The No.1 Chemical Maker In The US, Dow Chemical (DOW), Supports Exports Of LNG But Advises Caution

Post date: Aug 1, 2013 11:19:55 AM

Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), the nation's largest chemical maker, said the firm supports liquified natural gas exports to U.S. free trade partners but cautioned that a prudent approach is necessary to avoid volatility in prices that could hurt U.S. manufacturers.

“For the first time in more than a decade we’re seeing natural gas prices at affordable and stable levels which are fueling this resurgence in manufacturing across the country,” Peter Gudritz, a Dow company spokesman, said in an interview with rigzone.com. “Overall, given the difficulty of reversing any sort of missteps, we need to take a cautious, balanced approach and understand as many of the ramifications of a decision that the U.S. is making before we move forward.”

Energy giants such as the Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) are looking to raise the price of natural gas by pushing the government to allow them to export to more countries.

This concerns manufacturers, like Dow, which warn that such an export-heavy policy will result in higher energy prices in the U.S. and hurt manufacturing. Energy companies have been urging the U.S. Department of Energy to let them export their gas to nations with which the U.S. does not have free trade agreements, something only the energy department can permit, provided it determines that such ventures are consistent with the “public interest,” as required by the Natural Gas Act.