Unlimited cheap natural gas is a win for everyone
The shale revolution, technology unleashing vast new oil and natural gas production, is delivering lower energy costs to countries, industries and consumers.
Without revolutionary hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling, Canadians’ heating bills would be twice what they are now. Gasoline prices – soaring now due it is half as deleterious as oil. And if opponents’ models and projections were accepted, natural gas emissions would be one-quarter of that from coal, which is entirely carbon (with some contaminants).
In fact, it’s believed that the spreading use of natural gas, while reducing the use of coal in power generation, is responsible for the flat CO2 emissions of the United States over the past decade or more. This is despite America’s economic and population growth increasing power and heating consumption.
Despite efforts to promote coal use, utilities are reluctant to add coal-burning capacity due to costly pollution abatement and waste disposal requirements. Consider as well the big drop in natural gas prices in the United States – from $8 per mcf (or MBtu or GJ) less than a decade ago to about $3 today.