It really has the potential to be game changing, without tyring to sound too dramatic, just depends where it goes from here. The cost of oil to the US is a huge burden, esp. when over $100! And oil/nat gas hasn't traded at parity on a BTU basis for awhile, don't know if expectations on nat gas supplies has to do with it, if it's currency related, or what... At any rate, in the meanwhile, the US has a huge energy supply that is currently cheaper than oil on a BTU basis, that supplies jobs in the US via drilling etc, that - if CNG were built out - could create more jobs (infrastructure, Autos, etc), that is a clean burning fuel (environmentalists), denominated in domestic currency (ie/ lower risk from change to so called US hegemony?), and that provides energy security. Look at all the (potential) supplies you pointed out - provides a longer term solution which therefore makes a shift feasible, and draws out the timeframe for other alternate fuels/energy solutions (since peak oil and then peak gas would still be in play on a long term basis).
The natgas scenario is interesting - ex/volumes on UNG recently are substantial, energy plays doing well - could be all short term or cyclical - supply related with declining rigs, or related to overall market bounce, and could also be demand related with expectations for change. Either way, I guess it is what it is until it isn't :-) Worth watching/playing though IMO... t. |