Interview by Content Correspondent Genneca Houser.
If you’ve been wondering how trade of natural gas globally is faring, this would be a good conversation to listen to. Charlie Riedl, the Executive Director for the Center for Liquid Natural Gas, took some time to talk a bit about some struggles over the past year, an outlook into the future, integration with renewable energy and more.
0:27 – Charlie Riedl has been with CLNG for six years and begins with a short explanation of who CLNG is and what they do around the world.
1:50 – We dive right into the heavier topics beginning with the China Trade Agreement from earlier this year. Charlie explains what was going on before the agreement, and what we’ve
“I don’t think the Chinese are going to come anywhere close to hitting the phase one trade agreement that was struck between the US and China…” – Charlie Riedl (3:03)
4:33 – Charlie discusses how the global exports of LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) were affected by the trade and tariff disputes. He also discusses how the global LNG trade is recovering now and how the unstable trade with China has slowed growth and progression for LNG in the US.
“So between China and the pandemic, 2020 is almost a bit of a lost year for the LNG industry as we’re thinking about the new commercial buildout of facilities.” – Charlie Riedl (7:25)
7:48 – The pandemic affected nearly everything; Charlie talks about how the pandemic affected the demand for LNG worldwide. He goes on to predict recovering numbers getting almost back to what has been seen in the past as “normal.”
9:30 – A winter months prediction: we will most likely be seeing an increase in demand for natural gas even as production decreases slightly.
10:59 – We discuss the potential impacts of the pending Biden/Harris administration. Charlie talks about why he doesn’t believe there will be as much impact on production and trade as many people may think.
“I think that we’ll be able to manage and work with a Biden administration as we did with an Obama and Trump administration.” Charlie Riedl (13:43)
14:15 – Charlie discusses how far we’ve come in terms of clean natural gas in the US. He refers to United States methods as a sort of a “blueprint” for the rest of the world. Charlie also touches on the idea of banning fossil fuels and what future integration of LNG with renewable energy can do for the world.
“We’re seeing renewables as well start to emerge as a partner with natural gas.” – Charlie Riedl (15:50)
17:12 – With as quickly and efficiently as the US is moving forward with innovations in clean natural gas energy, Charlie discusses how other countries across the globe will be able to benefit from what is being done in the United States.
19:00 – Charlie talks about looking forward to the future noting that there are several positive signs that point to a good recovery into the next year. He says the next step is to be prepared to help answer any challenges as an industry.
“I expect that by the end of 2021 you know, as it relates to gas I mean, we will see sort of things back to where they were before.” – Charlie Riedl (19:31)
For more information, take a look into these links:
LNG Export Markets – CLNG
LNG and the Environment – CLNG
Innovation in Action – NGSA
Partnering with Renewables – NGSA
U.S. Liquified Natural Gas Grows the Economy .PDF
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