Drilling and production under Title I of the Natural Gas Policy Act, 1978--1986
This study examines and analyzes the supply side of the natural gas wellhead market since the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA). Until demand began to change profoundly in later 1982, the NGPA appears to have had the intended effect on the drilling and production activities of natural gas producers: new wells were drilled, additional new reserves were discovered, and deliverability of gas increased. But the cost was enormous, since the ordering of drilling was contrary to the normal market ordering. The very thin cushion of nonregulated gas pushed marginal prices beyond $10 per thousand cubic feet (1982 constant dollars, or more than $12 per thousand cubic feet in 1988 constant dollars), with the result that high-priced reserves were being developed while potentially available low-priced resources remained undiscovered. Whether the NGPA succeeded in holding prices to end users at acceptable levels is a matter of question. Some people argue that the NGPA was successful along these lines because the process of averaging high-cost gas in with large volumes of low-cost gas permitted prices to rise in a controlled manner. Others claim that the NGPA had a perverse effect on prices. 37 figs., 66 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Energy Information Administration, Washington, DC. Office of Oil and Gas
- OSTI ID:
- 6764913
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EIA-0448(86); ON: DE89006891
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
03 NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS
PRODUCTION
COMPILED DATA
DRILLING
ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
EXPLORATION
MARKETING
NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT
PRICES
STATISTICAL DATA
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
INFORMATION
LAWS
NATIONAL ENERGY ACT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUMERICAL DATA
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
293000* - Energy Planning & Policy- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
030300 - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing
031000 - Natural Gas- Legislation & Regulations