Century

An abundance of natural gas and the diversity of the supply should quell any doubts about the ability of gas to supply the country with energy well into the next century, according to a report issued Wednesday by the American Gas Association (AGA).

The United States “may now be sitting on between 50 and 100 years worth of recoverable natural gas,” and more than a century’s worth of undeveloped gas is locked in place around the world, BP plc CEO Tony Hayward said Thursday.

The United States “may now be sitting on between 50 and 100 years worth of recoverable natural gas,” and more than a century’s worth of undeveloped gas is locked in place around the world, BP plc CEO Tony Hayward said Thursday.

There is enough low-carbon natural gas to reliably supply the nation’s electrical grid for more than a century and help integrate wind and solar power into the grid, the heads of three major gas groups told FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff Monday.

ExxonMobil Corp. boosted its proven reserves in 2008 by 1.5 billion boe, more than replacing the amount of oil and natural gas it produced. The Irving, TX-based major said reserves added totaled 103% of the resources it produced last year. ExxonMobil had 22.8 billion boe of reserves at year-end 2008, split evenly between natural gas and oil. Excluding asset sales, the producer replaced 110% of its output. Using the Dec. 31, 2008 oil and gas prices required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to make reserves calculations, ExxonMobil replaced 136% of its output, the company said. Prices from a single day, it said, are not useful for making long-term investment decisions. At the end of 2008, ExxonMobil’s proved reserves base increased to 22.8 billion boe. The company’s reserves life, at current production rates, is 15.3 years. The portion of proved reserves already developed was estimated at 62%.

The United States has enough undiscovered technically recoverable natural gas resources to meet the current consumption level for the next half century, according to statistics from an official with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) last Wednesday.

The United States has enough undiscovered technically recoverable natural gas resources to meet the current consumption level for the next half century, according to statistics from an official with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Wednesday.

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers has two aspirations for the United States: to “substantially decarbonize” the energy supply in this century and to become the world’s most energy-efficient economy.

After more than half a century as the Canadian supply mainstay, Alberta natural gas production has peaked and will decline no matter how much drilling producers do, the province’s industry watchdog agency says.