M.C., why is natural gas as a transportation fuel not a solution?
Because you have to drill? Because it is only a by-product of oil drilling?
The fact is most natural gas comes from wells that were drilled only for natural gas not a by-product of an oil well.
Take the enormous gas field in our own backyard, the Marcellus Shale formation stretching across the multi-state areas of NY, Pa. and further south. No one thinks of this region as an oil producer though nearly 90% of the worlds oil for lubricants comes from this region due to its high parafin, low sulphur based oil deposits. What is drilled for is natural gas. Where I hunt in western Pa. there are gas wells drilled all over the Allegany National Forest. Most of the roads built through these vast tracts of land are for gas exploration not logging.
New technologies for drilling have improveed the yield of a traditional natural gas well many times over with horizontal drilling. You drill vertically into the Marcellus Shale layer and then horizontally through it cutting through the vertical fissures that exist to allow gas to move through to the pipe. You can further fracture the formation with water. Hydrofracing increases the fissures and channels for gas movement. This releases billions of cubic feet of gas previously deemed unrecoverable.
There are major shale formations all over the country that now offer natural gas drilling opportunities. Areas like the Barnett Shale in Texas, the Fayetteville shale, the Hayneville Shale and others.
Hydrofracing also opens up the huge 3.65 billion barrels of undiscovered oil reserves estimated to sit in the Bakken Oil Formation of North Dakota and Montana.
And we don't drill in most of the 50% of the West that the federal government owns.
So when you look at offshore drilling and wonder why we take that risk and spend that kind of money it is because there are huge deposits, it is cost effective, we need the oil and getting the oil that is on land is blocked by the government and environmentalists. It could be more cost effective and safer if we focused on what we have under our country's land mass.
The idea of not drilling is a fantasy. We will drill because we have to for national defense and economic reasons. But if the country transitions to a different fuel for transportation it will free up all of that oil requirement to either be used for an alternate use or not be needed at all and we reap the benefits mentioned in my post above. This is the only practical solution to weaning ourselves from foreign oil and becoming energy independant. As alternate sources of energy become more practical we use more of wind, solar, geo-thermal and battery power and become less dependant upon fossil fuels. If we are energy independant it will free up hundreds of billions of dollars that now go to our enemies for oil and this money would be reinvested back into America. Some could even be used for the social programs about a third of the country seems to want which currently are on a course to bankrupt the country in twenty years.
What will trigger this move is the economies of scale. When natural gas as a vehicle fuel becomes nation-wide people will start to use it. Right now gasolene is cheaper and easier to get but we are in a global economic slowdown and oil demand has lessened. In a few short years when we get back to free market economics and the world booms again a barrel of oil will be $200 bucks and natural gas will look like a good alternative.
Remember diesel? Huh?, what about diesel? When I was a kid diesel was only available at truck stops not gas stations. Now you can buy it anywhere. The same will happen with natural gas and propane vehicle systems.
With coal, oil and natural gas plus all of the alternative energy solutions like wind, solar, geo-thermal, tidal, nuclear and hydro we have all of the energy we will ever need right here in North America. No place on earth, including Saudia Arabia, has more energy at its disposal. We just need an intelligent approach to not only getting it but how to use it.
Drilling through a mile of water without having the proper cut-off technology to cap a well instantly was insane. This is the fault of the deep water drilling industry and our federal government who has the licensing and over-sight responsibility to insure the safety of the workers and the environment. This disaster will set back our energy initiatives for a long time.