There has been a large trade deficit for too long, due in no small part to our dependance on foreign oil. However the Natural gas from shale has been changing this picture, starting about 5 years on now, and our trade is moving in a better direction as a result. Not only that but Natural gas seems to be sparking a resurgence in manufacturing in the steel industries and as a feedstock for many other industries. Also the increasing supply of this energy source helps put downward pressure on the price of other types of fuel oil.
I fueled my vehicle with a 5 dollar bill the other day because the needle was scraping the bottom edge of the empty mark on my gauge (i remember seeing gas for 18 cents per gallon, and a 5 dollar bill would fill the tank). When I drove off the needle was not quite at the top of the empty mark on the gauge.
:good: :good: :good:
My next truck will run on CNG. I'm not quite sold on the Detroit models, though.
I've been in contact with a company that provides conversions for the vehicle to run on both CNG or gasoline, it's around 6K per truck. I've got a couple of field vehicles that need the conversion, but the tank eats up a lot of space.
Seeing those $.99 a gallon signs at the 'pump' look good to me. When you have to feed two or three vehicles, it's attractive.
Well that sounds good but more science should be done immediately on the impact fracking. Not only the process but the post process of contaminated fluids on aquifers, rivers etc, pressure on fault zones etc.
The science needs to be doneand I don't trust the governement or the energy companies. The energy companies have figure out that the fines etc for a mishap are just part of doing biusiness for the big profit. The government likes to collect the big fines.
Look what BP is trying to do in the New Orleans courts this week with their lawyers.
I didn't want to make this somewhat political but really had no choice. I wil accept any banning.
Here in Ohio the first shale gas well came in at about 9.5 million CF per day. Later wells have more than doubled that.
Even at my geezer age I might live long enough to see Ohio become a net energy exporter for the first time in over 100 years.
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/12/ohio_shale_gas_development_sup.html
I see home fueling stations being a booming business in the next 15 years. I hope I'm right.
http://www.cngnow.com/vehicles/refueling/Pages/refueling-at-home.aspx
James
This area has had all sorts of natural gas drilling, etc. happening over about the past 10 years. The government was paying the exploration companies more for each well they drilled than the cost of drilling it and installing roads and equipment. You better believe they were snapping up leases all over the place and moving as fast as they could. Now that the price has dropped dramatically, most of the wells have been shut off or squeezed down to minimal production waiting for prices to go back up.....someday.
I ended up with a one-fourth interest in a gas well when I purchased a 40-acre tract a couple of years ago. My whopping big payment is around $50 per month. The company will not issue checks for less than $50. Therefore, some months I receive no payment. The next month I'll receive one for a bit less than $100. Then maybe I'll get a month with a $60 check. Nothing to write home to mom about, but, an extra dollar is one on which you will get taxed, so the net return is significantly less than the $50 per month figure.
I keep thinking of diesel fuel prices and how they skyrocketed some years back.
If you get locked in to NG fuel at $6000 per vehicle conversion what other option will you have when the prices rise?
You can still buy a lot of gasoline for 6000 dollars, but I believe the conversion will allow for using either natural gas or gasoline, so that you aren't locked into one or the other. I will not be making this conversion, but increased supply will have other benefits such as where the jobs and profit will be flowing, not to mention that Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel.
I honestly had no idea that you would be able to interchange your fuel use. The idea of using NG makes good sense and it is a cleaner burning fuel.
The way things generally work though, and the usual mechanics of market share, bring to mind that "one watering hole" theory, and the predatory ghouls who surround it.
But yeah, the idea of NG fuel sounds good, and I agree with you there.
One thing that is interesting about Natural gas is if you live in a neighborhood that has Gas lines for cooking/heating, etc, (my neighborhood doesn't, but my father in law's does), you can have a compressor installed and fuel your car at home. My understanding is that the compressor is expensive, but the cost of gas delivered to your home is pretty cheap. I want to say it's like 1 or 2 cents per cubic foot (no retail mark up).
