Two news items appeared on my computer screen this week that deserve consideration as the U.S. rushes headlong into the global competition for natural gas supplies. Indonesia, a major exporter of LNG to Japan and Korea, said that it is reducing deliveries because of declining gas production. Also, the Chinese national oil company announced that it is investing in Canadian oil production from tar sands in Alberta. The decline in Indonesian gas production, similar to North America's, is a potent reminder that global natural gas resources are finite and are being depleted. Global gas consumption has doubled in the last 25 years, but cannot continue growing forever. The best resource data available from the US Geological Survey indicates gas production, and hence consumption, will begin to decline globally in 30 years or so. The notion that importing LNG will permanently solve U.S. gas supply problems is wishful thinking. Moreover, the worsening U.S. trade deficit puts the nation at a disadvantage in the global competition for remaining energy supplies. As the Chinese investment news indicates, the hundreds of billions of dollars sent overseas every year by the U.S. can be used by other countries to lock in long-term energy supplies. Competition for dwindling global oil and gas resources already is heating up. The U.S. is poorly prepared to play this game.