Energy Tomorrow Blog
Remembering Jane Van Ryan
energy tomorrow oil and natural gas
Mark Green
Posted July 3, 2018
As many of our long-time readers know, I am not the original author of this blog but have carried on a conversation Jane Van Ryan started in 2009. Jane, who passed away on Sunday, was part of the original Energy Tomorrow team, whose goal was to help tell the story of the people of America’s natural gas and oil industry.
A former television reporter, Jane knew how to tell a story and tell it well.
Taxes and Regulations Impact Pump Prices
gasoline prices regulation taxes refineries
Mark Green
Posted July 2, 2018
In previous posts (see here and here), we’ve discussed factors that have affected gasoline prices in the past. The cost of crude oil is chief among them, accounting for more than 50 percent of the fuel price. Some other factors are seasonal, and taxes imposed on each gallon of gasoline vary from state to state.
News at WGC2018: Natural Gas and the Energy Future
Mark Green
Posted June 29, 2018
Closing day at WGC2018. I attended great panels on the innovation that will carry the natural gas industry into the foreseeable future and one on the “game-changers” looming ahead for industry. Big takeaways:
Natural gas is the linchpin for a clean energy future – from its own clean attributes and by partnering with intermittent energy technologies such as wind and solar.
America’s energy abundance, seen especially in record production of natural gas, is critically important to U.S. energy and economic security.
And technology and innovation, which already play a big role in today’s natural gas and oil production, will drive greater efficiencies and productivity in the years ahead.
Leave Vehicle Choices to Consumers and Markets, Not Government
Sabrina Fang
Posted June 29, 2018
A coalition of consumer-focused industries is making the case that consumers, and not government, should choose the car they buy and drive – responding to the automobile associations’ request for additional subsidies from the taxpayers to pay for electric vehicles (EV).
Reducing Methane Emissions as a Core Industry Value
methane emissions world-gas-conference
Mark Green
Posted June 28, 2018
When one speaker at the World Gas Conference talked about methane emissions from natural gas as the “elephant in the room” that industry isn’t talking about – I didn’t know what they were talking about! Everywhere at WGC2018, people are talking about reducing methane emissions.
That’s because natural gas and oil companies have been reducing emissions and are focused on continuing that progress in the future. No one is more focused on capturing methane – the key component in natural gas – than companies that sell natural gas.
Natural Gas Impact Taxes Continue to Benefit Pennsylvania
Jessica Lutz
Posted June 28, 2018
When talking about the nuts-and-bolts of policy, it’s easy to lose sight of the real-world impacts of various regulatory choices. In Pennsylvania, where Gov. Tom Wolf continues to press for higher taxes on the commonwealth’s natural gas producers, the benefits of existing impact taxes on producers shouldn’t be overlooked.
News at WGC2018: Taking Aim at Energy Poverty
Mark Green
Posted June 28, 2018
API’s Jessica Lutz contributed to this post.
The numbers are daunting. According to various estimates, 1 billion people on earth don’t have access to electricity and 2 billion don’t have access to reliable energy. Stanford University’s Mark Zoback told the World Gas Conference an estimated 3 billion people cook their meals using sticks, charcoal or dung for fuel. The health implications of that are scary. “If the challenge of providing sustainable energy to the developing world doesn’t intimidate you, you’re not paying attention,” Zoback said.
One of the benefits of U.S. energy abundance is the opportunity to look at ways American energy could benefit others. Domestic energy abundance means the freedom to choose to help others. That wouldn’t have been imaginable before America’s energy renaissance, when energy scarcity necessitated importing natural gas.
Don’t Call Natural Gas a Bridge Fuel
Jessica Lutz
Posted June 27, 2018
It will come as no surprise that the role of natural gas in meeting future energy needs is a hot topic at this week’s World Gas Conference 2018. After all, you won’t find a group more passionate about world energy.
What was surprising is just how many leaders from all aspects of industry agree on one major point: that natural gas is a foundation for the world’s energy future. And don’t call it a bridge fuel.
News at WGC2018: Tectonic Shifts From Shale
Mark Green
Posted June 27, 2018
There’s no questioning the ascendance of natural gas – especially natural gas from prolific shale plays in the U.S. Our country’s outlook has flipped 180 degrees in less than two decades, from looking to import natural gas from other countries to becoming one of the world’s leading exporters – even as abundant and affordable natural gas has benefited American consumers, helped revitalize domestic manufacturing and chemicals sectors and led the way in lowering U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.
So great are the gains from U.S. shale natural gas, Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Rob Powelson suggested that a panel at the World Gas Conference on the “shifting sands” of shale gas could have been titled the “tectonic shifts” brought by natural gas.
“Tectonic” certainly reflects the size of the “shale gale,” if not its speed.
WGC2018 Touts Promising Natural Gas Outlook
Mark Green
Posted June 26, 2018
“The future begins here.” International Gas Union President David Carroll launched the world’s largest natural gas conference with a simple, yet unmistakable message on the importance of natural gas – an opening punctuated by a pulsating sound track, a live marching band and the Harlem Globetrotters.
There’s certainly reason for optimism – and a crowning by the princes of basketball entertainment. As the World Gas Conference convenes in Washington, D.C., natural gas is ascendant. It is a coveted fuel for electricity generation, a new staple of U.S. energy exports that’s helping friends and allies abroad, and it’s increased use is the main reason U.S. carbon emissions are at 25-year lows, allowing the United States to lead the world in that area. Natural gas, a number of WGC speakers said on Day 1, is a key to reducing global energy poverty.
It appears natural gas is up to the challenges of today and tomorrow.
