Monthly Archives: January 2012

On Wednesday, Larry Borgard told the New York Society of Security Analysts that natural gas utilities are a sound return on investment.  Borgard is chairman of the American Gas Association (AGA) and president and chief operating officer, Utilities, of Integrys Energy Group, Inc. He met with the investment community on Wednesday to outline the role of America’s natural gas utilities in creating our clean energy future.

“The recent low prices for natural gas that we have seen are good news for our customers, residential, as well as in commercial and industrial markets,” Borgard said. “Natural gas is an abundant, domestic and clean energy source. Our industry creates millions of jobs. There are exciting opportunities to expand the applications of natural gas, including greater direct use in homes and businesses, as well as in the transportation sector with natural gas vehicles. Natural gas is the future of the energy industry, and by extension our economic future.”

During this continued period of stagnant economic growth, shareholders of natural gas utilities have seen consistent and strong dividends. Most natural gas utilities have paid dividends continuously for more than 50 years. Over the past year, the AGA Index (an index consisting of member companies of the American Gas Association) performed strongly in comparison with the Dow Jones Utility Index.

Photos below. You can also view them on Facebook or the full album over on Flickr.

In his most recent state of the union address, President Obama said:

This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.

We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years.  And my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use, because America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.

The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy.

This is the first time in recent memory that a President of the United States has mentioned natural gas so prominently in such a public forum.  Natural gas is the right fuel in the right place at the right time.

We are pleased by President Obama’s strong support for America’s foundation fuel, and hope the he will incite action following his State of the Union remarks by putting in place policies that expand the use of natural gas, so that every American and our nation as a whole can benefit from this clean, abundant, domestic resource.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released its yearly long-term outlook of energy markets. EIA, the federal agency in charge of energy statistics and forecasts, uses its Annual Energy Outlook to present its view of energy consumption and production in the United States from now until 2035. They unveiled the 2012 Early Release yesterday, and a few high-level points are worth mentioning: 

1.      Natural gas production rises over projection period and shale comes to represent half of all dry gas production.

EIA sees shale as a growing and increasingly important resource of natural gas for the county; that there is a lot of gas, and it will be produced. In EIA’s view, shale gas is expected to grow to nearly half of all natural gas production by 2035, spurred by new technology, and a greater push toward more liquids-rich plays due to higher oil prices.  In the last few years, natural gas production from shale has propelled from nearly nothing to 5.0 trillion cubic feet in 2010, making it 23 percent of all U.S. gas production that year.  Data for 2011 indicates that shale production grew again last year. In the outlook, EIA sees continued growth in shale gas production, increasing to an incredible 13.6 trillion cubic feet in 2035, making it 49 percent of the total U.S. dry gas production.  

U.S. Natural Gas Production, 1990-2035 (trillion cubic feet)

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