Investors.com ^ | July 11,2012 | DONALD H. GOLD
Pilot Flying J, a big coast-to-coast chain of truck stops, is installing natural-gas pumps at 150 of its 450 fueling stations over the next two years. Now a trucker can easily carry goods across the continent in a natgas-fueled vehicle.
United Parcel Service (UPS) is adding 48 trucks to its natural-gas-fueled fleet. The tractor-trailers travel between Las Vegas and Southern California, relying partly on UPS' own fueling stations.
These steps are just snapshots of a larger revolution that is gripping the energy industry and may profoundly impact consumers and business — for the better.
After decades of rising prices, hostile foreign suppliers and warnings that Americans will have to bicycle to work, the world faces the possibility of vast amounts of cheap, plentiful fuel. And the source for much of this new supply? The U.S.
"If this is true, this could be another dominant American century," said Brian Wesbury, chief economist at First Trust Advisors, money managers in Wheaton, Ill.
U.S. natural-gas production is growing 4% to 5% a year, driven by sharply higher shale gas output. Shale gas production is forecast at 7.609 trillion cubic feet this year, up 11.6% from 2011 and 12 times the 2004 level.
Political Obstacles
Challenges remain, including political hurdles. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. can achieve the holy grail of energy self-sufficiency. But economists aren't ruling out the possibility.
"This is credible," said Mike Montgomery, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight. He says that if the U.S. reaches self-sufficiency, its vast stores of natural gas will make the difference.
Natgas prices have plunged 83% since their December 2005 peak, which is why truckers are switching over their fleets. Natgas now costs far less than diesel, truckers' longtime fuel of choice.
Maybe the U.S. won't be the next Saudi Arabia.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
