EQT, one of the top US natural gas producers, has no plans to explore drilling opportunities in Venezuela, but does see overseas markets as potentially more promising for its future sales growth than the domestic market, its CEO told Semafor.
US demand for natural gas is growing much more quickly than the pipeline and tank infrastructure needed to transport and store it, Toby Rice said at Davos, largely because of permitting bureaucracy. As a result, he said, the “drill, baby, drill” ethos won’t work as a solution to high energy prices, and until Congress passes permitting reform legislation — rather than anything the White House can do alone — “the natural gas market is going to be incredibly volatile in the US.”
New LNG export terminals are moving ahead, however, and overseas gas prices remain significantly higher than US prices, which makes the global market a highly attractive and attainable target. “We’re a huge fan of renewables,” Rice said. “The more we put in, the more natural gas we can export to the world.” New drilling projects abroad, however — including in Venezuela, whose gas reserves could be almost as vast and more readily obtainable than its oil — aren’t on EQT’s radar.