Breakthroughs

Energy technology breakthroughs introduced in recent weeks are offering a peek at the future of the oil and gas industry, which is less H.G. Wells and more J.J. Abrams.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy on Tuesday inked an agreement at the LNG 17 conference in Houston to work together — and with potential investors — to dig down and study unconventional energy resources in Alaska’s Arctic.

Fuel tanks, which are considered the most costly part of the compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle fueling system, are seeing technology breakthroughs in the United States.

What is considered the most costly part of the compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle fueling system — fuel tanks — experienced some technology breakthroughs from two U.S.companies recently.

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s recent distribution of $30 million aimed at advancing the natural gas vehicles (NGV), two separate projects are examining breakthroughs in fueling to make the vehicle operator more independent of public refueling stations.

Having been part of the shale natural gas supply revolution, Chesapeake Energy Corp. wants to “kick-start the demand revolution,” CEO Aubrey McClendon said Monday when the company announced a $1 billion venture capital fund — Chesapeake NG Ventures Corp. (CNGV) — to invest in companies and technologies to enable replacement of gasoline and diesel fuel with natural gas and gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuels.

Ironically, the oil and natural gas industry’s recent focus on shale plays, which was made possible by technological breakthroughs, has prompted more recent innovations, according to Jonathan Lewis, Halliburton senior vice president, drilling & evaluation.

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have made “breakthroughs this week” on climate change legislation, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) Wednesday.

As a result of higher U.S. natural gas prices and various technological breakthroughs within the industry, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to play an increasingly important role in the gas industry and energy markets in the next several years, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).