The "Cheap" gas is coming to an end

[Mega]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7796806.stm
Mike

[Starving Steve]

Re: The "Cheap" gas is coming to an end

One energy commodity North America has plenty of is natural gas. It is everywhere. The latest discovery of natural gas is, of all places, in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec.

If liquified, natural gas could be exported to Europe from North America. Again, this would take some PLANNING and INVESTMENT in infrastructure, especially on the part of government which heretofore has done nothing at all.

Natural gas could be used to generate electricity during the period when atomic power plants are being built. ( Nat. gas is the transition fuel to an atomic energy future. )

Meanwhile, the Canadians and Americas horse-around with non-solutions to the energy crisis like green solutions and a so-called green economic recovery. Too bad that we don't have a Putin here in North America to turn the tap off and to help focus our thinking about what the energy future has to be.

[Wild Style]

Re: The "Cheap" gas is coming to an end

One energy commodity North America has plenty of is natural gas. It is everywhere. The latest discovery of natural gas is, of all places, in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec.

If liquified, natural gas could be exported to Europe from North America. Again, this would take some PLANNING and INVESTMENT in infrastructure, especially on the part of government which heretofore has done nothing at all.

Natural gas could be used to generate electricity during the period when atomic power plants are being built. ( Nat. gas is the transition fuel to an atomic energy future. )

Meanwhile, the Canadians and Americas horse-around with non-solutions to the energy crisis like green solutions and a so-called green economic recovery. Too bad that we don't have a Putin here in North America to turn the tap off and to help focus our thinking about what the energy future has to be.

I used to watch a show back in the 90s called "Beyond 2000". On one episode they had these pig farms. This farmer found a way to harvest the methane coming off of the pig crap and then sold it to the electric company in his area.

[Glenn Black]

Re: The "Cheap" gas is coming to an end

Natural Gas supplies 23% of US's energy supply. A large chunk of that gas comes from Canada. The VP of Canada's National Energy Board did a presentation in March 2005 showing that current nat. gas connected to our pipelines will run out in 2009. We "hope" to drill some more, connect some more, reserves are larger than estimates, coal seam gas, etc. But what is we don't, can't? It's rather cold up here this time of year.



I worked on a project 3 years ago in Saudi Arabia for Aramco. They wanted to save every cu. ft. of gas so they could liquify it & ship it to Europe, N. America, etc.

LNG terminals were proposed for a number of sites along Atlantic & Pacific coast to offload LNG and backfeed current pipelines that current wellheads cannot completely provide.

There will always be gas available, but at what price? Nat. gas in Canada has gone up 23% per year on average over the last 10 years (ie. it is now 8 times more expensive than 10 years ago). In spite of this, it is still the third cheapest fuel on a $/BTU basis (solar is free, then firewood at $85 per 16" long face cord, then natural gas).

About 10 years ago, Canada had a 25 yr supply of nat. gas at current rates of consumption. California got into trouble (ie Enron et al.), so Canada's National Energy Board removed regulation requiring proof that there was a 25 yr supply before awarding gas export permit. Once that reg. was gone, there was a huge vacuum below the 49th parallel, sucking all of Canada's gas South to the States. Today, we only have a few years left of proven reserves.

The boys in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been drilling like crazy, but a lot are dry holes, or far from current piplines, or non-economical, or produce too much brine with the gas, etc.

Free Trade Agreement (if Canada chooses to respect it to the letter, unlike the US for the softwood lumber dispute) says Canada & US will freeze together, as once Canada starts exporting energy, we can't cut off the US when energy supplies dwindle. We'll see!

[we_are_toast]

Re: The "Cheap" gas is coming to an end

Meanwhile, the Canadians and Americas horse-around with non-solutions to the energy crisis like green solutions and a so-called green economic recovery. Too bad that we don't have a Putin here in North America to turn the tap off and to help focus our thinking about what the energy future has to be.

Wishing we had Putin? :eek::mad::rolleyes: