The new international political economy of natural gas

This chapter offers a comprehensive assessment of the rapidly changing international political economy (IPE) of natural gas. On the one hand, the shale revolution puts an end to previous notions of resource scarcity, while liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade increasingly connects regional gas markets and international pricing patterns are increasingly reflective of market fundamentals. On the other hand, most investments in new energy sources flow to renewable technologies. The chapter explores what this paradigm shift means for markets, states, and the power dynamics between established and new players in the emerging natural gas landscape. It finds that with the coming-of-age of natural gas, American LNG will increasingly challenge the market power of established players such as Russia and Qatar. At the same time, the chapter argues, the climate regime, national politics and infrastructure bottlenecks render the role of gas in the future energy system highly uncertain.