New rules allowing a greater number of liquefied natural gas tankers to pass through the Panama Canal per day are expected to boost the development of the multibillion dollar industry along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

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Jorge Barakat, minister of maritime affairs for the Panama Maritime Authority, said that as many as four to five LNG tankers have passed through the canal in a single day. The Panama Maritime Authority registers ships traveling through the canal.

“LNG is very important for the Panama Canal,” said Barakat, while in Houston for Panama Week Texas, an annual event to promote business ties between the state and Central American nation. “It’s increasing the amount of vessels that transit through the canal.”

The new rules come ahead of the LNG industry’s anticipated expansion along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Houston company Cheniere Energy has emerged at the canal’s top customer among LNG exporters, moving cargoes from its Sabine Pass processing plant in Louisiana through the canal to customers in Asia. Cheniere moved 62 shipments going through the Panama Canal last year. [read more]