Why the U.S. Is Buying Natural Gas From Russia

For a lesson in how liquefied natural gas is radically reshaping the global energy market, consider the tale of a ship due in Boston on Tuesday. The huge Gaselys tanker is being closely tracked by energy traders, since its arrival would mark the first imports into North America that includes gas from a project in Russia subject to U.S. sanctions. The journey, delayed by weather, could raise questions about where America gets its fuel.

Not quite. While the U.S. is the world’s biggest natural gas producer -- and is now also a net exporter of the fuel, thanks to its shale gas boom and the start of exports from the Gulf Coast in February 2016 -- New England is still dependent on LNG brought in on ships for almost 10 percent of its needs, mainly in winter for use in heating, according to the State Department. LNG, which is gas cooled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 162 degrees Celsius) so it takes up 1/600th of the volume, can’t be shipped in from new export terminals on the Gulf of Mexico. That’s because none of the world’s fleet of almost 500 tankers meets the requirements of the 1920 Jones Act, which mandates that vessels moving between U.S. ports be built and registered in the country, and crewed by Americans.