Two weeks of war in Ukraine find that American oil giants are increasing their profits, as the energy crisis is plaguing the EU following its decision to wean itself off Russian natural gas.
According to Reuters, U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters are emerging as the big winners in Europe’s supply crisis, as they have exported record volumes to the EU for the third consecutive month—and at prices that have risen sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It is telling that prices have risen so much in Europe that American LNG traders would rather pay millions of dollars in penalties for failing to deliver to other countries than miss the opportunity to sell their liquefied natural gas shipments in Europe, as LNG prices have risen tenfold in just a few days compared to 2021.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. LNG exports are projected to reach 11.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2022.
This volume will account for approximately 22% of the expected global LNG demand of 53.3 bcfd next year, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs, and will surpass both Australia and Qatar, the two largest exporters of liquefied natural gas to date.
