Natural gas prices fall as shale yields bounty. (Hat tip: John A. Bailo)
HOUSTON — American natural-gas production is rising at a clip not seen in half a century, pushing down prices of the fuel and reversing conventional wisdom that domestic gas fields were in irreversible decline.
THE QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED
ReplyDeleteWe know methane (natural gas) can be generated from organic material -- its the only hydrocarbon which can be generated in the crust according to J.F. Kenney.
So the question arises: Is this natural gas emanating out of the shale itself, which the article stongly suggests it does, or could the methane be coming from somewhere deeper?
The question gets more interesting when one considers that according to "fossil" theory, kerogen, the remnant of organic detritus that has been formed by the first half of the "generation kitchen" is supposed to turn into oil not natural gas.
Unless, the rock formation is too deep and, therefore, hot, so the oil "cracks" into natural gas.
How deep are these shale formations? Are they beyond the "oil window?"
Here, it would appear, the kerogen, or "brown" or "black" shale converts directly to natural gas.
How would this be?
Again, could it be that the gas comes from deeper rock formations in the stratigraphic column?
And if so, could it be that oil also exists deeper in the stratigraphic column?
Can the exact "process" be determined by scientists?
Questions, questions.
For a resource that has driven down the price of natural gas and could have long range implications -- competitive advantages -- these are questions that need to be answered.
MATHEW SIMMONS WRONG AGAIN (hat tip Peak Oil Debunked)
ReplyDeleteMathew Simmons is one of the leading "Peak" oil scare mongers.
But Simmons apparently was also a nautural gas scare monger, too.
Quotes from a Mathew Simmons interview:
Simmons: As you know, I have been talking for some time about the natural gas cliff we are experiencing.
[...]
Well, I know you understand it, but people need to understand the concept of peaking and irreversible decline. It's a sharper issue with gas, which doesn't follow a bell curve but tends to fall off a cliff.
[...]
Someone's going to be left holding the bag big time. If natural gas consumption surges in ten days of excessive heat then it would require almost a complete shutdown of industrial consumption to compensate and protect the grid. As I have been reporting for years now, there isn't going to be enough gas to run those plants, let alone new ones.
[...]
Pray for no hurricanes and to stop the erosion of natural gas supplies. Under the best of circumstances, if all prayers are answered there will be no crisis for maybe two years. After that it's a certainty.Source
The "natural gas cliff" scare has been very influential, and parroted by virtually every groupthink chump in the peak oil space:
Matt Simmons, Dale Allen Pfeiffer, mobjectivist, Julian Darley, Culture Change, dieoff.org, LATOC, Post Carbon Institute, Energy Bulletin, The Oil Drum etc. etc.
So... here we are, roughly 3 years after Simmons' "crisis" was supposed to have come and gone. What actually happened? Did U.S. gas production fall off a cliff?
No. Price is dropping and natural gas is plentiful.
And the "Peak" crowd? Dead wrong.
On Wall Street there is a particular type of "animal" called a cheerleader, no matter what the circumstances they cry that the market will go up for a particular product, company, or commodity.
In racing, they call this "animal" the rabbit. Go out front, set the pace, and usually burn out, while others actually win the race.
Mathew Simmons and T. Boone Pickens are the rabbits...er, cheerleaders...whatever, for oil & gas.
Once you understand their role, it becomes clear what their opinion is worth -- zero.
Just like you would never ask the "hot blonde" cheerleader to analyze the football game...on second thought, maybe you would, but that's an entirely different story.