Energy crisis is postponed as new gas rescues the world

The Telegraph ^ | 10/11/2009 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

[bruinbirdman]

Engineers have performed their magic once again. The world is not going to run short of energy as soon as feared.

America is not going to bleed its wealth importing fuel. Russia's grip on Europe's gas will weaken. Improvident Britain may avoid paralysing blackouts by mid-decade after all.

The World Gas Conference in Buenos Aires last week was one of those events that shatter assumptions. Advances in technology for extracting gas from shale and methane beds have quickened dramatically, altering the global balance of energy faster than almost anybody expected.

Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, said proven natural gas reserves around the world have risen to 1.2 trillion barrels of oil equivalent, enough for 60 years' supply – and rising fast.

"There has been a revolution in the gas fields of North America. Reserve estimates are rising sharply as technology unlocks unconventional resources," he said.

This is almost unknown to the public, despite the efforts of Nick Grealy at "No Hot Air" who has been arguing for some time that Britain's shale reserves could replace declining North Sea output.

Rune Bjornson from Norway's StatoilHydro said exploitable reserves are much greater than supposed just three years ago and may meet global gas needs for generations.

"The common wisdom was that unconventional gas was too difficult, too expensive and too demanding," he said, according to Petroleum Economist. "This has changed. If we ever doubted that gas was the fuel of the future – in many ways there's the answer."

The breakthrough has been to combine 3-D seismic imaging with new technologies to free "tight gas" by smashing rocks, known as hydro-fracturing or "fracking" in the trade.

The US is leading the charge. Operations in Pennsylvania and Texas have already been sufficient to cut US imports of liquefied natural gas (LGN) from Trinidad

[bruinbirdman]

Ping

[Steely Tom]

This is one thing the doom-and-gloomer Malthusian "limits to growth" crowd never factor in to their "models." Human intelligence, creativity, discovery.

That's a big reason for all the environmental hysteria. Global Warming, sustainable growth, etc., are an effort to short-circuit the march of technology, do an end-run around it and try to slow it down. It's been tried before (see Luddite) and it's bound to fail, but they will keep trying.

[Vince Ferrer]

I’d like to have dual fuel, natural gas/gasoline cars. They have natural gas pumps for home use that can refill the gas tank, so it would be the equivalent of a plug in hybrid, except I would think it would be cheaper tech.

[bigbob]

Like most people, this writer either doesn’t know the difference between energy and fuel, or doesn’t care. There is and never will be any shortage of energy until the sun dies. The only debate is over the fuel source we prefer to use. Consumption of energy if virtuous, since it drives the development of new fuel sources, and will continue to do so.

[B-Chan]

I can't wait to read James Kunstler's reaction to this news.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***The breakthrough has been to combine 3-D seismic imaging with new technologies to free “tight gas” by smashing rocks, known as hydro-fracturing or “fracking” in the trade. ***

They did that twice in the past, with nukes in New Mexico and Colorado. It worked, but the gas was radioactive.
Operation Gasbuggy.

[TheThinker]

bookmark

[bruinbirdman]

James Kunstler is a golbal warming denier. He denies that global warming is a hoax.

And who pays attention to that guy but a bunch of upper New York state socialists who don't even have the infrastructure for natural gas and are still burning coal and oil in furnaces. Heck, they're hardly wired for the internet.

yitbos

[parsifal]

I like him! Witty and snide. But, I can’t wait for natural gas to get widespread.

parsy, who has a 85 Dodge truck

[50cal Smokepole]

What the FRACK?

[PetroniusMaximus]

“known as hydro-fracturing or “fracking” in the trade.”

That meant something entirely different on the old Battlestar Galactica.

[PetroniusMaximus]

You smoked by minutes me there, 50cal Smokepole.

[PetroniusMaximus]

And yes, the speaking the english of, naturally, to me comes!

[repubpub]

It doesn't matter if fuel would come out of a tap, the environazis will have none of it. Fuel much like capitalism is bad.

[familyop]

Here's a heads up for you, bruinbirdman (maybe dollar to fall another 2-3% over the next couple of months). ...and maybe watch commodities again.

[familyop]

My opinion on energy, BTW and for what it’s worth, is that each of us should help to develop and use whatever works best for the conditions around us. It would also be helpful for all, if some of us would allow energy resources in our backyards to be harvested and sent wherever needed. Uranium, for example, won’t bite until so many loads of tons are turned into a gram of radium. I’ve also lived around many oil refineries, and those didn’t poison us all.

In other words, less jealousy about our neighbors making some money would be good for us all.

[familyop]

"Like most people, this writer either doesn’t know the difference between energy and fuel, or doesn’t care. There is and never will be any shortage of energy until the sun dies. The only debate is over the fuel source we prefer to use. Consumption of energy if virtuous, since it drives the development of new fuel sources, and will continue to do so."

That's true, although the sun doesn't help as much at higher latitudes and in wetter places. But there are plenty of other means for people willing to work.

British and US import interests are disseminating the exaggerations about new energy discoveries and technologies, because they very much wanted a trade fixing agreement like the Kyoto Treaty (stopping production in all countries except those like China). Granted, the same interests deny that they are behind the global warming bunk and hide behind ridiculous rebuttals against their own exclamations--generally, more of the propaganda equivalent of white noise around each of their putches.

The news and chat media are sponsored. If it were state-owned, those interests would have even less direct control over public speech.

They're afraid, because some retiring bankers have mentioned the probability of eventual carbon tariffs against Chinese products. ...doesn't matter anyway, as the dollar must fall, Oil prices will rise, and third-world product prices will rise. The easy money interests (nonproductive interests) have nearly checkmated themselves.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***That meant something entirely different on the old Battlestar Galactica.***

Having a “Socialator” helped!