Daniel Gross, writing in the Dallas News, thinks that liquefied natural gas is going to be the next big international trade commodity for the United States.  He points out that natural gas sells for $8.25 per MCF in Japan while it sells for less than $2.00 per MCF here in the U.S.  With the first shipment of liquefied natural gas leaving the Cheniere facility in February and a shipment of ethane leaving the Marcus Hook facility in March, exports have begun.  Ineos, the company behind the Marcus Hook shipment, wants to have eight shipments per month within four years.  The Cheniere facility is supposed to eventually have four processing “trains” and only has one right now.  There is also a project, not mentioned in the article, in Canada called Bear Head LNG which is intended to process Marcellus shale gas and sell it to countries that don’t have free trade agreements with the United States.  There are quite a few other projects in the works, too.  Mr. Gross may be right.  LNG exports will at very least make a big splash in the natural gas market.