Price gap between domestic and foreign gas
As noted previously in this series, low U.S. natural gas prices serve as a major driver for liquified natural gas, or LNG, exports. In other words, LNG exporters, such as Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG) and Sempra Energy (SRE), as well as potential exporters, such as Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) and El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (EPB), are betting that the price gap between domestic and foreign gas will remain wide.
Not all investors optimistic
Some investors might consider this a risky bet, considering the volatile and unpredictable nature of commodities such as oil and gas.
However, long-term investors in Cheniere are likely to continue holding the stock. Why? Because technically, the company’s growth story hasn’t yet begun. First operations are set to start in 2015 and will continue through 2019. These will be crucial years for Cheniere.
Key timeline
Below is an important timeline that investors and analysts will monitor closely.
Trains five and six are slated to come online between 2018 and 2019. Regulatory approval from the Department of the Environment, or DOE, on the Corpus Christi project will be another feather in Cheniere’s cap and further bolster its already leading position in the LNG industry.