Natural gas is almost a dirty word. After hitting an all-time high almost five years ago north of $15 per MMbtu or (million British Thermal Units), natural gas prices have been confined to bear market territory. At just $3.92 per MMbtu now, many producers will either go bankrupt, become buyout targets or struggle to earn a decent profit for the next several years…unless prices rally soon.
[Read more...]Liquid Natural Gas: The Next Resource Boom?
February 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Australia is on its way to becoming to natural gas what the Middle East is to oil. This could become Australia’s biggest resource boom yet.
Asia is the fastest growing market for liquid natural gas (LNG). Currently, Japan is the largest buyer. Japan and South Korea together make up 53% of current global regasification capacity. (That is, the ability to import LNG and turn it back into a gas for consumer and industrial use.) But demand elsewhere in Asia is catching up:
[Read more...]Investing in Natural Gas: The Most Important Source in the World
February 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Until just three years ago, the Marcellus was an obscure name for an obscure rock formation in the backwaters of geological research. Not anymore…
The tipping point came when Penn State professor Terry Engelder demonstrated that the Marcellus holds as much as 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – the equivalent of total US gas consumption for 25 years. There’s over a trillion dollars’ worth of gas down there – probably much more. Even if the estimate is off by 50% or so (and that 500 trillion cubic foot number might be on the LOW side), Marcellus is a very big resource.
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The Upside to a Natural Gas Downturn
Isaac Newton showed us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That is why every downside force in the energy sector creates upside opportunities elsewhere. The challenge is finding them. It takes an understanding of the entire global energy machine to figure out what areas are benefiting from the changing landscape.
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