, Columnist
To Hurt Putin, Keep U.S. Gas at Home
Exporting U.S. gas would only help Vladimir Putin.
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Ever since the crisis in Ukraine began, oil and gas interests have been arguing that the U.S. could roll back the Russian incursion in Crimea if only we "fast-track" U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas.
There is an easy logic to this argument -- provided you ignore some awkward arithmetic. Russia has been selling gas to Ukraine at the bargain price of about $7.50 per million British thermal units. Germany, by contrast, pays about $11. Meanwhile, gas in Oklahoma costs around $6, suggesting U.S. producers could beat OAO Gazprom's price.