Natural gas companies on the mainland are angling to gain federal approval to begin exporting their supplies. But not if some of the country’s largest companies that have been benefiting from low gas prices can help it, The New York Times’ Green blog reports.

Companies such as Dow Chemical worry that exports will drive up domestic prices for the fuel, which have plummeted in recent years due to advances in fracking technology: 

The issue is driven by fracking, which has lowered the price of a million B.T.U. of gas to the range of $3.25, down 75 percent from its recent peak. Gas with the same energy content as a barrel of oil now sells for about $18, one-quarter of oil’s price. And industry experts say they can convert the gas to a liquid, load it on a tanker and deliver it to distant markets for a price that remains far less than the world price of oil. Fracking, which involves injecting vast quantities of water and chemicals into underground shale formations to extract natural gas, has vastly increased gas supplies.

This has set off a rush to export. By Senator Wyden’s count, companies have applied to build plants that would liquefy and export 48 billion cubic feet a day, a huge amount; in comparison, the Energy Information Administration predicts that daily consumption this year will be nearly 70 billion cubic feet.

Read more here. 

And you can catch up on Civil Beat’s coverage of the growing debate in Hawaii over importing liquefied natural gas here: 

Hawaii’s Quest for Cheaper Energy Collides With Fracking Debate

HECO: We Need Liquefied Natural Gas

Report Says Natural Gas Will Bring Major Cost Savings to Hawaii

Is Natural Gas A New Energy Source For Hawaii?

Can Natural Gas Solve Hawaii’s Energy Woes?

Abercrombie Moving Ahead On Natural Gas For Electricity Generation

Environmental Groups: Don’t Import Natural Gas