For U.S., rising dependence on LNG carries similar risks to oil trade

The United States is increasingly going overseas to meet its natural gas needs, setting in motion a significant shift with a familiar, if unpleasant, side effect for the world’s largest energy consumer.

As America becomes a bigger player in the global natural-gas trade, its vulnerability to faraway production snags and price gyrations will rise, as will its dependence on energy from the Middle East and other volatile regions.