From exports of liquefied unconventional gas from the US, Canada, and Australia to floating LNG (FLNG) plants offshore Australia, the emphasis at the LNG 17 conference in Houston April 16 to 19 was on how to deliver gas from anywhere in the world and develop markets hungry for that energy source.

The triennial LNG conferences are about doing business. And there was a lot of evidence of just how much business was being done in the exhibition hall. Every major oil and gas company with LNG to sell had a booth at the conference – Shell, Total, Gazprom, BG Group, ExxonMobil, BP, Repsol, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and Eni.

And there were just as many LNG plants seeking customers. Some companies have been producing LNG for years while others have yet to build plants – RasGas, Qataragas, Mozambique LNG, Angola LNG, Cheniere Energy, Yamal LNG, Sonatrach, Woodside, Nigeria LNG, and Yemen LNG.

I have attended two of these conferences – LNG 13 in 2001 in Korea and LNG 14 in 2004 in Qatar. There was no talk about unconventional natural gas at those conferences. Qatar was taking over as the largest LNG producer, and the US was expected to be a major importer of LNG.

Nine years later, Australia is getting ready to give Qatar a run for its money as the top LNG producer in the world, with three LNG plants that use coalbed methane under construction. And the US is expected to be an exporter of LNG produced with its unconventional shale gas reserves.

The hottest new technology at the conference was FLNG. Every major shipbuilder at the exhibition had a design for an FLNG plant. Shell’s Prelude project offshore Australia, which is currently under construction, received a lot of interest.

Even Colombia is getting into the FLNG game. Exmar LNG Infrastructure is working with Pacific Rubiales Energy on a floating liquefaction, regasification, and storage unit (FLRSU). The barge-mounted FLRSU has a liquefaction capacity of 500,000 metric tons per year. The vessel will be moored to a jetty offshore Tolu, Colombia. Gas will be supplied from the offshore La Creciente field. If Colombia needs to import LNG, the FLRSU can switch to regasification.

The best part of the exhibition, though, was the American Gas Association (AGA) booth. AGA brought in a maker of cowboy boots, buckles, and belts. Burns Cowboy Shop is headquartered in Park City, Utah, and has offered handcrafted boots since 1876. For international visitors it was an opportunity to acquire some real Western wear. The boots were exotic – hippo, ostrich, caiman crocodile, and elephant – with prices ranging up to US $3,000 per pair.

Those who bought a pair of cowboy boots will really be able to kick up their heels when that next LNG deal is signed.