I’ve been doing some research on Energy Facts and Trends to better understand the Natural Gas Industry and a friend of mine shared a White Paper by W. Chris Daum at FMI Capital Advisors. In the document he talks about relevant facts about why energy will be the new driver of US Engineering and Construction. I found it very interesting and have shared the facts below:
- The U.S. has more than 100 years of proven natural gas reserves. The amount of reserves continues to grow each year. Much of these reserves are in unconventional shale plays in parts of the country that lack exploration and production infrastructure.
- There is a massive build-out of oil and gas infrastructure underway, including production wells, gathering pipelines, gas process facilities, takeaway pipelines, compressor stations, transmission pipelines, fractionation plants and downstream processing and refinery facilities.
- U.S. consumption of liquid petroleum products is projected to remain fairly constant over the next decade, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency and PIRA Energy Group.
- The U.S. is on pace to achieve near energy independence as early as 2020. By then, any shortfall in crude oil consumption will be sourced from Canada or Mexico. Over the past seven years, the U.S. has gone from being a high-cost producer to the world’s low-cost producer of natural gas liquids (NGLs). The U.S. is both a consumer and exporter of NGLs and refined petroleum products.
- NGLs are the primary feedstock in petrochemical manufacturing. NGLs and electricity account for as much as 80% of the total input cost.
- There are approximately 4,700 major industrial capital and maintenance projects underway in 2013 totaling $285 billion. $55 billion of these projects are located in Texas and Louisiana.
- Natural gas (methane) is a low cost fuel source for power generation and has fewer emissions than coal. Natural gas is forecast to account for 80% of all added generating capacity through 2035.
- The majority of the 12 U.S. based LNG import terminals are idle due to abundant domestic supply – operators of these terminals are seeking to convert these facilities to handle export of LNG and refined products.
- There is currently no global market for natural gas and U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are restricted to re-export of imported LNG — only at three facilities in Texas and Louisiana. New export terminal permits have been filed in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest.
- Global demand for energy outside the U.S. will grow by 33% through 2035.
- Worldwide demand for electricity will increase by 70% by 2035.
- U.S. coal exports have grown by more than 100% in the previous three years as European and Asian demand continues to rise. There are currently nine new export facilities planned in the continental U.S.
The full white paper is available here;
Enjoy!
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