Sen. Murkowski, Energy Leaders Point to Natural Gas as Large Piece of the Climate Change Puzzle

March 11, 2010 by Lauren Blosse· Leave a Comment
Filed under: Natural Gas

Today, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and several energy industry leaders spoke to a group of key stakeholders in DC about the potential for natural gas in America’s low-carbon future.

During the forum, which was sponsored by AGA, the American Gas Foundation and the Congressional Quarterly- Roll Call group, Sen. Murkowski said that any bill that fails to rely on natural gas to help lower emissions is “unacceptable.” She went on to tout the record of residential and commercial natural gas users in lowering total emissions over the last four decades.

The senator also pointed to natural gas as a backup for renewables, stating, “renewables need base load supply, and natural gas can be that supply.”

Others on the panel, including Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners, Sharon Buccino of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Bill Cantrell of the Council for Responsible Energy, Vello Kuuskraa of Advanced Resources International and Dr. Robert Simon of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee addressed such issues as access to domestic natural gas, hydraulic fracturing and natural gas vehicles.

Quoting the journalist Robert Bryce, Senator Murkowski concluded, “Wood was the dominant fuel source in the 19th century, and oil in the 20th century. Natural gas should be the dominant fuel source in the 21st century.”

Visit this link to view a video of the forum.

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Diversification of natural gas supply is an essential consumer protection

March 10, 2010 by Andrew Soto· 1 Comment, leave one of your own
Filed under: Natural Gas

As the old adage goes, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” You don’t need to have been in the energy industry long to see examples of the dangers of relying on a single fuel source to meet essential needs. The more you rely on one source for a particular fuel, the more vulnerable you become to price changes in that fuel source. Having a diverse supply portfolio helps protect consumers from the adverse impacts of price volatility by limiting the impact of significant price changes that may occur in any one source.

Supply diversity is important both within and across fuels. I often hear people advocate that we should generate electricity with: ___ (pick your source – wind, solar, fuel cells, nuclear, natural gas, etc.). But in my view, we need a diverse electric generation fleet that draws from ALL sources of supply in order to mitigate the impacts of price volatility in any one particular fuel source. I think a large part of our concerns about the price of oil and our dependence on foreign sources of it stems from the fact that nearly all of our transportation needs are met by a single fuel source. According to the Energy Information Administration’s 2008 Annual Energy Review, the transportation sector relies on petroleum products to supply 95 percent of its needs.

Even within a fuel type we need a diverse resource base. As my colleague, Chris McGill, has said, when it comes to natural gas, North America is blessed with resource abundance. And that abundance is diverse geographically and geologically. Whether on-shore or off-shore, conventional or non-conventional, we are fortunate that we have many sources of natural gas supply to meet our energy needs. And, that diversity has helped keep natural gas prices low for consumers. For example, in 2005 when hurricanes shuttered much of our off-shore natural gas production, prices rose dramatically in response to the supply constriction. In 2008, however, when off-shore supply was again taken off-line due to hurricanes, natural gas prices fell. What changed? On-shore production from new shale plays as well as increased LNG imports more than made up the supply shortfall. Indeed, according to Pan EurAsian Enterprices, Inc., increased LNG imports this winter helped stabilize natural gas prices in New England. See AGA’s Natural Gas Market Indicators (Feb. 26, 2010).

I believe that our ability to import natural gas via LNG import terminals is an important element of our diverse natural gas resource base that helps keep natural gas prices affordable for consumers. Several U.S. Senators have introduced legislation (S. 3056) that would remove from the Natural Gas Act provisions that make clear that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has exclusive jurisdiction over the siting of LNG import terminals. The Natural Gas Council, of which AGA is a member, opposes this legislation with good reason. The legislation, if passed, would create uncertainty in the siting process and may ultimately lead to fewer import facilities being sited or built. While some local interests might cheer at that result, in the long run we only hurt ourselves by chipping away at our natural gas supply diversity.

