Most NG used in the US is produced in the US. Some NG is imported from Canada.

Right now, NG is almost exclusively transported by pipeline.

Technology for shipping liquid-NG (LNG) via tanker is improving. Cheniere (stock symbol LNG) is building 4 LNG ports in the US – this company will be the dominant LNG supplier in the US. As energy prices remain high, LNG will play an increasing role in the US.

Demand for NG depends to some extent on weather.

Most heating in the US is via NG so cold weather increases NG demand.

Hot weather also increases NG usage because many of the peak-load power plants are powered by NG. As the temperature rises and people turn on their A/C, these peak-load plants fire up.

Interesting tidbit: the oil sands producers are using natural gas to heat up and process the oil sands – this is a new demand for NG and obviously affects the supply / demand equation – less NG may be coming to the US from Canada in the future.

My opinion: we have seen the end of cheap energy – economic forecasts based on $50 oil are not realistic – the awareness of the end of cheap energy has yet to permeate the planet’s awareness