Reliance

A start has been made on lightening the long shadow cast on the future of Canadian natural gas supplies by rapid development of the northern Alberta oilsands with the arrival of the first example of new technology aimed at tapping alternative fuel sources.

A start has been made on lightening the long shadow cast on the future of Canadian natural gas supplies by rapid development of the northern Alberta oilsands with the arrival of the first example of new technology aimed at tapping alternative fuel sources.

Growing reliance on natural gas to produce electricity throughout the West is presenting planning challenges to energy planners in California, a panel of government and utility representatives told an industry workshop in San Francisco Tuesday, the first day of a two-day look at “Natural Gas Market Outlook, 2006-2016.”

Natural gas consumers in the future could be forced to pay more in winter heating bills if the trend toward overreliance on gas as their fuel of choice continues, according to a study released Wednesday by Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC). The non-profit group, based in Alexandria, VA, is primarily funded by the U.S. coal-based electricity industry.

Natural gas consumers in the future could be forced to pay more in winter heating bills if the trend toward overreliance on gas as their fuel of choice continues, according to a study released Wednesday by Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC). The non-profit group, based in Alexandria, VA, is primarily funded by the U.S. coal-based electricity industry.

Given its widespread dependence on hydroelectric power, directly and indirectly, the western United States may need a combination of active hedging, demand-response and some version of the federally sponsored standard market design (SMD), according to a report, “The Western Energy Market: Inherent Risk and Market Solutions,” sponsored by a merchant energy association.

Given its widespread dependence on hydroelectric power, directly and indirectly, the western United States may need a combination of active hedging, demand-response and some version of the federally sponsored standard market design (SMD), according to a report, “The Western Energy Market: Inherent Risk and Market Solutions,” sponsored by a merchant energy association.

Its reliance on a company’s capital adequacy to determine credit ratings may work for most, but Standard & Poor’s plans to “refine” its analysis methods for energy marketers and traders because of the “recent developments” within the industry. S&P, which began covering the energy trading sector in 1997, noted that the continued price volatility for both power and natural gas markets, the “bilateral and unregulated nature” of the sector and a “lack of adequate trading infrastructure” all played a part in its decision to revamp its methods.

The Rocky Mountains over the past 20 years have been established as one of the largest natural gas reserve regions in the Lower 48, but there is no lack of challenges for exploration and production companies to access and develop the resource, according to Richard H. Lewis, CEO of Prima Energy Corp.