We should not put artificial limits on LNG imports. The market should decide where and how many of these facilities should be built, with FERC ensuring that each facility is sited and constructed in an environmentally responsible manner. For the benefit of all natural gas consumers, we should not remove one of the “baskets” that has contributed to our diverse natural gas resource base.

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Tags: supply

From Austin to Boston in a natural gas vehicle

March 9, 2010 by Dan Gibson· 2 Comments, leave one of your own
Filed under: Natural Gas

We’ve done quite a few stories on natural gas vehicles here at True Blue but my favorite ones are always the ones about people showing initiative. A great example of that is Castlen Kennedy.

I came across Castlen initially when I saw her name pop up in the CNGNow twitter stream. She’s planning an extended trip (Austin to Boston) in her new CNG-fueled Tahoe. Castlen has a degree in Public Affairs which might explain why she is doing such an excellent job using the web to promote her experience. You can read about the trip on her blog, follow her on Twitter and even become a Facebook fan. If you’re on Facebook, take some time to join AGA natural gas Facebook fan page.

Before you go though, I did have a chance to sit down with Castlen to get her thoughts on her upcoming trip. You can read on below and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.

Tell us about yourself?

I am native of Houston, currently living in Austin as I pursue a Dual Masters at the University of Texas. I plan to graduate in May 2011 with a Masters in Public Affairs from the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs and a Masters of Arts in Energy & Earth Resources from the Jackson School of Geosciences.

In addition to being a full time student, I work part time for Apache Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas producer headquartered in Houston. Before returning to school in the fall of 2008, I spent seven years in various positions in both the public and private sector working on energy issues. Prior to joining Apache Corporation in 2006, I worked in the Office of Fossil Energy at the United States Department of Energy as a Senior Policy Advisor on oil and natural gas issues. Before DOE, I also held positions at S&B Infrastructure, RWE Trading Americas and Enron Corporation.

I am recently married and live with my husband, Cory, and our Boston Terrier, Ralphie. In my free time I like taking Ralphie to the dog park, working out and travelling.

Why did you decide to do this?

With a new understanding of our abundant natural gas resources in the US, it seems all things gas-related are getting more attention these days from transportation to power generation and Bloomboxes! A thesis is required for my dual masters, and I wanted to combine the energy aspect of my degrees with the policy piece and the transportation fuel possibilities of natural gas sounded really exciting. The idea to make it more than just a report and add an actual trip came about because I thought it would be a whole lot of fun and add an anecdotal narrative to my thesis.

As I talked to friends and family about my plans, I soon learned few people outside of the industry realized natural gas as a transportation fuel was even an option. I realized I could use the trip as an opportunity to educate my social circle on the technology and its related benefits and challenges. The website and blog naturally followed.

When does your trip start?

I will depart Austin on Wednesday, May 19th and expect the trip to take about a week.

Give us some insight into how you’re planning your trip?

The first step was figuring out where I could get a car. Apache, my employer, was looking into converting some vehicles for their car pool program, and I approached them about taking one of those on the trip. Once they agreed, I had to figure out the fuel capacity and efficiency of the Tahoe so I could estimate what my range would be on a full CNG fill. Once I had that number pegged, I was able to use a couple of different maps of stations to create the route. DOE has a good one online.

I wasn’t initially sure where I wanted to go, but knew I needed to go somewhere far away. I have never been to Boston and “Austin to Boston” had an obvious ring to it. The longest stretch on my trip is about 250 miles, and the Tahoe should be able to comfortably cover it.

What are your plans during the trip?

I want to make stops along the way to tour facilities and interview individuals to highlight different aspects of the fuel. For example, in addition to the obvious fuel stops, I plan to visit a dealership that does vehicle conversions, visit a natural gas production site, interview a fleet manager who has done a conversion, and maybe even visit an LNG facility. I have a lot of other ideas for stops I will make along the way, so you will have to stay tuned and follow the blog to see where I actually end up!

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