I'm not bullish on Nat-gas as of yet.
Liquefied Natural Gas
Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, on a five-day visit to India to advance
Canadian natural resource exports, told Indian officials that they can depend on Canada to be a reliable supplier of liquefied
natural gas (LNG) for decades to come. Oliver said, "We have vast natural resources in Canada. India, as one of the world's
largest energy consumers, is looking to diversify its energy supply sources which Canada is well positioned to fulfill." Last
month Oliver, in a speech in Tokyo, offered assurances to Asian customers that Canada will move quickly to build LNG
facilities to feed their growing demand. Oliver said, "The opportunity is huge, our competitive advantage is clear and we are
poised to become a major new safe, reliable and cost-effective LNG supplier to Japan, Korea and other Asia-Pacific nations for
years to come." Canada is the third-largest producer of natural gas in the world and may very well someday ship as much as 9
bcf/d of LNG to Asia from the west coast of Canada. But there is something Canadians should ponder, according to Daniel
Yergin, Chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (from an interview with Bloomberg), the Chinese are
"carefully they're following what's happening in U.S. shale gas. First, because they see it as enhancing the U.S.'s division of the
global economy. And second, the question they're asking themselves is: if their resources are geologically larger than the U.S.,
how long it will take them to develop shale gas? And the number I kept hearing: five to ten years." How long is it before the
Chinese become the biggest supplier of LNG in Asia? Or can China consume all the natural gas they produce? According to
Deutsche Bank the "Top 3" shale gas reserves in the world are: China (1,275 tcf), U.S. (862), Argentina (774). Canada was
ranked seventh with 388 tcf. |
