Burgh Energy Report: Shale Gas Economics

GlobalPittsburgh relays the press release that speaks to Southwestern Pennsylvania's coming energy boom. It isn't a question of if, mostly a matter of how big. There are already reports of "explosive growth" of the LNG industry in Australia. What does that have to do with Pittsburgh? Funny you should ask:

America’s natural-gas stocks are at record highs and prices have collapsed. The country, one authority proclaimed in July, suddenly has 100 years of supply. There is even talk of converting planned import terminals for gas into export terminals.

To say that speculators are bullish on shale gas and LNG exporting is an understatement. All the excitement provides a wonderful example of the globalization of energy markets:

Production of natural gas from shale has dramatically changed the U.S. energy resource picture, and although experience elsewhere is limited* it is increasingly obvious that this not just a North American story. Nick Grealy, at No Hot Air, considers the implications for the UK.

UK energy security is an American domestic issue. Drill, baby, drill all you want. That won't insulate our country from the rest of the world. We will still have geopolitical interests in European gas supply or Chinese demand for Australian resources. And sooner rather than later, Pittsburgh will be one of the global centers for all this activity.