ANGA CEO Durbin Makes Push On “Incredible Opportunity” For Exports

Highlighting the enormous economic potential for exporting American natural gas, ANGA CEO Marty Durbin has been making the rounds, citing two new key studies on the issue.

On a recent segment for Fox Business News, Marty cut to the chase: "I see absolutely no reason that we shouldn't give ourselves the opportunity to be a part of the global market for this resource."

And he couldn't be more right; all signs point to a more robust American economy with continuing steady prices for this abundant and domestic fuel. A report from the Bipartisan Policy Center concludes that even with higher industrial demand, increased exports of natural gas will have no significant impact on domestic prices. In fact, with prices forecasted by the EIA to remain low and steady through at least 2035, major investments in American manufacturing are being made—from chemicals and plastics to fertilizers and more.

The American Chemistry Council just released a study highlighting 97 investment projects that will utilize America’s newfound abundance of shale gas. The combined value of these new investments tops nearly $72 billion dollars, and could create 46,000 chemical industry jobs by 2020.

On National Journal’s Energy Expert blog, Durbin urged the Obama Administration to "pick up the pace” on approvals for export projects. Describing the support of natural gas exports as a "no-brainer," Durbin cited an improved U.S. trade balance and billions of dollars in economic benefits and new jobs, including the president’s own goal of doubling exports, as just a few reasons why exporting our own energy resources makes sense for the U.S. economy.

Our abundant supplies of natural gas present us with an opportunity to compete in a global economy while also powering our domestic energy demands for generations to come. Think about it.

ANGA to Senate Energy Committee: Vast Supplies Make Export of Natural Gas a Clear Choice

Background: Following is a comment by Marty Durbin, President and Chief Executive Officer for America's Natural Gas Alliance on today's natural gas roundtable before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

"The committee's focus on domestic supply and exports comes at a particularly good time given our growing understanding of America's vast supplies of clean and affordable natural gas.

"The Potential Gas Committee recently published a record high supply estimate. Last week, the Energy Department gave conditional approval for an LNG export facility in Freeport Texas, which we hope will lead to rapid approvals for other similar facilities. And just yesterday, the Bipartisan Policy Center issued a report concluding that the United States has ample supplies to meet foreseeable electricity and industrial demand growth, and allow for exports without any significant impact on domestic prices.

"With this game-changing opportunity, selling natural gas into the global market will improve the U.S. trade balance, deliver jobs here at home and help the President achieve his goal of doubling all exports. We look forward to working with Committee members as they consider how our natural gas abundance can bring environmental, energy security and economic benefits to America and strengthen our position in the world economy."

.@MartyJDurbin: "Energy from America means #jobs for Americans." #ThinkAboutIt http://t.co/qTbSZTibkJ

With #natgas, America is on a path towards a better #energy future. #ThinkAboutIt. http://t.co/XXjRs2jr3h

ANGA Statement on DOE Authorization of Freeport LNG Terminal

“While this is a positive step, we would like for the administration to pick up the pace of approvals so that the markets can decide which projects go forward. Experts ranging from the Energy Department, to the Brookings Institution, to Deloitte and others have all examined the potential impact of natural gas exports on our economy, and have identified a wide range of benefits.

“Selling natural gas into the global market will improve the U.S. trade balance, deliver net jobs and economic benefits here at home and help the President achieve his goal of doubling all exports. Study after study shows that expanding natural gas exports will bring all of these benefits while keeping domestic prices stable and affordable.

“The Energy Department was right to conclude that approving this terminal is in the public interest and we hope many others will follow quickly.”

Weathering an Emergency with Some Help from Natural Gas

While millions of New Yorkers were left without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, New York University (NYU) was able to keep its buildings and facilities operating, using natural gas to produce a reliable source of electricity and heat through the process of cogeneration.

Shortly after the storm passed, Matt Wald reported in a New York Times' Green blog that NYU installed its cogeneration power network in 2011 to lower energy costs and reduce the school's carbon footprint. But during Hurricane Sandy, the investment paid off in unexpected ways.

As Wald reported, when a large swath of the region went dark, NYU became its own island within the large island of Manhattan as the school's power system disconnected from the Con Edison grid and relied instead on its cogeneration unit. "We called it island mode," said John J. Bradley, NYU's assistant vice president for sustainability, energy and technical services.

Beyond NYU, natural gas cogeneration plants kept other areas of New York and New Jersey online as well. Andrew Revkin, as part of DotEarth blog, interviewed Thomas Bourgeois, the deputy director of Pace University's Energy and Climate Center about the benefits of using cogeneration plants for power and heat. Thanks to cogeneration, power kept flowing during Hurricane Sandy to One Penn Plaza, a large skyscraper in downtown New York, and also kept dorms and research facilities at Princeton University online, Bourgeois said.

While no power system is completely immune to acts of nature, cogeneration power plants, as demonstrated during the hurricane, can act as an affordable, reliable component of any emergency preparedness plan for cities across the nation. Think about it.

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Greater Natural Gas Use Brings Down Carbon Emissions

Here’s something to think about: the increased use of natural gas for generating electricity has reduced U.S. power sector carbon emissions to levels not seen since 1992.But don’t take our word for it. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, an independent arm of the U.S. Energy Department, made the finding. In fact, during the first five months of 2012, EIA says carbon-dioxide emissions declined by more than 800 million tons, or 14 percent from their peak high in 2007.

In the past two decades, 57 million additional energy consumers have been added to the U.S. population. This means that U.S. carbon emissions have dropped about 20 percent per capita. As a result, carbon emissions per capita are at their lowest levels since President Eisenhower left office in 1961.

In addition, Ceres, an environmental investment network, examined emissions from a broad spectrum of pollutants. They found that, among the top 100 U.S. power producers, emissions of sulfur dioxide and smog-forming nitrogen oxide were both 68 percent lower than they were in 1990. Nearly half of this reduction took place in just a two-year period-from 2008 to 2010.

Ceres' President Mindy Luber described the report's findings and noted the increased use of natural gas saying:

"This is an historic transition for the electric power industry. More and more power producers are shifting away from coal-fired generation in favor of lower-emitting natural gas-fired plants…"

The Ceres report is available in its entirety here.

While America will need a mix of energy sources to meet growing demand for cleaner electricity, natural gas is already making a difference.

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Generating Cleaner, Affordable Power with Natural Gas

Our demands for power are continously growing. To meet expanding demand, electric utilities are turning to clean and American natural gas. Natural gas is cleaner for our environment, and it is an affordable source of power generation for both utility companies and ratepayers. Southern Company and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) are two power generators that realize the value of using more natural gas and are using more of it to meet customer demands.

With more than four million customers across 120,000 square miles, Southern Company can generate nearly 46,000 megawatts of power. In 2007, Southern Company produced about 70 percent of its energy from coal. By 2012, the company cut that number by half to 35 percent and today, natural gas represents 45 percent of Southern Company’s power generation. As part of Southern Company’s leadership in using more natural gas, in 2012, it used close to 600 billion cubic feet (BcF) in generating power, making the company the third largest user of natural gas among U.S. electric utilities.

“That’s good for America – because in addition to its environmental benefits, natural gas is a domestic energy source that can help secure our energy future,” says Southern Company President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Fanning. And the good news is that Southern Company is not the only utility embracing the greater use of natural gas.

In 2012, TVA began operating the Jon Sevier Combined Cycle power plant, an 880-megawatt facility. The combined cycle plant works as air entering one of the plants three turbines is compressed, mixed with natural gas and then ignited. The hot gas operates a turbine that produces electricity. The residual heat is captured to produce steam and additional electricity. This combined cycle facility is a cleaner asset that helps keep air emissions low while also helping TVA meet the daily demands of serving more than nine million people across seven states.

Southern Company and TVA are two examples of how natural gas is providing affordable, cleaner power to millions of customers. If more utilities switched to natural gas, think about the benefits that could be enjoyed by millions of more customers across the nation.

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Power in Numbers: Governors Demand More NGVs from Auto Manufacturers

Driving change is never easy, but when you’re joined by 12 of your colleagues in a bipartisan show of solidarity, you’re sure to make an impression.

Governors Mary Fallin of Oklahoma and John Hickenlooper of Colorado have led a group of 13 governors in encouraging major automakers to produce more vehicles that run on domestic natural gas. The governors delivered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the CEOs of 19 auto makers asking them to manufacture vehicles fueled by compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

And the governors committed to buy CNG vehicles for their respective state fleets.

"Abundant, affordable, clean-burning natural gas presents a tremendous opportunity for America to realize an energy future using domestic resources to fuel our nation's transportation needs," the governors wrote. "To that end, we are committed to explore the aggregation of our annual state fleet vehicle procurements to provide an incentive to manufacture affordable, functional natural gas vehicles."

So why the big push for natural gas vehicles? The answer is found in the benefits that NGVs offer in lower operational costs and reduced emissions to our environment. Fueling an NGV, costs about half of what it takes to fill up a car powered by gasoline. And the greater use of NGVs also benefits our environment. NGVs emit less smog-producing nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide than gasoline-powered vehicles.

This bipartisan team of governors recognizes that their combined purchasing power is one way to encourage auto manufacturers to harness the abundant and affordable natural gas resources right here in America and to seriously consider the value in producing new models not only for state fleets but also to the everyday consumer.

This "power in numbers" can - and will - help jumpstart cleaner transportation choices, and with their powerful collective voice, this gubernatorial team certainly is on the road to a better future with cleaner, more affordable natural gas vehicles.

A bipartisan, affordable solution to fueling public fleets? Sounds like a plan worth thinking about.

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All Aboard! Freight Rail Giant Testing Natural Gas-Powered Locomotives

Just how flexible is natural gas? Beyond powering your home heating systems, daily commute vehicles, long-haul trucks and ships at sea, America's own abundant natural gas is now being tested on the rail tracks. BNSF Railway Co., the largest railroad in the U.S. and a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, will begin testing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a locomotive fuel.

Matthew Rose, BNSF's Chairman and CEO, announced the plans at CERAWeek earlier this year. "The use of liquefied natural gas as an alternative fuel is a potential transformational change for our railroad and for our industry… potentially reducing fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions, thereby providing environmental and energy security benefits to our nation."

Businesses and municipal fleets across the country have already found enormous cost savings by converting their vehicles to natural gas, and the same will soon be said for the railroads.

According to Dow Jones Newswires, BNSF estimates that, after the Navy, it is the second largest consumer of diesel in the U.S. With diesel prices at nearly $4 per gallon compared to just over $2 per gallon for large volume LNG users, the cost savings are game-changing.

Preliminary tests by General Electric and Caterpillar, which are developing the locomotives, indicate that trains powered by natural gas could also travel farther between refueling and have equivalent towing power to diesel. And because trains, like fleet vehicles, travel on fixed routes, building a fueling infrastructure for freight rail makes good economic sense.

Beyond the corporate balance sheet, using natural gas is significantly better for our nation’s air quality than conventional alternatives, with fewer nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (Sox) emissions and no diesel particulates.

Thanks to decisions by BNSF and other industrial users to power with natural gas, the journey to a cleaner energy future may be just down the tracks. Think about it.

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Natural Gas Trucks: A Clean Take on the Business of Trash

Moving trash can be dirty business. But, thanks to efforts from Waste Management, the process of keeping waste to a minimum has been getting cleaner.

A company with 45,000 employees serving more than 20 million customers, Waste Management provides collection, transfer, recycling and disposal services and has taken significant steps to ensure cleaner operations through the use of natural gas.

In an economy where every dollar has to be maximized, Waste Management now powers its fleet with a fuel that is cleaner, abundant and more affordable – natural gas.

Waste Management deploys the nation’s largest heavy-duty trucks fleet powered by natural gas. In North America alone, it has more than 2,000 trucks moving trash in cities today. Waste Management is also focused on converting its fleet of 18,000 vehicles to run on natural gas.

“This conversion makes good business sense for our company and our shareholders because of the significant maintenance and diesel fuel costs savings,” said Waste Management’s President and Chief Executive Officer, David Steiner. “It’s much cleaner for the environment, and our [compressed natural gas] trucks are much quieter than diesel powered ones.”

Waste Management’s commitment to using natural gas to power its fleet goes beyond just their trucks on the street. To further increase their use of clean natural gas, Waste Management has built a plant that converts landfill gas – the gas which occurs once waste breaks down in a landfill– to liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power 300 of Waste Management’s trucks that service customers in Oakland, San Diego, and in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

LNG is a fuel well-suited for high-horsepower and heavy-duty engines. Waste Management’s Steiner speaks proudly of the facility, saying, “Indeed, I’m very pleased that we have created an environmental closed loop for the City of Oakland, where some of their waste is disposed at our landfill and the resulting landfill gas powers the WM trucks that collect their waste and bring it to our recycling centers and other post-collection facilities.”

The benefits of Waste Management’s natural gas use are not exclusive to the company itself. It also has made clean, affordable natural gas available to customers through investments in public infrastructure projects across the nation. This investment is critical to the greater use of vehicles powered by natural gas for everyday drivers. Waste Management operates 15 publically accessible natural gas fueling stations across North America and, in 2013, the company plans to expand the number of these stations, providing other drivers with an opportunity to access the benefits of natural gas fueled vehicles.

This company leads by example, developing a fleet of trucks that take advantage of our abundant natural gas supplies. In doing so, Waste Management invested in a business solution that keeps fuel costs down while still meeting the needs of their customers in an environmentally conscious way. This leadership illustrates that with natural gas, we do not have to choose between the economic benefits of natural gas and preserving our environment. We can achieve both of these goals.

Making the business of trash cleaner? That is worth thinking about.

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Demonstrating A Commitment to Transparency by Example

ANGA companies developing natural gas report the additives used in their hydraulic fracturing operations using the website FracFocus.org. Maintained by the Groundwater Protection Council (GWPC) and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), this website serves as a public registry of hydraulic fracturing fluids with information on a well-by-well basis for operations on both government and private lands.

Launched in April of 2011, FracFocus now lists over 42,000 wells. In addition, the website has had more than 480,000 visits from more than 134 countries. Currently, 12 states either require or allow operators to use FracFocus for the regulatory reporting of the additives used in hydraulic fracturing and an additional nine states are considering using FracFocus for this purpose.

Recently, FracFocus was modified to allow the public to search the website using additional criteria including the ability to search for disclosures based on the dates a well was fractured, the Chemical Abstract Service number, and the chemical name of an ingredient.

In just over two years, FracFocus has proven to be a valuable tool for the general public to learn more about the natural gas operations occurring in their area. FracFocus plans to continue adding features to the site that will increase its value to the public and strengthen transparency.

Thanks to a commitment to safe and responsible development, communities do not have to trade the protection of our air, land and water for the economic advantages offered by affordable, abundant natural gas. Resources like FracFocus strengthen that commitment.

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Natural Gas Companies Powering Their Operations with Natural Gas

The companies that develop our domestic natural gas supplies are committed to finding ways to power their own operations with the same fuel that they produce. One company, Seneca Resources, recently embraced that challenge and announced it has converted two of its Pennsylvania drilling rigs to run on natural gas.

Seneca joins other ANGA companies like Anadarko, Apache, Cabot, Chesapeake, Cimarex, EQT, Newfield and Noble in moving toward using natural gas to power their natural gas production rigs. The use of natural gas will keep costs down for production while also improving the air quality in the communities where these companies are producing.

According to Ensign Energy Services, a company that provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered drilling rigs to Seneca Resources and many other companies, the benefits of using natural gas to power their operations are tremendous. Some of the environmental benefits are particularly noteworthy:

Using a dedicated natural gas engine to power a drilling rig has the potential to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 64 tons per year; and

A dedicated natural gas powered drilling rig can reduce particulate matter by 1.7 tons per year.

And keeping costs down is critical for any business to remain competitive in an ever-changing economy. So when coupling the total fuel cost-savings with the environmental benefits natural gas offers, using more of this abundant, domestic resource is a smart and responsible business decision. And over time, this is a trend we are likely to see more of.

Seneca, along with these other ANGA companies, are leading by example by pioneering its operations across the nation with a cleaner, more affordable, domestic fuel alternative. With benefits for the bottom line and the environment, it’s an easy decision that other natural gas producers should think about embracing.

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Safe, Responsible Development Preserves Groundwater Integrity

Earlier this year, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released findings from a review of 127 domestic water wells to determine the potential effects of natural gas production on groundwater. After analyzing water samples for major ions, trace metals and methane, USGS scientists concluded that the quality of water found in these wells is the result of natural processes.

Here's what the report said:

Although preproduction water-quality data were lacking for the wells sampled for this study, geochemical data presented a well-defined pattern of geochemical evolution based on natural rock-water and microbially mediated processes, strongly suggesting that the resulting water quality is derived from these natural processes with no effects from gas-production activities.

The sampled wells are located in Arkansas' Van Buren and Faulkner Counties, which is part of the Fayetteville Shale – a rich deposit of natural gas located 1,500 to 6,500 feet beneath the surface. Ninety-four of the wells tested were located less than two miles from a gas production well, and 33 were located two miles or more from a gas production well.

The study also found:

No statistical difference between chloride concentrations when comparing wells less than two miles from natural gas production to wells more than two miles from natural gas production.

Of the 51 samples analyzed for methane concentration, only seven samples had a concentration greater than or equal to 0.5 milligrams per liter. Analysis of these samples shows that the methane was likely biogenic in origin.

We encourage people to think about how we develop our energy resources and to ask questions. The findings of this USGS study serve as further evidence that natural gas development can be done and is done safely and responsibly.

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American Energy Powering American Jobs

The word is out, and the international business community now sees the United States making investments, building factories and producing goods.

A Washington Post article highlighted the trend, noting that the “plunging price of natural gas in the United States has European companies setting sail across the Atlantic to stay competitive.”

Beyond powering our homes and vehicles, natural gas plays a critical role in manufacturing processes, either as energy to produce a bevy of products such as steel and paper or as a feedstock to produce chemicals, fertilizers and plastics.

And the capital being invested is astounding. More than $20 billion in manufacturing projects will come online by 2015. And those are just the ones that have had capital value attached to them. There are many more, covering a geographic region ranging from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley.

Chemical giant BASF invested $5.7 billion in new North American ventures; Shell is on track to build a $2 billion ethylene cracker plant in Pennsylvania, ZEEP/Todd Corp announced $1.3 billion for a new Louisiana-based methanol production facility, and Vallourec and U.S. Steel have already opened over $1 billion in steel production facilities across Ohio.

These investments will help produce one million new manufacturing jobs by 2025, according to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Association of Manufacturers. An additional study by the American Chemistry Council finds that the petrochemical manufacturers alone could support over 400,000 jobs assuming $16.2 billion in capital investment over several years. We are well on track to achieve this capital expenditure by 2015.

While no one sector can claim sole responsibility for reviving our economy, development of our natural gas resources is fueling America’s very own manufacturing renaissance. Access to affordable and stable energy prices on U.S. shores is definitely giving businesses something to think about.

