It’s true that low prices have slowed drilling and fracking for shale gas but if you think drilling issues are behind us, you haven’t been paying attention.
Industry has a plan that will jack prices right back up and that plan is called: LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).
LNG:
Permits are pending that would ship nearly 20% of our domestic fracked gas to Asia. Read the letter Rep. Ed Markey (D, MA), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, sent to Energy Secretary Chu expressing his concerns about the authorization of LNG exports.
The letter addresses concerns about increased prices for US gas and the probability of rapidly increased production when what they really need is a timeout to improve technology.
Rep. Markey is not the only one sounding the alarm about price impacts from exporting domestic natural gas. Energy Policy Forum says that LNG exports will cause economic shock waves.
In his latest article, Unpacking The Shale Gas LNG Export Boom, Steve Horn give us a geography lesson that includes the industry’s big plans for LNG.
Corpus Christi is the site of one planned LNG terminal that will ship gas from the Eagle Ford Shale via a Koch pipeline and place it on the open market in Europe. That means, as Energy Policy Forum points out, domestic gas goes to the highest bidder. Period.
Corpus Christi, TX
On March 14, Cheniere announced it would be filing for its second LNG export terminal in July or August of this year, this one in the scenic city of Corpus Christi, TX, 250 miles west of Cheniere’s already existing Sabine Pass LNG export terminal.
Just south of Corpus another permit for LNG export is pending at Freeport, TX where a Kinder Morgan pipeline will supply the terminal with gas from the Barnett and Eagle Ford Shales.
Freeport, TX
This fracked gas will come from Kinder Morgan owned pipelines running from the Eagle Ford Shale and the Barnett Shale, respectively.
Are you feeling used and dirty? It gets worse:
Fracking for “National Security” Exposed
Though the industry has a slogan that reads, “Drill A Gas Well, Bring A Soldier Home,” the truth is far more complex than that easy-to-digest propaganda. The industry, as this article has made clear, is building up a complex armada of pipelines and LNG terminals, putting the “national security” lie to rest.
CNG:
In November, I attended a media conference that has become known as the PSYOPS conference. But a lot more than industry’s use of military procedures and PSYOP trained ex military personnel in our neighborhoods was revealed at that conference. Chesapeake Energy has invested $1 billion so we can all drive CNG vehicles and fill them up with the CNG infrastructure they plan to install everywhere.
So if someone is trying to convince you that the threat of gas drilling is over, they are just flat wrong. The threat will never be over as long a we have hydrocarbons under us. Industry plans to pulverize every inch of shale that contains any hydrocarbons.
UPDATE: Just for Nick who is in the oil and gas business and is a regular commenter, here’s a table showing the historical average of annual energy subsidies for O&G, nuclear, biofuels, and renewables. Ahm, sorry but when you start talking about the free market, all your clothes fall off and you are standing before us in the comment section completely naked.
And here is another chart that shows it’s not just us.
According to a recent analysis of the economics of energy by experts at the Imperial College London and the UK Energy Research Center electricity from wind power may, in five years, be less expensive than electricity from natural gas in the U.K. if current levels of government subsidies were transferred to renewable energy sources. LINK
Another update: Maryland Is On The Verge Of Becoming A Leader In Clean, Renewable Offshore Wind Energy. But they need a bill called the Wind Energy Act to pass. The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act would incentivize the development of up to 500 MW of offshore wind capacity by creating a carve-out in the state’s renewable energy portfolio standard to include that a specified amount of energy would be derived from offshore wind. And HERE is an article about how this project would create jobs and reduce the cost of electricity.
Wind and solar are ready to start taking the place of dirty fossil fuels. Our leaders just need the political will to fight the ENORMOUS influence the Big Gas Mafia has.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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This BS notion of export of LNG should be met with a big-‘ole, hefty EXPORT tax to help protect and preserve our precious natural resources!!!! And the CNG should be taxed at least equal to what the gasoline tax that is already imposed on our vehicle fuel. The Big ‘Ole Tax machine should crank up and it should be powered with LNG or CNG fuel!
Chesapeake states that the U.S. and Canada will likely be exporting LNG by 2015, and when this direction becomes evident natural gas future strip prices will increase.
Do not think for one minute these companies will not do everything and anything to increase share prices.
It is not about bring a solider home to is about buying who they want in public office with their PAC money.
