asia without having to go through the canal. So specifically

04:03for Asian gas exports, these terminals in Mexico, which are largely either proposed

04:09or under construction, they could be an alternative route to getting gas out to Asia.

04:15The Biden administration, they also recently suspended the approval process for new export

04:20terminals. Do you know why that is?

04:23Yeah. So what the Biden administration has suspended is the Department of Energy's approval

04:29process. So for these terminals to function, they need to get approvals from a couple of

04:35different agencies. And for terminals in Mexico specifically, they only need approval

04:40from the Department of Energy. But the Department of Energy is tasked with the process of

04:47deciding whether any export terminal that's newly built is in, quote unquote, the public

04:52interest. And the Biden administration has effectively asked the DOE to define that

04:57better and use things like greenhouse gas emissions impacts, so climate impacts, and

05:04domestic price impacts, and national security and energy security impacts to be

05:10considered as part of this approval process. But this is effectively a push from the

05:16Biden administration to ask the DOE to have a more specific process in place to

05:25understand whether a terminal really needs to be built and really needs to ship gas out of

05:29the U.S.

05:30Listen, I know it's a complicated, tough topic to discuss, but I can't thank you enough

05:35for breaking it down for us and our viewers.

U.S. Natural Gas to Flow Through Mexico | EarthxNews | EarthX

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