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Why ExxonMobil Took the Nat Gas Plunge Now

Natural gas is an American treasure as well as an American resource.

It has the capacity to create good jobs that cannot be exported. It has the capacity to positively alter the trade imbalance. It has the capacity to clean our air while the country uses more of it and less coal, gasoline and diesel. It has the capacity to decrease our reliance on foreign sources---more often than not unfriendly sources--- for our primary transportation energy. and in the process enhances our national security.

Why aren't we utilizing this American treasure?

Better to support the world crude market controlled by OPEC, I guess. That quarter trillion dollars winding up in that market every year just might find better application here in these United States.

Natural Gas Stocks: The Ultimate Form of Stored Solar Energy

Solar is the future---or for the forseeable future of around 3.5 to 5 billion years going forward.

Natural gas represents the present and is the best alternative fossil fuel available. The 50 to 100 years of current proven reserves now discovered should allow us more than sufficient time to solve the problems associated with harnessing solar energy directly and economically.

It's just a matter of time. We need to use that "battery" now.

As Ralph Nader said quite presciently, "If Exxon owned the sun, you could bet that we'd have solar"!

Betting on Natural Gas, Part II: Investing Ideas

Continuing our reliance on foreign national oil companies is absurd in view of the fact that we presently have proven reserves of natural gas to offset our "crude mania".

There appears to be overwhelming support in congress to transition this nation to one using compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national transportation sector although that body has been woefully slow to act. Quite possibly, at the end of the healthcare debate congress will get behind the CNG fueled transition issue.

Keeping the present 250 billion dollars currently being "exported" each year here in our economy has to be a powerful economic stimulous plan.

With 60 million homes in the US already served with natural gas and an increased availability of the home re-fueling units (Phill units) America could be driving on CNG relatively soon. Presently, those Phill compressors are too expensive to find widespread use, but I could see a situation where economy of manufacturing scale could make them more reasonably priced as well as more efficient. That potential 60 million market base should be a strong motivator.

Additional pertinent details on the positives of natural gas use in America can be found at :
America's New Natural Gas.com website

How Much Natural Gas Remains in the USA?

The US Energy Information Agency as well as the much credited Colorado School of Mines study pegged the US natural gas reserves at approximately 2,000 Tcf (trillion cubic feet).

These reserve figures place the US as the world's number 1 nation in the world gas reserves game.

Of course it's reasonable to suggest that higher gas prices will likely result in additional reserves. As several commentators have stated, natural gas exploration is a highly technical endeavor and hardly the willy nilly, hit or miss "wild catting" many people seem to believe it is. E and P companies---CHK, XTO, COG, DVN, ECA, etc have publicly stated that their drilling success rates aproximate 100 percent; ie,100 wells drilled and 100 wells commercially successful. This is a direct reflection of very sophisticated technology. With 3 D seismic surveys those operators KNOW what is down there prior to committing the 3.5 to 7 or 8 million dollars of BORROWED money on a gas well. In the oil/gas "patch" a true adage is: "If I drill, I hit". If anyone doubts this they might want to check the Texas Railroad Commission's website that recently noted 0 dry holes during the most recent reporting year. Fathom that. Not a single dry hole in the thousands of wells drilled in Texas.

The primary limiting factor in the exploration and production game is the cost and availability of capital in this capital-intensive industry. Like many say, "It takes money to make money". That is especially true in the exploration and production industry.

No one that has seriously studied the natural gas industry thinks that it represents a long term solution to our energy dilemma. However, it does afford us the opportunity to maintain our national mobility while solar, wind, wave, geothermal, hydrogen, etc overcome the problems that make those technologies available and economical. The inescapable fact is that natural gas is far and away the most superior fossil fuel we have.Whether we have 50 or 100 years reserves either way this ought to give our scientists and engineers the time they need to develop true renewable energy sources.

This nation can halve the tons of toxic pollutants belched into the atmosphere each day simply and quickly by transitioning the country to compressed natural gas. Natural gas is truly a national treasure.

Chesapeake Energy Unable to Rally Even After Positive News

Natural gas has a bright future.

Texas A&M's Chemical Engineering Dept has developed an economical technology to produce high octane gasoline and sulfurless diesel directly from natural gas. This process has been licensed to Synfuels Corp. in Dallas. (Apparently, Marathon is in the start-up phase of a similar facility for converting nat gas into gasoline in San Antonio)Synfuels currently is building a nat gas to gasoline plant in Qatar.
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If the new congress and the Obama administration actively push CNG and subsidize CNG re-fueling facilities along the Interstate highway system, we will be driving (and trucking) on it sooner than later.