Hey, Mr. Halliburton loop hole and baby Bush how about not sending a solider away to fight a war based on faulty intelligence. I am sick of these flag waving patrotic bullshitters.
Dickhead Cheney needed a new heart because he did not have one and if there was such a thing as a soul transplant he needs one of those also.
I agree with you Scuba above–Cheney & Co. is what got us into this situation that we have on our hands now–and It’s not being helped by Hillary & Co.
The good news is that gas prices are at $1.87 today. I hope it goes further into the toilet. It will send a big message to the Gas Mafia in texas.
Any industry anywhere in the world, will sell their product for the best price, if allowed. Are we wanting to suspend our supposed free market system, as well as, any hopes of an extended supply of base load energy now?
Are we wanting to create huge sacrifice zones throughout America so one industry can abuse the free market system?
Are we wanting to turn IMPORT ports many of which were built using eminent domain into EXPORT ports for private gain? I think there is enough eminent domain abuse by this industry.
Are we wanting to risk our water security so the Big Gas Mafia can further enrich itself?
Look, you can’t continue to have it both ways. If you want to extract energy and make a profit clean up your fracking act and stop hurting people. No one started out being opposed to energy extraction. It is the extremely irresponsible way your industry is operating that has created the opposition.
Once we have developed alternate energy sources that can actually provide sufficient base load power to effectively run our energy addicted society, we can talk. Until then, it’s only talk.
No one is wanting or trying to damage anything. Nothing is 100%, good or bad. Drilling operations near homes or businesses are not good. Production operations will be better.
Construction on the LNG terminals I am aware of were begun before the success of the industries development of natural gas and were assuming our country would need to import natural gas to survive. We have since developed excess gas reserve and currently enjoy a glut of the commodity, allowing us to sell it at a higher price elsewhere. Again, that pesky free-market, supply & demand thing.
We already have the alternate energy sources we just need to stop subsidizing the oil & gas and nuclear industries and start subsidizing wind and solar. See charts above. Other countries have whole towns that are already using wind and solar and they are producing a surplus.
I agree with Cathy, don’t talk about free market in regards to the oil & gas industry because you are naked when you do.
I don’t understand your second paragraph. So, if you drive your car 100 mph in a school zone and hit a little kid, as long as you didn’t know it’s a school zone and weren’t trying to hit a little kid it’s okay? So if you damage an aquifer it’s okay because you weren’t trying to damage it? Making sacrifice zones of whole neighborhoods is okay because you didn’t mean to?
Oh, and production will get better? Whew! That’s a relief. Have you got a time-frame on that one?
You need to study up on your LNG terminals. Most were built for IMPORT and in many cases they used eminent domain to take private property because IMPORTing gas was for the public good. Now they are taking those terminals and flipping them to EXPORT. The bottom line is: the oil & gas industry using eminent domain AGAIN for private gain.
Nick why do you have such a low opinion of America? Just because you have no faith in America’s ability to kick the fossil fuel addiction with current technology doesn’t mean we all share your pessimistic world view.
Germany has gone solar in only ten years, a lesson we should learn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7DyJtJpFZQ
YouTube channel worth a look:
http://www.youtube.com/user/EnergyConservationTV?feature=watch
Let’s see industry is now giving up the energy independence BS for supporting for a “free market system”. Nothing is free.
I guess they will keep throwing bullshit against the wall until they find something that sticks.
Stop taking 9 billion in federal tax subsidizes and then you can preach to me. Sounds like you mean manipulation of the system not a free market system to me.
When you compare your “subsidy” table to either net cash flow or taxes paid by energy source and calculate the percent of “subsidy” to either of the two indications of revenue generated, I seem to be all dressed up again?
We can only hope alternate forms of energy are developed effectively by other countries. This one doesn’t seem to think working on them with full scale alternate source models or even spending significant dollars on their development is needed for some reason? I wish we did.
While Germany should be applauded for working solar as hard as they have, they haven’t actually “gone solar”… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_Germany
The oilies will survive without tax breaks/incentives to develop other more expensive (better?) methods to extract oil & gas. They haven’t been able to provide the quantities of fossil fuels this country needs for decades but, we have OPEC for that..Oops, there goes that free market thing again..not enough supply, price goes up! Those guys understand it, why don’t we?
Once the price of oil & gas gets high enough for alternates to appear economic we will convert..I agree we should start the conversion now & pay it forward for future generations to learn from the process. As long as we have so much coal in this country and allow it’s use, this will be an uphill battle @ best.