Cheap US gas is a thing of the past for energy-starved Europe as inflation pushes up costs, Texas energy boss says

Europe can no longer depend on cheap natural gas imports from the US as it grapples with an energy crisis, according to a Texas-based company's co-founder.

According to Tellurian's executive chairman Charif Souki, countries scrambling to replace gas supplies cut off by Russia will see shipments costing twice as much.

The days of being able to get gas on the water for $4-$5 are over, according to Souki.

He said this would justify the investment if it was in the $10-$12 range.

Europe is facing a major energy crunch this winter and is scrambling to replace the natural gas volumes lost. That caused already high regional gas prices to soar, and an apparent act of sabotage at bothNord Stream pipeline put supplies and prices under even more pressure

Dutch TTF futures, Europe's natural gas benchmark, were up 0.8% at 163 euros per megawatt hour.

According to the EIA, the US became the world's largest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas during the first half of the year. More than 70% of Europe's imports in the year to September were from the US.

The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that gas supplies will be squeezed next year as China emerges from COVID-zero curbs.

Last week, the head of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said that the market for Liquefied Natural Gas may be tighter in the year to come. If the Chinese economy improves, it will be hard for Europe to get so much gas.

Europe is paying more for natural gas than Asian buyers are paying.

Europe may be able to manage its access to supplies by investing in US gas projects. Billions of dollars have been poured into domestic Liquefied Natural Gas projects in Texas and Louisiana, but more can be done.

Europe will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on subsidies for their consumers. Souki said at the conference that he could secure long term gas reserves from the US for a fraction of that price.

$100 billion of liquefaction projects in the US have not been able to get financing.

If you want to control the resource, you need to invest.

Tellurian said in September that it had lost two major customers. Tellurian axed a $1 billion high-yield bond sale to finance its construction of Liquefied Natural Gas plants in Louisiana.

As a result of the energy crisis, there are gaps in the infrastructure for Liquefied Natural Gas.