Two Quick Tweets -- And, A New Poll

Updates

Later, 10:54: just after posting the poll and the background for the poll earlier this evening, Rigzone posted an article on a US-Latin American trade agreement which will help natural gas export decisions later on down the road:

This meeting comes on the heels of Obama's administration recently appointing U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who was sworn in last week. He said he will put about 20 applications on hold to export liquefied natural gas until he reviews studies by the Energy Department and others on what impact the exports would have on domestic natural gas supplies and prices.

Caribbean countries are concerned about higher global oil prices impairing their economies and are looking for ways to promote alternative energy sources while better integrating their energy sectors.

Original Post

Platts: US crude inventories reach new record high -- but gasoline stocks have declined.

Platts: Obama's shout-out to US LNG exports:

Heartened by a brief mention of liquefied natural gas exports by President Barack Obama, the new head of the US trade group for shale gas producers said Thursday he thought Obama should hasten a permitting process that has issued only two permits thus far.

"The great news, here in America, is that by 2020 we'll be a net exporter of natural gas," Obama said Wednesday evening at a fundraising speech in Chicago. "We will over the next couple of decades have the capacity to be energy independent for the first time, incredible change."

"Obama's behind this," America's Natural Gas Alliance CEO Marty Durbin told roughly 100 lobbyists and trade industry representatives Thursday at the American Gas Association's monthly Natural Gas Roundtable in Washington.

I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for additional export licenses.

So, time for a new poll.

But first, results of the current poll, where we asked readers what they thought the future of the US Post Office was:

• grand reform guaranteeing solvency forever and ever: 6%
• status quo (Congress keeps writing blank checks): 81%
• reverts back to Cabinet-level department: 3%
• absorbed by another Cabinet-level department: 10%

Now, the new poll. The US has approved two LNG export licenses this year. Will we see any more licenses granted this year? Yes or no.