A glut of articles on the domestic gas glut

Wow, there has been a flood of high profile articles in the last couple of weeks on the huge U.S. supply of shale gas, and how this completely changes the U.S. and global energy market.  It was in part spurred by a big oil and gas industry meeting in Houston last week.  Here are links to the most important articles, with some brief summaries or quotes - I especially recommend the articles in the Economist and the NY Times.  It's a whole new world.... and importing LNG makes less sense every day.  When will Northern Star and Oregon LNG/Leucadia finally wake up to reality and realize they are in an obsolete industry?

BP chief hails American breakthrough in gas supplies from shale rocks

The Guardian (U.K.)   January 28, 2010

At the World Economic Forum, the chief executive of BP says the supply of shale gas in the U.S. is “a complete game changer”.

IEA CHIEF: US Unlikely To Import LNG Unconventional supply saps U.S. interest in LNG imports

Wall Street Journal     March 10, 2010

“HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--The avalanche of shale gas that has flooded the U.S. oil market is having a "huge impact" in the global market for the commodity, International Energy Agency's Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said Wednesday. “

LNG sector rethinks long term amid US natgas glut

Reuters  March 10, 2010

“A glut of unconventional natural gas supplies from U.S. shale deposits has fundamentally recast the long-term prospects for liquefied natural gas imports that were once considered the linchpin of the nation's energy security, industry executives said on Wednesday.       ….

U.S. natural gas reserves are up by a third since 2006, thanks to unconventional gas development including shale gas, with estimated reserves sufficient to supply the U.S. market for nearly 100 years at current rates.”

Natural gas – An Unconventional Glut

The Economist    March 11, 2010

Newly economic, distributed sources are shifting the balance of power in the world’s gas markets

[This excellent in-depth article begins with a description of the significance of the Kitimat, B.C. LNG terminal that switched from import to export.  It has a map of U.S. shale gas reserves and describes how they bring U.S. reserves up to the level of Russia, which has been thought for many years to have by far the largest gas reserves.  It describes the effect on the global gas market of the combination of shale gas discoveries at the same time that LNG supplies are increasing but long-term demand is not growing due to efforts to slow global warming.]

Natural Gas from Shale Plays Create ‘New World’ for Energy Industry

New York Times   March 11, 2010

A report from a recent oil and gas industry conference in Houston:

Conoco Phillips CEO Jim Mulva, in his keynote speech, called shale gas “nature’s gift to the people of the world” and said “Some people even forecast the U.S. becoming an LNG exporter.”  The Chair of Cambridge Energy Reseach Associates, the group that organized the conference, called the “shale gale” “simply the most significant energy innovation so far this century.”