Peter Voser on Natural Gas

This was published as an opinion piece in GNV Magazine:

Last week I had the opportunity to attend and participate in the 25th World Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This industry gathering, which convenes every three years, chose to use its 2012 meeting to focus on on the role of natural gas in sustaining future global growth. The theme of the conference is certainly appropriate, because at no other time has natural gas been poised to play a more significant role in the global energy picture. In fact, the current natural gas revolution is the most important energy development in decades.

During the past 10 years, the natural gas industry has developed and perfected the technology needed to tap into natural gas resources previously assumed to be too difficult or costly to reach. Through continued innovation and technological advancements in natural gas development, a key topic of conversation at the conference last week, we have the ability to push the future of energy in a cleaner, more sustainable direction.

Today, more than ever, energy powers human civilization. At the same time, the world needs to mitigate the threat of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As populations continue to grow, natural gas can provide a cleaner energy solution for power generation than other energy resources. For example, natural gas fired power plants have significantly lower emissions, giving off between 40 and 60 percent less C02 than coal-fired power plants. Natural gas is also a cleaner-burning ally to renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, because natural gas-powered generators can be switched on much more quickly than other power sources when wind and sun are limited.

In addition to utilizing natural gas for power generation, it is important to find other ways to gain value from this abundant resource. Cleaner-burning liquid natural gas (LNG) for transportation is a great example. Natural gas can provide a cleaner source of power for the world’s small but growing fleet of electric vehicles and there is growing momentum and excitement about the potential of LNG in heavy vehicles, such as trucks, ships barges and trains.

To meet the rising global demand for energy in the decades to come, the world must expand all available sources of energy. Last week at the World Gas Conference further solidified my belief that the natural gas revolution offers the best, most promising opportunity we have today to make substantial, immediate progress toward a more sustainable global energy supply. With continued innovation and further advancements in technology, I’m confident natural gas will continue to play an increasingly important role in the sustainable global energy mix.


By Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell.
June 12, 2012

The NGV Forum

Today, NGVAmerica unveiled a new communications initiative called "The NGV Forum." Subtitled "National news and dialogue for the natural gas vehicle industry," the Forum is a combination on-line NGV newspaper and chat room -- available to anyone interested in NGVs. We see the NGV Forum as providing a natural complement to our existing website (www.ngvamerica.org). While the Forum provides news and dialogue, the website provides much more in-depth information and data (more like a library function). There are many blogs on the web that cover NGV issues. Some are excellent, but many perpetuate erroneous information about NGVs and the NGV industry. We hope that the NGV Forum, coupled with our website, will be an effective anecdote for that., and will become the "go to" source for current and accurate NGV information.

Regular readers of our weekly NGVAmerica newsletter will notice that stories are taken directly from the newsletter. Once the NGV Forum "hits its stride," we expect many other stories will be covered.

The NGV Forum can be found at: www.ngv.com. We urge everyone to sign up and participate in the dialogue.

Truthland

"Truthland," the Factual Alternative to "Gasland," Launches Nationwide

In 2010, documentary film "Gasland" was released. The film purports to show the environmental and health effects of hydraulic fracturing of gas shale. Unfortunately, the film is replete with distortions and outright fabrications. There have been many articles and interviews by experts debunking the case made in Gasland. Now there is a documentary – Truthland.

This film follows Shelly DePue – a mother, grandmother, farmer and science teacher from rural Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania -- as she travels around the country talking with public officials and gas production experts to get accurate answers to her the concerns raised in Gasland. Her journey in search of the truth is captured and chronicled in "Truthland"

"When we were told we could have natural gas under our farm, we felt very blessed," said Shelly. "But that excitement was tempered somewhat by the negative stories we had heard about hydraulic fracturing. Then came 'Gasland,' and that made it even tougher to determine what the truth really was. Well, the science teacher in me had questions, and I owed it to my family to go and find out what was real. To get our questions answered, I knew I needed to go where the experts were. And so, that's exactly what I did."

Truthland is a project of Independent Petroleum Association of America and Energy In Depth, and the costs associated with the production of the 34-minute film were underwritten by industry. But none of the experts who appear in the movie (Shelly included) were paid any money for their time or participation. The only thing they were asked to do was tell the truth: as best they knew it, and however they saw it.

