The US is enjoying a gas boom of epic proportions, due to new recovery techniques known as “fracking”. Where is the excess gas going to go? One answer is to export it to energy poor countries through the Panama Canal. Texas and Louisiana are the main US locations where gas pipelines terminate. These are ideal locations for ships to load up and head for Far East destinations. Japan is a major importer of LNG (liquefied natural gas). The expansion of the Panama Canal allows large LNG tankers to move by sea economically to their customers. This article in Maritime Executive tells some of the story.
