Spain overtook Norway last month to become the region’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas. The southern European nation has never produced any of the fuel. The twist is a consequence of the crisis that left more than a quarter of Spain’s workers unemployed as the economy weakened for nine straight quarters. Utilities that contracted to buy LNG before the slump are now contending with a sixth consecutive year of diminishing domestic demand, spurring them to re-export cargoes. The trade is being underpinned by prices in Asia and South America that are about 30 percent higher than in Europe. Japan is importing more after shutting down its nuclear power plants following the Fukushima disaster in 2011. South American nations are accelerating purchases after a drought in Brazil limited the supply of hydroelectric power and cold snaps in the U.S. curbed pipeline flows to Mexico. “It doesn’t make much sense […]