Posted on 06/21/2012 11:36:53 PM PDT by neverdem
It may not pique the public’s interest quite like finance or information technology, but it just could just save the U.S. economy.
Indeed, the natural gas industry supports some 2.8 million jobs — either directly through companies engaged in exploration and drilling or indirectly through manufacturers that use the fuel as a raw material, according to the American Gas Association.
The real potential for economic impact, however, lies in the vast reservoirs of shale gas that are newly accessible through hydraulic fracturing.
Better known as “fracking,” the process involves extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the Earth using a highly pressurized mixture of water and chemicals.
“Energy is always a key player in the economy and because producers have been able to make these advances in technology and efficiency improvements, shale gas could be a very significant driver for the economy going forward,” says Rocco Canonica, director of energy analysis at Bentek Energy, an energy market research firm in Evergreen, Colo.
Over the last four years, fracking, along with traditional drilling, has unlocked a staggering 3,400 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in North America, enough to supply U.S. consumers at current demand levels for more than 100 years, according to business and economic research firm IHS...
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
I would be more comfortable in my personal use to stay with rated equipment rather than build for the eventual explosion.
my 2¢
Not true. We have enough oil to supply ourselves for hundreds of years, so why waste money converting to alternative fuels? Gasoline and diesel are far superior as motor fuels for vehicles and the infrastructure has been there for a century. Rebuilding the entire infrastructure to accommodate an inferior fuel is just another unicorn fart dream
I think in the long run, the need for cryogenics for LNG will be a a problem for highway usage. Of course, if you have LNG, then providing CNG is trivial. The reverse is "possible" but more difficult.
We'll just have to see how the market shakes out.
"LNG will become a fuel of choice for long-haul, marine and locomotive. CNG will be used more by residential and light commercial.
I certainly agree about marine and locomotive. I just see the split point at a somewhat different spot than you do. I certainly think that LNG is definitely not an option for passenger/light vehicle use.
Nuclear energy, shale oil and gas, crude oil, a huge supply of coal in the US could save it. It isn’t a matter of supply, it is a matter of liberal madness and control.
Government doesn’t produce anything but a goddam bill for worthless services most don’t need or can tolerate. Government Worker is an oxymoron in my book. Under control of Obama, this entire government is our natural enemy.
I used to think the same myself. Then I learned that the tanks on the trucks/vehicles are both insulated and pressure rated that they can remain closed up and not in use for a minimum of 5 days without venting or requiring refrigeration input. I now understand this has been the minimum design requirement for some time now and manufactures having been meeting this criteria. In the stationary facilities, it is easier to manage. I've done some work years ago for LNG refueling on Metro Buses. While the equipment requirements are specific and with cost, it has become routine for several manufactures.
You don’t have to rebuild the infrastructure. We’ve already got a distribution network in many parts of he US. You won’t see natural gas tankers on the road.
The current proposed legislation is a modification to the tax code to allow tthe necessary tax credits. Installing the infrasrucure is as simply as installing a fill unit and hooking it up to a natural gas line. Natural gas would serve as a competitive fuel for those cars and light trucks that fill the vehicles in the niche beween heavyr/medium duty vehicles and small cars for which a lower BTU content fuel would suffice.
Best of all it would remove support from global oil prices and eliminate the yo-yo gasoline price cycle typically seen during some times of the year. Natural gas is not subject to the ethanol lobby nor is it subject to disruption by global events. The price of natural gas is not going to sky rocket because of gasoline invenory levels nor will it change due to a refinery fire, hurricane, or a rumored attack on a foreign country.
It’s a game changer. Detroit has built the vehicles in the past and is doing so again. The best would be a multifuel vehicle that could run on either natural gas or gasoline. Do you think a retailer would try to temporarily jack up gasoline prices if his customers could flip him the bird and use natural gas instead. Especially if you bought one of the home fill stations.
As a fungible commodity, oil is always going to be subject to global events. Not so for natural gas.
My feeling is that the problem isn't related directly to temps and pressure, but in operator skill during fueling. With locomotive and marine, fueling is done infrequently, and by trained experts. With highway use, "not so much".
Admittedly, long-haul operators are more highly trained that the average smuck behind the wheel of a car, but is that difference enough?
It's a "human factors" thing.
Oil shale, from Green River or elsewhere, is not economically feasible, yet. With future technological adavnces, that may change.
Wrong again.
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