Fracked Gas LNG Exports Were Centerpiece In Promotion of Panama Canal Expansion, Documents Reveal
July 1, 2016
Fracked Gas LNG Exports Were Centerpiece In Promotion of Panama Canal Expansion, Documents Reveal
by Steve Horn
After nearly a decade of engineering work on the project, the Panama Canal’s expansion opened for business on June 26.
At the center of that business, a DeSmog investigation has demonstrated, is a fast-track export lane for gas obtained viahydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in the United States. The expanded Canal in both depth and width equates to a shortened voyage to Asia and also means the vast majority of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers — 9-percent before versus 88-percent now — can now fit through it.
Emails and documents obtained under open records law show that LNG exports have, for the past several years, served as a centerpiece for promotion of the Canal’s expansion by the U.S. Gulf of Mexico-based Port of Lake Charles.
And the oil and gas industry, while awaiting the Canal expansion project’s completion, lobbied for and achieved passage of a federal bill that expanded the water depth of a key Gulf-based port set to feed the fracked gas export boom.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/01/fracked-gas-lng-exports-were-centerpiece-in-promotion-of-panama-canal-expansion-documents-reveal/