Natural gas surge, Is it a pipe dream?

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By Patrice Hill

Climate change legislation in Congress appears to be based in part on the optimistic view that the United States has a plentiful supply of natural gas and would push businesses to switch to gas from coal, critics say, even before the supply has been secured.

The legislation takes a cue from industry proponents who proclaim the United States has a century's supply of natural gas -- a clean, efficient fuel that could help solve the nation's energy problems -- from climate change to dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

But some environmental groups, scientists and analysts say the industry is raising false hopes, as fracturing techniques for releasing the gas found in shale rock underlying much of the country are not yet proved to be economical or safe, and could contaminate groundwater.

Natural gas is abundant in shale rock running from the Appalachians to the Rockies, but it has remained largely untapped because of the difficulty in reaching it. But in recent years, fracturing techniques have been developed that cause the shale to release the gas so it can be pumped to the surface.

Gas not only is cleaner and more efficient than coal or oil in generating energy, but it also produces the least amount of carbon dioxide -- the principal greenhouse gas -- when burned.

T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oil billionaire who has devoted himself to campaigning for greater energy independence, is one of the biggest proponents of diverting the nation's energy consumption into natural gas and away from imported oil. He advocates reducing oil use by using compressed natural gas to run more buses and trucks.

"America is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Its time for us to use this abundant resource to end the cycle of foreign oil dependency and addiction that is making us less safe and more economically insecure," Mr. Pickens said. "With new drilling techniques and technology giving us access to the incredible reserve of natural gas contained in the shale fields, we have more than 100 years' supply of natural gas."

He has been joined recently by former President Bill Clinton and his aide John Podesta, now chief executive of the Center for American Progress, in urging Congress to adopt a strategy of relying more on natural gas to increase energy independence and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate "green" energy jobs.

Following their recommendations, climate change legislation pending in Congress would cap carbon dioxide emissions, pushing power plants and other businesses to switch to natural gas from coal for heating and electrical generation.

Industry enthusiasts point to a June study by the Potential Gas Committee, a panel of industry specialists, which found that the United States has about 2,074 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources, much of that in shale underlying the Appalachian basin, the midcontinent, Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain areas. That amount of gas rivals the amount of proven reserves in Russia, the world's largest gas producer, and is the highest estimate of U.S. gas resources in 44 years.