supports 2.8 million jobs, according to the America’s Natural Gas Alliance.Īnd from 2007 through 2012, employment in the oil and natural gas industries grew by more than 162,000 jobs, a 40-percent increase, according to EIA.Ī significant player in making renewable energy viableĬonsider natural gas a “bridge” fuel for a growing renewable energy economy. Nevertheless, the natural gas industry in the U.S. Jobs in renewable energy are growing while those in conventional oil and gas sectors are declining.
There is some indication that low prices for natural gas and for oil may endure, in part because of the spread of extraction technology improvements globally.īut that view isn’t universal: EIA in January expressed a contrary short-term view and projected increasing natural gas prices over the next two years. Some reasons why average natural gas prices are relatively low: high production and storage levels, and this past winter’s El Niño depressed the demand for natural gas for heating.
That’s equal to $8.45 per million Btus generated, far more expensive than the current price of natural gas On July 1, the NYMEX West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil Price was $48.99 per barrel. However, a comparison of current average prices for fossil fuel for electricity generation, by state, can be found at EIA. Comparing fuel prices can be tricky, and energy costs vary by region. EIA reported the Henry Hub spot price at $2.93 per million Btu as of June 29. However, in recent months spot prices have been rising. The cost of natural gas in March of this year fell to its lowest levels since 1998 – to $1.57 per million Btu according to “Henry Hub” spot prices. Compared with coal, natural gas emits half the CO2 when it’s burned.īut unburned, natural gas (which is mostly methane) is about 25 times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2 over a 100-year period (more on this below, under “Cons”).īecause it’s relatively clean compared with other fossil fuels, proponents champion natural gas as a “bridge” fuel to support a growing renewable energy economy, supplementing intermittent solar and wind power. Meanwhile, total proved reserves of gross natural gas worldwide totaled 6,846 trillion cubic feet.Ī relatively clean fossil fuel, a ‘bridge’ fuel Source: Energy Information Administration.Īs of January 1, 2013, there were about 2,276 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable “dry,” or consumer-grade, natural gas resources in the U.S., according to EIA.Īs reported widely, natural gas production has been booming in the U.S., with a 35-percent increase between 20. – equal to coal and ahead of nuclear power, which accounted for almost one-fifth. In 2015, natural gas accounted for about one-third of electricity production in the U.S. Meanwhile, natural gas production reached a record high level of 79 billion cubic feet per day in 2015, and it’s expected to soon surpass coal in the mix of fuel used for U.S.
The United States is awash in natural gas, with enough on tap to last the rest of this century given 2013 consumption rates, according to the U.S. Natural gas is abundant and a major source of energy. In this post, we review a few of the main pros and cons of this widely used fuel, which is an increasing source of energy for electricity generation and a major energy commodity for heating and cooking. Wherever you turn, there are diverging opinions on natural gas. Fracking wrecks the environment and causes earthquakes. Natural gas is a cleaner alternative to oil and coal – and a “bridge” fuel to a renewable energy economy.Įxtracting natural gas through fracking is good for the economy and makes us less dependent on Middle East oil. Natural gas is just another dirty fossil fuel on the road to disastrous climate change.
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