In its recently released annual energy outlook (AEO2015), EIA expects the US to be a net natural gas exporter by 2017. After 2017, natural gas trade is expected to be driven largely by the availability of natural gas resources and by world energy prices. Increased availability of domestic gas or higher world energy prices each increase the gap between the cost of US natural gas and world prices that encourages exports of LNG and, to a lesser extent, greater exports by pipeline to Mexico. The AEO2015 examines alternate cases with higher and lower world oil price assumptions, which serve as a proxy for broader world energy prices given oil-indexed contracts, as well as with higher assumed US oil and natural gas resources. These assumptions significantly affect projected growth in annual net LNG exports after 2017. Net LNG exports […]