Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors first told Money Morning readers about liquefied natural gas in 2010 - when our favorite LNG stock was trading around $6 a share.
Then in April 2012, this company received federal approval to build the first major LNG export facility in the United States.
Now Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT: LNG) stock is at $45 a share.
That's a four-year gain of 650% - which is one of the reasons Moors has been telling us for years that LNG is an energy investing game changer.
And it's not too late to seek out the best LNG stocks. The United States is just starting to approve more export licenses.
Worldwide demand for LNG has already doubled since 2000. Demand is expected to double again by 2025 as emerging economies, led by China, increase their natural gas use.
That means it's time to buy LNG stock today.
United States: A Leader in LNG Exports?
As Moors has written, there is one obstacle standing in the way of U.S. success in LNG exporting. That obstacle is politics and bureaucracy.
You see, the U.S. government has been issuing approvals for LNG projects at a snail's pace. It has to date given the green light to less than a handful of projects.
The latest approval from the Department of Energy in November for Freeport LNG to ship additional liquefied natural gas from its proposed Texas terminal disappointed the company. The government's approval was for 1 billion cubic feet a day of gas less than Freeport asked for.
The worry here is that the more than 20 other energy firms in the queue waiting for approval will likely also be disappointed.
The approvals may take longer and be for less than the amount of gas they wish to export. That is, if they get the okay at all.
In 2014, only another handful of projects may be given the green light.
From an investment perspective, that gives the advantage to companies that have already received the government approval for their LNG project.
An LNG Stock to Buy Now
That's why Cheniere is still our favorite LNG stock among the "LNG terminal stocks."
Cheniere has the most advanced LNG project: the Sabine Pass in Louisiana.
LNG exports of 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day are expected to begin from Sabine Pass by the end of 2015.
The company also initiated another LNG terminal project near Corpus Christi, Texas. It recently inked a contract with Indonesia's Pertamina to buy gas from that plant.
And Cheniere also started a $12 billion construction project for a four - or possibly six - train LNG processing facility. Cheniere has already signed contracts for uptake of its LNG production from the four trains with Britain's BG Group, Spain's Gas Natural Fenosa, South Korea's Kogas, and India's Gail.
The key here is that the price it will receive is higher ($3.50 per million BTU) than that of the previous contracts for gas ($3 per million BTU) from Sabine Pass.
Cheniere (LNG) stock has soared 122% in the past year and is up 4.5% in 2014.
Here's why politics will play a role in the success of LNG terminal stocks in 2014: The Political Plot Thickens in LNG Exports
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