03.01.23 -- European LNG Demand To Drive Competition, Dominate Trade

The advent of horizontal drilling and fracture techniques now permits the possibility of smaller environmental footprints for oil and natural gas production.

Global energy demand and environmental concerns continue to fuel growth in natural gas, one of the cleanest natural resources on the planet. This substantial shift in the energy landscape in recent years is driving U.S. investments in new liquefaction facilities and the transition of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals to export facilities. Meanwhile, shale production has also resulted in cross-country pipeline networks and storage facilities.

Lean and Six Sigma continuous improvement methodologies have been a foundation in process manufacturing industries for decades. In more recent times, industry 4.0 and data science innovations — such as machine learning, Big Data, and cloud computing — have improved analytic capabilities beyond historical limits, enabling the evolution of Lean and Six Sigma efforts. However, the foundational Six Sigma methodology of define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) has remained the same.