Right now, natural gas prices are currently languishing at $3.80 per Mcf. Multiply by six, and you see that it costs less than $25 to get an equivalent amount of energy from natural gas as you get from a barrel of oil. So on an energy-equivalent basis, natural gas is roughly one-fourth the cost of oil.

Natural gas isn't just readily available at a 10% or 20% discount to oil -- but more than 75%. These economics are simple but powerful. It's hard to justify paying $1 for an energy source when you can buy something comparable for $0.25.

And in fact, we're already starting to see a major shift toward the use of natural gas.

For the first time in 15 years, there's currently an expansion wave in petrochemical manufacturing (which uses natural gas as a feedstock). We're also beginning to see many fleet owners convert their cars and trucks to vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) transportation fuel -- which is about $2 cheaper per gallon than ordinary gas or diesel at the pump.

And as for electricity, the U.S. Department of Energy is forecasting that natural gas will fuel 90% of the additional power-generating capacity scheduled to be built in the next two decades.

But the real opportunity for energy investors rests in something called liquefied natural gas (LNG).

By chilling natural gas to -260 degrees Fahrenheit, production companies can liquefy and compact the energy source, making it economically feasible to ship large quantities overseas.

Now U.S. oil and gas companies can ship their excess natural gas as LNG to foreign markets -- where natural gas is scarcer and widely commands prices of $10 to $15 per Mcf, and in the case of Japan, nearly $20 per Mcf.

Events have already been set in motion to allow our cheap shale gas to be liquefied and sold abroad. Needless to say, selling billions of cubic feet of gas for triple the price they might get here in the U.S. has major producers like Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: http://www.streetauthority.com/stocks/CHK" href="http://www.streetauthority.com/stocks/CHK">CHK) seeing dollar signs. And there are plenty of hungry customers out there.

Just a few years ago, only 17 countries imported LNG worldwide. Today, this number has risen to 25 -- not counting Poland, El Salvador, Costa Rica and many others that are planning to build LNG import terminals.

As a result, global annual LNG production has spiked 60% since 2005. And with an estimated $200 billion in capital being poured into expansion projects worldwide, this trend isn't stopping anytime soon. Case in point: global giant Chevron (NYSE: http://www.streetauthority.com/stocks/CVX" href="http://www.streetauthority.com/stocks/CVX">CVX) recently pledged to put 40% of its investment capital into new LNG projects in the next decade.

I expect the use of LNG will become more widespread. There's already been a flurry of headline-grabbing deals as savvy industry execs wake up to the potential.

Action to Take --> Keep your eyes on what's going on in the energy patch. Right now, the price of natural gas relative to oil is way too cheap to ignore... and the growth in LNG is still in the early stages. It's only a matter of time before more and more investors start to catch on. 

[Note: This new trend in natural gas is bound to be one of the biggest energy stories for some years to come. In fact, I dedicated the inaugural issue of my http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041" href="http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041" target="_blank">http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041">Energy & Incomehttp://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041"> advisory to the topic -- including analysis of one stock in the field paying a http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/income-dividends/dividend-yield-361" href="http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/income-dividends/dividend-yield-361" target="_blank">dividend yield of more than 6.5%.

http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041">

For more information about my advisory, http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041" href="http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041" target="_blank">you can watch this presentation http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041" href="http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041" target="_blank">here].

Disclosure: Neither N. Slaughter nor StreetAuthority, LLC hold positions in any securities mentioned in this article.

http://web.streetauthority.com/m/ei/EI01/ei-sample.asp?TC=EI0041">This article originally appeared at http://www.streetauthority.com/" href="http://www.streetauthority.com/">www.streetauthority.com.