At a speech yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida, President Obama highlighted the fact that “We produce more natural gas than any country on Earth,” adding: “We’ve got to tap into this natural gas revolution that’s bringing energy costs down in this country, which means manufacturers now want to locate here.”

Here’s what others are saying about the safe development of clean-burning, job-creating American natural gas:

“ALL EYES ARE ON PA’S MARCELLUS SHALE”

  • “Chemical Companies Rush to the U.S. Thanks to Cheap Natural Gas”: Methanex the Canadian company that’s the world’s largest producer of methanol, is spending $1.1 billion to disassemble two of its Chilean factories and rebuild them in Geismar, La. The first plant is scheduled to open next year. A second will be relocated by early 2016. Scores of other companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Sasol plan to spend about $100 billion to build or expand chemical plants in the U.S. … The resurgence of the U.S. chemical industry can be explained in two words: natural gas. The shale boom has made the U.S. the lowest-cost chemical producer outside the Middle East. … Nationwide, chemical producers added 11,800 jobs in the 12 months … The industry will need 46,000 more workers by decade’s end, according to the ACC. Investments by chemical companies will generate an additional 1.7 million jobs in construction and other industries. (Bloomberg, 7/25/13)
  • “Marcellus Shale Exports Could Transform Global LNG Market”: In energy-hungry countries, all eyes are on Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale gas. In a dramatic shift from just five years ago, the U.S. is looking to export, instead of import natural gas. And if more natural gas starts getting shipped abroad, Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale could help change the global market for natural gas, and lighting homes in Tokyo. …  In what some call a stroke of luck, the wells across Pennsylvania could easily be connected to an existing interstate pipeline system, which links up to a nearby import terminal. … The company’s plan for their pipeline system used to be to pump imported natural gas to states like New York, New Jersey and Ohio. (StateImpact, 7/25/13)
  • Natural Gas Exports Bolster U.S. Economy, Security: President Obama gave an address on the U.S. economy at Knox College in Illinois in which he argued that the future looks much brighter for the country in part because the energy revolution in natural gas taking place right under our feet. … Through technological advances in tapping into shale rock formations, the amount of recoverable natural gas reserves has grown by nearly 800 percent over the past seven years. …The result has been a sharp and sustained decrease in the price of gas and, with that drop in energy prices, the prospect of a revitalized American manufacturing base and the jobs that will come with it. Indeed, America’s natural gas reserves are so great that one study after the other has concluded that the U.S. can export natural gas with only marginal increases in prices here at home. … Not only would exporting gas abroad help reduce the country’s trade deficit and create additional jobs, but it would also have the strategic benefit of reducing the energy dependence of friends and allies. (Fox News column, 7/25/13)
  • Natural Gas Industry Investments “Saves Taxpayers a lot of Money”, Boosts Small Business: “80 percent of our business is now focused on the natural gas industry, and a lot of our work involves upgrading and repairing the older county and state roads. It saves taxpayers a lot of money,” said [General Manager of Laurel Aggregates, Barry] Fink. “Rural roads were made with a very low grade of asphalt. When you have gas companies come in, they run heavy equipment on these roads. Naturally, that does a lot of damage to roads that have been there for a while,” said Fink. … Road conditions prior to gas drillers showing up are not as high of a quality once drillers complete their work and repair the road. “When these gas companies come back they put the roads back to a PennDOT type of specification, which is a high-quality road designed for heavy vehicles, it’s a very good improvement for the residents of that area,” said Fink. (KDKA, 7/24/13)
  • Global Leaders, Business Flock to Pa. Thanks to Shale: With the discovery of shale gas reserves in Brazil and plans to auction drilling rights there, a delegation is visiting Pennsylvania to see how its drilling boom has turned the state into one of the leading natural gas producers in the U.S. The group of Brazilian business and energy industry professionals hopes to learn from the state’s experience and to explore the possibility of exports to Brazil. Celia Feldpausch, executive director of the Brazil Industries Coalition, said Wednesday … “we want to make sure to protect the environment…We’re trying to learn as much as we can,” … Interest in Pennsylvania’s shale gas operations grew after a trade mission Gov. Tom Corbett made to Brazil last spring … The gas drilling boom in the U.S. has helped lower wholesale natural gas costs nationwide and spurred new plans to export natural gas. (Associated Press, 7/24/13)

POWERING OUR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS

  • Allegheny Co. Executive: Clean-Burning CNG a “Win-Win-Win”: American Natural opened its first Energy Centre in Station Square on Thursday. The gas station offers customers both diesel and gasoline as well as CNG. … CEO of American Natural, Jennifer Pomerantz, announced that Pittsburgh was chosen as the first city to have the first natural gas station for “its origins in the industrial and transportation development as well as its current transition with the economy and technology.” In fact, American Natural has committed to making Pittsburgh its home base. Veteran and former Steeler Rocky Bleier added, “Pittsburgh has its own culture grounded in opportunities and is home to a lot of firsts in American history…Now we have another first.” . … By using natural gas in America, Allegheny Co. Executive, Rich Fitzgerald, argued that “it is a way to keep money here in the US instead of shipping it overseas with a cost and profit that is a win-win-win all the way around.” … CNG is better for the environment, as natural gas creates less air pollution than other fuels. (WPXI, 7/25/13)
  • “Fill ’er Up – Big Rigs Switch to Liquefied Natural Gas”: When Bison Transport’s big rigs pull into the Shell Flying J truck stop north of Calgary these days, some of them refuel not at the regular diesel pumps but at a liquefied natural-gas terminal. …The station is one of a growing number of initiatives across North America that could herald a new era for natural gas as a motor-vehicle fuel, especially for trucks and buses.  … The latest campaign to promote LNG and CNG as alternatives to gasoline and diesel has so far centred on commercial vehicles. … Vedder Transport Group of Abbotsford, B.C., and Quebec-based Groupe Robert Inc. are among others that have joined Bison by adding natural-gas fuelled rigs to their fleets. (Globe and Mail, 7/23/13)

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