Subsidizing residential CNG "Phill" units to an affordable degree can also drive the demand factor.

Since all of these will create job opportunities for Americans and utilize an American fuel resource in line with the Obama administration's avowed intention to end our dependence on foreign oil and create millions of jobs, natural gas will likely be favored.

6 Natural Investments in Natural Gas

The comment by Imagasser above is worrisome as well as enlightening.and begs the question why a CHK dividend check was AT ANY TIME INSUFFICIENT?

At best it reflects very poorly on CHK's business practices assuming it was due to simply a clerical ommission. At worst, it suggests a very serious state of financial affairs. I am long CHK and would "like" to think the company is solvent. What IS the explanation Mr McClendon?

Chesapeake: When Gas Prices Will Recover

After carefully reading the CHK Conference call for Q3 '08, I came away satisfied that Chesapeake management has a handle on future developments whether or not, natural gas prices rise or fall. Considering that these comments were made in a highly uncertain economic climate Aubrey McClendon's team has hedged major percentages of 2009 and 2010 reserves at attractive prices. (75% in '09, 50% in'10)

Those hedges should be entirely sufficient to carry CHK profitably forward during the economic uncertainty going forward. Bottom line is the uncontrovertible fact that Aubrey McClendon has acquired very valuable undeveloped reserves and negotiated deals with companies that wanted a percentage of access to those properties. With the hefty cost involved in developing gas reserves I think it makes perfectly good business sense in sharing those costs while retaining half (or more) of the production when it does come on line.

The trick is "being firstest with the mostest", and when it comes to American unconventional natural gas reserves Chesapeake is at the top of their game. CHK and McClendon didn't become the top natural gas producer in the US by being stupid.

The Pickens Plan Changes Its Strategy

A barrell of crude oil has approx, 5.8 million BTUs of heat energy and 1000
cubic ft of natural gas (mcf) contains approx 1 million BTUs---these are the generally accepted heat values. Crude oil is currently priced at about $65 per barrell whereas natural gas is about $6.50 per mcf or 58 per cent the cost of crude.

Oxidizing (ie; burning) crude versus nat. gas is 75 per cent or more polluting than natural gas. Shipping crude 6,000 miles by tanker presents additional pollution problems---anyone remember the Exxon Valdez environmental disaster? Alaskans and Exxon Mobil certainly do.

The EPA has said that the Honda Civic GX was the least pollouting vehicle they have ever tested---including the Toyota Prius. Anyone interested in burning crude, diesel or gasoline in their kitchen stove? I don't think so.

With the foreign policy disasters directly traceable to our reliance on crude supplies that we have to control with our military---a very deadly and unsustainably costly "control", I frankly cannot imagine why anyone would support any continuation of that insane policy. As world oil continues to decline we can anticipate 2 things: 1) more militarism and 2) economic ruin.

It is an absolute certainty that we must maintain an efficient and affordable transportation system fueled by an American produced energy source. In the immediate short term natural gas as the preferential fuel is an almost providential solution. Its American, its abundantly available, its less expensive and far cleaner than crude oil based fuels--gasoline or diesel. 40 per cent cheaper and 80 per cent less polluting and all-American. Win, win, win and WIND!

We need to bow our collective American necks and demand this change now.

Chesapeake Energy: Earnings and Shale Drama

CHK and XTO are both great E and Ps. Both are successful in a tough business. Definitely appreciate Aubrey Mac's vocal support of the natural gas future for the US.

Simpson could do more but when it comes to finding gas reserves it is grossly unwise to bet against either XTO or CHK.

America needs to complete the national conversion to natural gas as the primary transportation fuel.

Chesapeake Energy: Natural Gas Supply Responds to Price

Wonderful article.

As a member of T. Boone Pickens' armada, this is the clear, concise statement that sets out what our future energy source should be. While enabling us to cap the wealth drain (to the sad tune of $700 billion dollars annually) and provide the American economy a significant and vital boost.

How can any right thinking American citizen not understand the simple fact that we must end our addiction to crude oil that we don't have, and should not want. When wars like the Iraq catastrophe are factored into the cost of that addiction along with numerous other global entanglements (read Iran, Venzuela, etc) the drain on this nation is vastly more than the $700 billion figure being bantered about.

Natural gas has all the positive attributes we need and frankly, must develop, if we intend to continue as the nation we want to be. Losing that 700 billion plus dollars a year will destroy the American economy. We all realize this, why don't we make up our collective minds to change our future. It can be done and it won't require a "Manhattan Project" to bring it about. The solution is about 2 miles beneath our feet and readily acheivable, NOW.