Poised

After prolonged gestation as a technical research project, coalbed methane is being born as a new branch of Canadian natural gas production this year with expectations that it will grow rapidly.

Rocky Mountain natural gas production is expected to surpass production from the Gulf Coast within the next 10 years, according to industry officials at the Colorado Oil & Gas-sponsored conference last Tuesday.

Rocky Mountain natural gas production is expected to surpass production from the Gulf Coast within the next 10 years, according to industry officials at the Colorado Oil & Gas-sponsored conference Tuesday.

Following the Green River and Powder River basins in Wyoming, the Piceance Basin in western Colorado is destined to be the next area of substantial gas production growth in the northern Rockies thanks to EnCana, Williams and other producers, and to plans for additional pipeline infrastructure. However, development never moves quickly in the Rockies; this could take at least two or three years.

Following the Green River and Powder River basins in Wyoming, the Piceance Basin in western Colorado is destined to be the next area of substantial gas production growth in the northern Rockies thanks to EnCana, Williams and other producers, and to plans for additional pipeline infrastructure. However, development never moves quickly in the Rockies; this could take at least two-three years.

Noting a drop off in excess power generation capacity in the West, Duke Energy CEO Paul Anderson last Wednesday told a gathering of financial professions that he thinks the Western energy market will recover “more strongly than others” over the next couple of years.

With natural gas production down and prices remaining at persistently high and volatile levels, coal may be on its way back into favor for U.S. power generation, according to a report by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

Shaped by the continued rapid growth of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the natural gas sector is poised for “tremendous” growth over the next 20 years, and sometime between 2020 and 2030 it will overtake oil as the world’s preferred fuel, the CEO of Shell Gas and Power said last week.

Shaped by the continued rapid growth of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the natural gas sector is poised for “tremendous” growth over the next 20 years, and sometime between 2020 and 2030 it will overtake oil as the world’s preferred fuel, the CEO of Shell Gas and Power said Wednesday.