Natural Gas

The use of Natural Gas in the United States has grown incredibly in the last few decades. It currently provides nearly ¼ of all the energy used in the US and nearly half of all the energy used for cooking and heating. Over the next decade, demand for natural gas is expecting to increase by 271%. Several reasons account for this:

Natural gas eases a number of environmental concerns. It is the cleanest of all fossil fuels, producing virtually no emissions of sulfur dioxide and far lower levels of “greenhouse” gases than oil and coal. It produces virtually no solid waste and has much less impact on water quality.
It is currently a domestic source of energy. 99% of the natural gas we use comes from North America. (Source: EIA- Energy Information Administration)
Natural gas is one of the best ways to provide energy directly to the American home. Due to underground pipes that come directly to homes, there is no disruption when there are storms and power outages.
For these reasons alone, we should be doing all we can to provide for the continued reliable supply of natural gas along with the pipeline infrastructure to get it to our homes. It will ensure that we have the supply we need for the future while keeping costs to the American family down.

Natural gas continues to be the economic and environmental fuel of choice in the U.S. This growing trend has created a demand that cannot be met solely by domestic or Canadian production. In the US, natural gas production in the lower 48 states has been declining. Therefore, just as with oil, we should do all we can to retrieve our domestic supply and supplement it with a reasonable importation strategy of not only dry natural gas, but liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

With projected decreases in conventional onshore and offshore natural gas production and the projected decline in natural gas imports from Canada through to 2025, growth in US natural gas supplies will depend on non-conventional domestic production, natural gas from Alaska, and imports of LNG. In order for the US to meet its increasing demand for natural gas, LNG must become an increasingly important part of the US energy mix. The National Petroleum Council’s September 2003 report estimates that LNG could increase from less than 2 percent now to as much as 12 percent of the US gas supply by 2025. Some estimates are even higher.

Unlike oil and coal, America has far less reserves of natural gas, (about a ten year supply at our current rate of usage). As the graph below shows we only have 3% of the worlds proven reserves. So, if we are to continue to grow our use of natural gas we will need to import it. One of the best ways to do it is LNG. First, we are able to take a natural resource from other countries that they themselves do not use in great quantities. Second, LNG can be delivered by tanker directly to where it is consumed in the greatest quantities such as the Northeast, Florida, Texas, and California. This helps to keep the costs down and further contributes to America’s economic growth.