How the great gas crisis of 2030 will play out
In October 2030, the third great natural gas crisis in eight years came to light. Europe, relying on Russia for two-fifths of its gas, was blindsided when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. America, confident in its booming fossil-fuel industry, had promised to fill the gap. However, US natural gas prices escalated due to faltering shale output, extreme weather affecting the power sector, AI labs consuming fossil fuels, and LNG terminals allowing foreign competition.
Storage tanks were at record lows, and prices rose above $10 per million British thermal units. The crisis led to economic repercussions, like Iowa farmers planting the smallest spring corn crop in two decades and Ford Motor Co. cutting production. Politically, the crisis spurred calls for "keeping American energy for Americans," leading to bipartisan action to curb gas exports.
This decision proved disastrous, as Europe, Japan, and South Korea became heavily dependent on US shipments, while Russia and the Gulf faced their own challenges. The crisis underscored the importance of diversifying energy sources and not relying solely on LNG, which can be disrupted by political tensions.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
