To send natural gas from the United States to the United States… you have to go through Spain: the nonsense of the Jones law

The ship “Ribera del Duero” left Texas bound for Spain loaded with natural gas. A month later, he left for Puerto Rico. At the same time, another ship called “La Mancha” set sail from Louisiana bound for Barcelona. It happened in Octoberbut it is a dance that is usually repeated.

From the United States to the United States. Puerto Rico imports liquefied natural gas from Spain. But Spain does not produce natural gas. It imports it from Algeria, Russia and, especially since the war in Ukrainefrom the United States.

Why does liquefied natural gas travel from the continental United States to Spain and from Spain to Puerto Rico, if Puerto Rico is also the United States? Welcome to one of the nonsense of the Jones Act.

The Jones Law. Enacted in 1920, the infamous “Jones Act” is a federal law that establishes that vessels transporting cargo between United States ports must be American, as well as their crew.

He 44% of Puerto Rico’s electricity comes from natural gas. Since the Jones Act also applies to this unincorporated territory of the United States, and there are no LNG carriers that comply with it, the LNG travels from the United States to the United States passing through Spain, among other territories.

It is not the only example. The Jones law not only affects Puerto Rico. The United States has once again become the largest oil producer in the world thanks to shale rock drilling through fracking. American shale oil is exported to Canada and India, among many other countries. However, the east coast of the country crude oil continues to be imported from Africa because of regulations.

The same will happen in California when the Phillips 66 refinery closes at the end of 2025. The richest state in the United States You will get your gasoline from India and South Koreasince the refineries in the Gulf of Mexico will not be able to deliver the fuel due to the Jones Act.

It even affects offshore wind. And it makes sense, because the offshore wind industry needs large specialized ships to transport and assemble wind turbines miles from shore. However, there is not a single ship with an American flag that can do this job.

The first offshore projects on the east coast of the United States have been finding alternative solutions as absurd as that of Puerto Rican natural gas, such as transporting the parts to Canada and from there to the US coast to avoid breaking the law.

What Trump says. That stays. The incoming president of the United States has hinted that has no intention of repealing the law. However, in his first term he issued temporary exemptions after certain natural disasters (such as hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria) tested the limits of the regulations in force for almost 100 years.

Image | とまりん (CC BY-SA 2.1 JP)

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