Natural gas shortage, USA

In the United States, Americans are so dependent on natural gas that they find themselves in the middle of what some experts say is a supply crisis. Natural gas has countless commercial and residential uses, including being burned to produce electricity and heat for 55% of American homes. Industrial production has been hurt by high natural gas prices, with the chemicals industry taking the hardest hit.

Starting in the late 1990s, the power industry embraced natural gas, which burns cleaner than coal, and gas-dependent power plants popped up around the country. Back then, gas cost about $2 per thousand cubic feet - more than three times cheaper than today's prices, said Michael Zenker, managing director for global gas at Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Using natural gas was less expensive than coal or nuclear energy, he said. But unbeknownst to everyone, the 15-year "gas bubble" of high-supply, low-cost gas was about to burst.

In 2000, U.S. and Canadian gas supplies peaked and it caught the country by surprise. For the first time ever, a surge in drilling did not result in more supply. Today, gas drilling is at a record high, but production is relatively flat. That wouldn't be a problem if demand were stagnant, but Americans are big-time energy consumers.

Dwindling natural gas supplies in the United States, which holds 3% of the world's reserves, have made it economically attractive to import gas. To import gas, it must be chilled until it becomes a liquid, then placed on a ship. Once the ship arrives, the gas is heated in a receiving terminal, brought back to its gaseous state and pumped into pipelines. But liquefied natural gas (LNG) has faced opposition from citizens and environmental groups.

(2006-02-14 13:20:02 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Qatar : rising star in the Middle East

business-times.asia1.com.sg :

Gas-rich Qatar is showing all the signs of an economic boom: construction projects are seeing a surge (some going on 24 hours a day), new shopping malls are sprouting up, and consumer sentiment is exuberant. It may not have all the attention awarded to Dubai - regarded as the trading and tourism hub of the Middle East - but Qatar is emerging as a rising star. Rated one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the Gulf country registered real GDP growth rate of 7% in 2004 and a projected 8.8% last year. Of course, observers may argue that Qatar is blessed with oil and gas fields - with an oil production capacity of about 800,000 barrels a day and the world's third-largest reserves of natural gas - that allows it to leapfrog to the league of wealthy nations.

Yet what makes Qatar stand out among other resource-rich nations is the commitment of its leaders. The will to diversify its economic base away from energy exports is perhaps best exemplified in the creation of Education City - an eight million square metre cluster for learning and research. Even in the midst of abundant natural resources, Qatar recognises that its greatest resource lies in the potential of its people. Qatar also has other big plans. Its Sport City will have a 50,000-seat stadium, an Olympic-standard aquatic centre and a hall that can accommodate seven different sports for the Asian Games in December. A new US$5 billion airport with a capacity of 50 million passengers is also in the works.

In line with its developments in liquefied natural gas (LNG), it will also build up to 86 vessels over the next seven years to ferry LNG to customers around the world. Many of its ambitions will be supported by revenues from the oil and gas sectors. And with analysts forecasting Qatar to become the world's biggest exporter of LNG by 2012, the prospects look good.

(2006-02-14 13:05:40 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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