Along with the official launch of the movie this week, the first official screening of the film took place on June 16 in Columbus, Ohio, as part of a larger event co-hosted by the Ohio Oil and Gas Association and a number of other supporting organizations. A 35-stop Truthland screening tour, covering more than a dozen states, will commence from there. For information or to view the film, go to: www.TruthlandMovie.com

The Trailer.

"The Domestic Gas Surge and the Future of Clean Transportation"

A webinar by Pike Research.

The surge in domestic supplies of natural gas in the United States, along with ten-year lows in the wholesale price of natural gas, rising oil prices, and increased concerns over energy security, is sparking new attention for this alternative fuel for commercial fleets as well as consumer vehicles. The prospects for natural gas as a transportation fuel are strong. Significant hurdles remain, however, as infrastructure development lags the momentum of electric vehicles and the selection of passenger cars remains limited. The politics of NGVs also present a possible barrier to market growth as federal incentives continue to languish and public pushback against hydraulic fracturing (fracking) grows.

Featuring senior analyst Dave Hurst, along with Rich Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica, this webinar provides a quantitative overview of the current market for natural gas vehicles, examines the market barriers and the expected growth rate of NGVs, and assesses the viability of natural gas to displace significant volumes of imported oil in the transportation sector.

Powerpoint presentation from the webinar.

T. Boone Pickens in Arkansas Trucking

Arkansas Trucking Report includes an article with T. Boone Pickens (article begins on page 28). It begins by describing the familiar Pickens gospel:

• The U.S. needs to free itself from dependence on OPEC oil.
• If we can get the trucking industry to convert 8.5 million Class 6, 7 and 8 tractors from diesel to natural gas, then that would get us halfway to independence.
• Natural gas is cheaper than diesel, and is abundant in America.
• But natural gas vehicles cost more than diesel vehicles to purchase.

President Obama is supporting tax credits that would equal half the added cost of new alternative fuel commercial vehicles. "But standing squarely in the way of getting tax credits he needs to help trucking companies buy these natural gas trucks are a group of political and industry heavyweights." In particular, Mr. Pickens points out Grover Norquist, manager of Americans For Tax Reform. "His biggest clients are the Saudis," Mr. Pickens says. The Koch brothers are against him too. They have the greatest margins in the fertilizer and chemical business they've ever had, he said. The oil industry (of course), The Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute are fighting him as well.

On the other hand, Mr. Pickens is supported by the President, Senator Harry Reid, and most Democratic Senators and some influential Republican Senators. He is also backed by the Sierra Club.

Mr. Pickens told President Obama that not many people in Washington understand energy. He said, "You can't have a five minute conversation there with anyone, because they run out of what they know before the five minutes are up."

Two barriers to adoption of natural gas by the trucking industry are (1) not having enough fueling stations, and (2) not enough Class 8 natural gas trucks for purchase. Earlier this year Pilot-Flying J Travel Centers announced a plan to install 70 fueling stations in 33 state in 2012. Cummins-westport, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Navistar, Freightliner and Caterpillar have all announced plans to produce Class-8 trucks and natural gas engines. Navistar is building a a range of Class 6 through Class 8 CNG and LNG-powered trucks.

Chesapeake Energy Investing In Utica Shale

Here's a Wall Street Journal article about Chesapeake Energy's decision to pay billions of dollars for drilling rights to 1.3 million acres of Utica Shale under the state of Ohio. Chesapeake Energy is the second-largest producer of natural gas. The corporation is attempting to transform itself into an oil power.

Truckers Switching To Natural Gas

A Wall Street Journal article about trucking firms switching from diesel to natural gas simply for economic reasons. Waste Management, Inc., says that 80% of the trucks they will purchase over the next five years will run on natural gas; each one of which will save them $27,000 per year in fuel costs.

In a couple of years, one-third of Navistar International Corp.'s vehicles sold will run on natural gas, president Eric Tech says. Ryder Systems began renting out natural gas trucks in California last year and will be expanding that program to Arizona and Michigan.

"At the pump, a gallon of diesel often costs more than twice as much as CNG, on a diesel-gallon-equivalent basis."

The EPA has recently approved retrofit technology that will allow a big rig to run on either diesel or LNG, thus eliminating "refueling anxiety."