Alberta Oil reports on the "first mover" race to get gas to Asia

Illustration: Tom Froese

Alberta Oil magazine's current issue has a good look at the race between North American and other suppliers to see who can deliver their liquified natural gas to the high-priced Asian markets. It's called "first mover advantage". This is particularly urgent since shale gas production in the U.S. is muscling out Canadian suppliers; they have to look elsewhere. The piece by Kirsten Smith comes illustrated with several good maps and tables.

"Though Canada seems to be later to the game than our neighbors to the south, WCSB [Western Canada Sedimentary Basin] producers will also see some distinct advantages. Canadians, and the Canadian regulatory authorities governing energy development, are used to the idea of exporting resources. Whether or not public opinion has changed to expect further domestic processing does not alter the fact that our resources will eventually be shipped to be consumed elsewhere."