Makin' It Natural (Dr. Hook) - 1971

I came across an article in the latest edition of Businessweek entitled "Betting Big on a Boom in Natural Gas."

Needless to say, it stopped in my tracks.

It seems that U.S. gas producers, thanks to technological advances in recent years, have discovered vast reserves in shale rock.

What volume are we really talking here though?

The article says, "the U.S. now holds 1,800 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, one third of it in shale, the equivalent of some 320 billion barrels of oil. That's more than Saudi Arabia's 264 billion barrels."

But gas isn't oil, so it may not fuel cars but it can be used to generate electiricty, which would mean using less (dirty) coal to do so and that would be a good thing for the environment. Moreover, prices have dropped precipitously in recent months which has businesses reconsidering their options whether it is to retrofit coal plants for gas or convert transport fleets from oil to gas.

And this phenomenon isn't limited to North America either.

Read the full Businessweek article here.

When you are done and would like to delve further into the promise of natural gas, consider these forthcoming courses:

Energy Value Chain
19 - 21 Oct 2009
London, UK

Natural Gas Sales and Marketing in a Competitive Environment
19 - 23 Oct 2009
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

LNG Shipping - A Voyage of Discovery
3 - 5 Nov 2009
Oxford, UK

Overview of the European Natural Gas Industry
9 November 2009
London, UK

Natural Gas in the Competitive Electricity Generation Market
9 - 13 Nov 2009
Oxford, UK

Exploring European Natural Gas Markets
10 - 11 Nov 2009
London, UK

Overview of the North American Natural Gas Industry
10 November 2009
Houston, TX

North American Natural Gas Transportation and Storage
11 November 2009
Houston, TX

Overview of the Global LNG Industry
12 November 2009
Houston, TX

Global LNG - The Complete Supply Chain
16 - 20 Nov 2009
London, UK

Overview of the North American Natural Gas Industry
18 November 2009
Calgary, AB

North American Natural Gas Transportation and Storage
19 November 2009
Calgary, AB

Overview of and Opportunities in Latin American Natural Gas
2 - 3 Dec 2009
Houston, TX

The Changing Geopolitics of Oil and Gas: Identifying and Managing Political Risk
7 - 8 Dec 2009
Singapore

For details on any of these courses, click here.