With global LNG demand projected to exceed supply by a wide margin, the prospects for North American exports of liquefied natural gas are exceptionally strong. But an unexpected development has raised a question about Canadian participation in this emerging export opportunity.
The question is: Will the Canadian government decide to block any of the pending acquisitions of its E&P players by foreign energy majors? Keep reading →
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials are seeing “no surprises” as the power industry plans compliance with new mercury rules, but some industry officials say the surprises are still to come – in customer bills.
EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy told the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in Baltimore this week that “just a handful” of companies with specific compliance challenges have come to EPA to discuss getting additional time to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS). Keep reading →
Shell Oil President and Director Marvin Odum speaks during a plenary session on the first day of the Energy Information Administration energy conference April 26, 2011 in Washington, DC.
EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski highlighted the administration’s rapid response efforts during the recent hurricane crisis in the northeast and was enthusiastic about the organization’s prospects going forward while giving a breakfast presentation at the US Association of Energy Economics North American Conference in Austin, Texas. Keep reading →
The potential implications of recent North American natural gas production increases stretch across the globe, with knock-on impacts for gas trading patterns, regional supply-demand balances and even geopolitics.
These were all topics of discussion at a recent plenary session held during the 31st US Association for Energy Economics North American Conference in Austin, Texas, where analysts, economists, students and government officials from the US and other countries gathered this week. Keep reading →
As some of the world’s foremost energy experts from business, academia and government gathered in Austin, Texas for a major energy conference, the Northeastern US was still reeling from Hurricane Sandy’s devastation that took lives, homes and disrupted power and fuel delivery for millions of people. This stark reminder of how fragile US energy infrastructure can be makes the conference theme, “Transition to a Sustainable Energy Era: Opportunities and Challenges,” all the more timely and important.
The 31st US Association of Energy Economics/International Association of Energy Economics North American Conference kicked off this morning with an opening plenary session that was appropriately titled, “Putting the ‘Sustainable’ in Sustainable Energy Future.” Keep reading →
Will exporting large volumes of US natural gas in the form of LNG raise the price of the commodity and potentially create a competitive disadvantage for gas-intensive industries? And what portions of the US economy are experiencing the impacts of increasing natural gas output most? These are some of the important questions that analysts, government officials, companies and environmental organizations are trying to answer.
In this second installment of our video series about the prospects for and implications of increased US natural gas use, Ian Nathan, Manager of Global Gas and LNG Research at Energy Intelligence Research & Advisory delves a bit deeper in to the issue. Keep reading →
The dramatic ramp up in US natural gas production in recent years caught many by surprise, as an anticipated need for imports changed seemingly overnight to mainstream talk about exporting natural gas as LNG.
In addition to the export conversation, there are numerous other applications for natural gas that are now attractive given the fuel’s abundance and historically low price. The power generation, petrochemical and transportation sectors are three major sources of increased consumption, but there is even a company using cheap gas to melt down waste plastic in order to separate out crude oil that can be sold back to refineries. Keep reading →
In the latest illustration of the potential of the Marcellus Shale to boost regional energy supply, two natural gas-fired power plants are being planned for the heart of northern Pennsylvania’s shale country.
If they go into operation as planned by early 2016, they would be the state’s first plants to be powered by gas from the Marcellus, the massive Appalachian formation that’s estimated to contain enough of the fuel to meet total US needs for 20 years or more, at current consumption rates. Keep reading →
Chevron estimates that the abundance of cheap natural gas in the US will be short-lived, according to one of its key strategy staff.
Andre Peterhans, manager of strategic planning, last week told a group at the BERC Energy Symposium at UC Berkeley that “$2 gas has perhaps come and gone”. Keep reading →
In the United States, utilities have been switching fuels for the power generators. While many commentators believe the motivation to switch is regulatory, the primary incentive is economics.
Of course, the Environmental protection Agency’s (EPA) new coal and coal-fired power plant rules influence a utility, but the markets are the primary driver behind utilities to seek fuel options. EPA’s rules are not the prime mover, at least not now. Keep reading →
