Volumes of liquefied natural gas exported from the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana have been setting new records in recent months — not just a sign of abundant supply and international demand, but also a reminder how quickly market conditions can shift.
It was only about a decade ago that Sabine Pass, owned by Cheniere Energy, was designed to import natural gas. Commodity prices had been high for years, and developers were looking to incoming cargo ships to meet demand. But then shale gas — enabled by advances in fracking and horizontal drilling — became a reality, supply flooded the market and the value of import capacity fell to nothing.
