Gas Supply Future
Authors: Lindgren Robert W. , Schuldt Robert F. 
Published: December 2007

THIS PAPER IS SUBJECT TO CORRECTION

This paper was prepared for the 1977 Midwest Gas Storage and Production Symposium of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, held in Production Symposium of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, held in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 13–15, 1977. Permission to publish is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. publish is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon requested to the Editor of the appropriate journal, provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited.

Recently, suggestions have been made that the United States can, and should, maintain zero growth in energy consumption. This, however, is not realistic if we are to maintain our current standard of living. Historically, the United States has experienced about a 4% annual increase in energy consumption. Even with very significant conservation efforts, and we must practice conservation of our known resources by directing them to the best and most efficient uses, we feel that the growth rate should be a little less than 3% annually during the next decade or two. Zero growth in energy equals zero growth in economic activity.

The energy crisis is in large measure a political crisis. Our country has potentially political crisis. Our country has potentially enough energy in various forms to meet all its needs for heating homes, running factories and providing transportation. But the energy industry, instead of being encouraged to develop these sources, has had to contend with ever increasing restrictions and obstacles.

The long-term gas supply future will depend upon how fast we are able to move on a synthetic gas industry. If we don't, there isn't much of a future. By long-term future we mean the year 200 and beyond. In the interim, however, our only alternative is new natural gas from Lower 48, gas from Alaska and imported natural gas in the from of LNG.

Introduction

Good morning. I'm very happy to be here today and to meet you at this very critical juncture in the development of our nation's energy capability. As you know, many of us in the gas industry, for several years, have been warning that a cold winter would bring our growing supply problems into sharp focus. Well, we got somewhat more than we bargained for during the past few months but, at last, we did get the nation's attention. And next week we will see how the President proposes to solve our very serious problems.

I'm also rather pleased that this winter has put storage in the spotlight for a change. Much of my career at Natural Gas Pipeline Company was spent in the Storage Department and I sometimes felt we were just a little left out of things during most of the year. You might say we sat on the bench during the summer, waiting to be called into action to help out the transmission people when the first cold snap arrived. Well, this winger, storage has been the star player on the team.