The Power Politics of Game of Thrones is Coming to the Energy Industry

From 538 - -

"Consider, for example, the needs of the petrochemical industry versus the petroleum industry. Natural gas is the feedstock for making a wide variety of chemical products — such as plastics and fertilizer. Companies like Dow and DuPont want cheap natural gas, said Deborah Stine, professor of practice, engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. So they’ve been fighting against natural gas exports — which would raise the price of gas here at home — since the shale gas boom began, she said. The oil and gas industry likes the idea of selling its wares abroad, which would reduce the supply of natural gas available in U.S. markets, thus driving up prices and revenues. When an oil executive looks at the EIA’s projections, he’s rooting for the scenarios that show high prices and rising exports. But those same scenarios are bad news for chemical executives — they’re rooting for the ones that show low natural-gas prices.

Conflicts like this have significant political implications, Stine said, “because looking from a Trump standpoint, you say you’ll increase manufacturing jobs in places like Michigan, which is where Dow is based. But then you’re also saying there should be free oil and gas exportation.” The EIA report demonstrates how those two promises don’t necessarily work hand in hand."