US Shale Gas -- Ethane -- First American Shipment To Europe -- Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Another top story of the week.

The Wall Street Journal reports:  New Market for U.S. Shale Gas Opens in Europe Swiss company Ineos to accept the first American shipment of a type of shale gas to Europe.

Swiss petrochemicals giant Ineos Group Holdings SA plans to accept the first American shipment of a type of shale gas to Europe on Wednesday—a milestone that marks the opening up of a new market for American energy producers trying to sell a glut of the fuel.

The ship is carrying a type of natural-gas liquid known as ethane that was extracted from the Marcellus Shale in western Pennsylvania, where companies such as Range Resources Corp. and Consol Energy Inc. have been looking to diversify the markets for their ethane because of pipeline and storage limitations.

The shipment is the first seaborne export of ethane to Europe from the U.S., Ineos said, another sign of how the North American shale boom has transformed the global energy map.

The recent ramp-up in U.S. shale oil production has challenged Saudi Arabia’s sway over international oil markets, while an earlier shale-gas boom sent prices to record lows and upended coal’s dominance in the power sector.

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Politics

Hours after the Brussels blast, the Drudge Report continues to be the link to the Bill Clinton video in which he "slams the awful legacy of the last eight (8) years." I assume he's talking about the Obama administration and not his wife's successes the past year, starting with the Benghazi attack.

Mr Clinton's remarks were either deliberate or a slip. If the remarks were deliberate it suggests that he and his wife are publicly separating themselves from the Obama administration.

If that is accurate, then it is likely a "trail balloon" to see how it plays in Peoria polling. If it plays well, then the attacks will increase, but (to continue the alliteration) the proof in the pudding will be if Hillary picks up the pace by doing the same.

If Hillary does push the envelope -- "slamming the legacy of the last eight years" -- it suggests that internal polling shows Hillary struggling.

Note: Bill's speech aired at the same time there were media reports that Hillary was beginning to organize her national race against Trump.

The Brussels blast this morning won't help Hillary; the blast won't hurt Trump.