A New Age of Energy Abundance in the U.S.
According to data released recently by the Energy Information Administration, U.S. natural gas production set a new monthly record in March of 2.4 trillion cubic feet (see chart above). This production record is another new milestone for the ongoing success of the hydraulic fracturing method of extracting natural gas from deep shale rock that is bringing about a new age of energy abundance in the United States.
The booming natural gas production is also helping to create thousands of new jobs for Americans in a very tough job market. More than 34,000 drilling-related jobs were added over the past year in Pennsylvania—that’s almost a hundred new jobs every day in just one state and demonstrating that drill, drill, drill = jobs, jobs, jobs.
The booming natural gas production is also helping to create thousands of new jobs for Americans in a very tough job market. More than 34,000 drilling-related jobs were added over the past year in Pennsylvania—that’s almost a hundred new jobs every day in just one state and demonstrating that drill, drill, drill = jobs, jobs, jobs.
Another benefit of the record production of natural gas in America is that inflation-adjusted gas prices for commercial users are lower this year than in any year since 2002, and are about 50 percent below the peak highs in 2005 and 2008 (see chart, data here). Affordable energy costs are a key factor in helping America’s manufacturing sector survive and thrive in a very competitive world marketplace, and the natural gas boom can play an important role here.
Read more here at The Enterprise Blog.
8 Comments:
Amazing! I was just reading the following over at Seeking Alpha:
High Oil Prices and New U.S. Oil Fields Spell Growth for Drillers
Natural gas is looking more and more like the energy of the future ...
"Americans love to go fast, which may be one reason why some people are so resistant to going off of oil. But there are cleaner, greener ways to go fast, like the 1,500 horsepower natural gas-powered Maxximus LNG 2000."
"An all-aluminum V8 engine uses both liquefied and natural gas to produce upwards of 1,500 horsepower ... They’re also working on a 2,000 horsepower version called the Prodigy that will run exclusively on LNG. To clarify, CNG and LNG are two different methods of staring natural gas, and it would appear that Maxximus is exploring both methods as a means of propulsion."
Gas 2.0
... especially when one considers the alternatives:
"Not only do electric vehicles produce just as much carbon in their overall cycle as internal-combustion engines, the need to replace the batteries actually makes the less green than current technology."
The Australian
I read somewhere where the private sector is moving forward to equip existing truck stops with natural gas refilling equipment. No help from the government, which seems hell-bent on subsidizing electric recharging stations.
The trucking industry sees the potential is moving forward with tapping this source of readily available inexpensive fuel.
http://www.onebeacontransportation.com/articles/agreement-will-lead-natural-gas-fueling-stations-truck-stops
Very cool link che, thanks for posting it...
CMG cars can be bought off the lot in Oklahoma, at cngvehicles.net. Many cars/trucks under $15k.
BTW, the estimates of oil recoverable in Bakken are rising to the moon.
If you listen to the conference calls you see that the natural gas producers are bleeding red ink. At the margins it takes more energy to produce the shale gas than you can get out of the shale gas. That makes the current process a problem, not a solution.
If we are going to have a pullback in prices and another serious economic contraction you will see many of the shale players in bankruptcy and massive losses for the drillers. If, instead, we see the Fed step on the accelerator and flood the system with liquidity the price of gas will rise substantially as the net return picture is clarified.
So what is this table telling us about EURs in the Fayetteville shale? First, based on the above information, there is little doubt that CHK and SWN have grossly overstated their EUR per well. For example, the 594 wells drilled between 2005 and 2007 are unlikely to ever produce much more than 1 bcf each. While I do not have access to the actual decline curves for these wells, there is no doubt that Fayetteville operators are using unrealistic decline curves that include transient flow (the gush of gas occurring immediately after a well is put on production which should not be included in proper analysis) and b-factors that are unrealistically high.
The Fayetteville area has peaked after six years with less than one third of one percent producing more than 2 bcf while Chesapeake Energy’s CEO Aubrey McClendon is claiming that the company expects a EUR per average well of 2.6 bcf. So much for the great savior that is shale gas. It seems that there still is no real world Wyatt Ellis to extract energy out of shale rock.
Post a Comment
<< Home