WorldOil

US gas industry can be a victim or a leader

It is no secret that the onshore US gas industry is delivering impressive results in the discovery of enormous new unconventional shale reserves. In fact, the price for domestic gas is now almost half what it was only a few months ago, prompting some industry insiders to lament that we’ve become “victims of our own success.” The truth is that we’ll only be victims if we choose to approach the supply additions as we have in the past. We really don’t need to do so. Never has the supply of domestic natural gas been so reliable. Advances in drilling and completion technologies, used in multiple geologic environments across the country, are discovering multiple-Tcf reserves that have changed the game. In fact, according to a recent study by Navigant Consulting conducted for the American Clean Skies Foundation, the US has more than 118 years of gas reserves at current consumption levels.