Natural gas shortage gets worse. worse. worse

Journal Article · Mon Sep 27 00:00:00 EDT 1976 · Bus. Week; (United States)

OSTI ID:7328600

The United States will experience a 22 percent shortfall in natural gas supplies in late 1976. The shortfall in natural gas cannot be erased by more imports. Canada, which furnishes about 4 percent of U.S. gas supplies, is no longer willing or able to satisfy the U.S. demands for energy, oil, or gas. Natural gas could be imported from abroad in liquefied form, but LNG is costly, difficult to ship, and dangerous to handle. Building all the necessary liquefaction plants, cryogenic tankers, and regasification facilities requires commitments that neither sellers nor buyers are willing to make. The gas shortage results in one of two things: demand is left unsatisfied or demand is filled by other fuels. In the first case, the economy suffers. In the second, the environment usually does. In California where natural gas supplies 55 percent of their energy, business will suffer and it is estimated they could lose 800,000 jobs by 1981. The experiences of many industries in California are recounted, especially those of Pacific Lighting Corp., holding company for Southern California Gas Co., the nation's biggest gas utility. Even with the addition of Alaska's Prudhoe Bay deposits in 1970, U.S. reserves of natural gas have plummeted from their 1967 high of 292.9 trillion ft/sup 3/ to 228.2 trillion ft/sup 3/ by the end of 1976. The U.S. has been using twice as much gas as has been found. The debate on pricing and regulation is reviewed. (MCW)

• OSTI ID: 7328600
• Journal Information: Bus. Week; (United States), Vol. 2451
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
03 NATURAL GAS
CALIFORNIA
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
NATURAL GAS
ENERGY SUPPLIES
CHARGES
DEMAND FACTORS
ECONOMICS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
REGULATIONS
RESERVES
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
INDUSTRY
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCES
USA
WESTERN REGION
294003* - Energy Planning & Policy- Natural Gas
030000 - Natural Gas