ABSTRACT
The regulation of export prices has a direct bearing on contracted for volumes and subsequent deliveries, as an importer's willingness to contract for specific minimum volumes and the incentives for producers to enter export contracts will certainly be a function of export prices. An additional variable which must be considered in assessing export prices and government regulation is the portion of that price that flows to the specific exporter and to other producers, and that part that flows to governments, to domestic gas consumers and to the public-at-large. Non-price benefits may also be achieved by a given export that must also be valued and assessed in terms of the total value of an export sale to Canadians. Canadian natural gas had to be competitive in the ultimate market being served with alternative natural gas supplies, as long as ample alternative supplies were available. Possible shortages of natural gas in the United States did not become an issue until the 1970s.
