USA Today: Oil prices challenge Cheniere's LNG export plan

The collapse in oil prices has shaken up executives from oil and natural gas companies, large and small — among them, Charif Souki.

Not that Souki is in any imminent trouble. His company, Cheniere Energy, is on the verge of beginning the first exports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. mainland, with customers locked up in Asia and Europe.

But the president, CEO and chairman of the Houston-based company knows that building his business further will be more difficult now that the price of oil has fallen by about half since last June, and oil and gas markets seem likely to remain volatile for some time.

The reason? The oil-price decline relative to U.S. gas prices has eliminated the price advantage of U.S. LNG projects, reversing wide differentials that prompted Asian buyers to seek out LNG linked to the U.S. Henry Hub price.

"We're all going to have to adapt," Souki said at an Atlantic Council event in Washington. "I think it's pretty unsettling, as it is now. I really can't imagine anything that gets worse, and I speak from experience."

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