Natural Gas Soars 700%, Becoming Driving Force in New Cold War

One morning in early June, a fire broke out at an obscure facility in Texas that takes natural gas from US shale basins, chills it into a liquid and ships it overseas. It was extinguished in 40 minutes or so. No one was injured.

It sounds like a story for the local press, at most — except that more than three weeks later, financial and political shockwaves are still reverberating across Europe, Asia and beyond.

The Freeport LNG facility in 2020. While the fire in early June was extinguished after 40 minutes or so, three weeks later the financial and political shockwaves are still reverberating.

Source: Freeport LNG

That’s because natural gas is the hottest commodity in the world right now. It’s a key driver of global inflation, posting price jumps that ...