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Powering America’s Manufacturing Future with Natural Gas

The loss of manufacturing jobs in America has been the subject of discussion from kitchen tables to the halls of Congress for decades. Going back about three decades when Billy Joel crooned about shutting all the factories down in Allentown, we have been losing manufacturing jobs to other countries. But finally, that’s changing.

Thanks to the abundant supply of domestic natural gas, manufacturing operations are operating, putting people to work and revitalizing communities. The iconic U.S. Steel is just one company benefitting from this manufacturing renaissance.

Thanks to the increase in natural gas production and supply, new demand for steel pipe and other equipment used to develop our domestic natural gas resources continues to grow. U.S. Steel Chairman and CEO John Surma explained, “As industries such as petrochemicals, plastics, fertilizers and others build new factories and infrastructure to take advantage of the new gas supplies, demand for steel of all types should continue to increase.” Surma calls this, “a double-edge plowshare.” Natural gas enables U.S. Steel to operate more efficiently thanks to an abundant energy supply, but also allows it to expand its products to meet demand across several sectors.

The plowshare that Surma describes is already yielding noticeable growth. For example, U.S. Steel invests in its operations and creates jobs when opening a new Quench & Temper finishing facility. Opened in late 2011, this facility provides 100 full-time jobs after a $100 million capital investment in Lorain, Ohio.

Sustained job creation will be essential as our economy continues working toward full recovery. Thanks to our abundant supplies of natural gas, manufacturers such as U.S. Steel maintain a competitive edge, meet the growing demand for steel domestically, and employ more people to meet that demand. As we continue to develop more of our natural gas, we are confident U.S. Steel, and others, will keep growing their manufacturing operations and employing more people. For those going back to work in Lorain, in Allentown and across America, that’s something to think about.

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Family Farms, Growing and Sustaining, Thanks to Natural Gas

Across the country, small family owned and operated farms struggle with the challenges in today’s economy. Whether it is the expense of a new tractor, the fluctuation of crop prices or the costs of raising livestock, the future of family farms that have been passed down from one generation to the next are now at risk in an economy where one bad season or poor harvest could mean financial ruin.

Some farms and ranches have found a solution to keep farms in the family, and generate real, lasting profit. And, it’s thanks to natural gas.

With an abundant supply of natural gas found in shale plays across the country, many farmers and ranchers have leased portions of their land for the development of natural gas. One of those farmers is Keith Burgett, who owns more than 500 livestock and has raised cattle for more than 30 years.

Since leasing his land for natural gas development, Keith now has six active wells on his property developing natural gas. Each well was drilled with protecting the health of the land and groundwater as a priority - all while Keith continues raising cattle.

Natural gas wells are drilled thousands of feet down into shale formations that lie well below local drinking water supplies. The well is reinforced with multiple layers of steel and cement casing that seals off natural gas from aquifers. All of this development occurs under the skilled supervision of state regulators trained to protect local groundwater supplies and air quality. These efforts result in wells that safely produce natural gas without harming the local environment.

Speaking of his own experience, Keith says, “I think natural gas production in our culture of raising cattle can coexist very well.”

The benefits of leasing land for natural gas development are numerous. Keith says, “It also makes it possible for us to send our grandchildren to college and also helped us purchase some more property to grow the size of the farm, and modernize some of our equipment.”

Keith’s experience is just one example of many small family farms that have found that the benefits of natural gas production can coexist with their crops and livestock. Thanks to safe and responsible well development, our abundant natural gas supply helps sustain an industry that is vital to all of us. “The land and water is very important to a farmer. That’s how we make our living and that’s how we pass the land and water back to future generations so land can be productive,” Keith says.

The Burgett farm illustrates that communities and land owners do not have to choose between economic prosperity and protection of the land and environment. We can have both goals with safe natural gas development. If a family farm can produce gas while raising hundreds of cattle each year without contaminated water or damaged land, then how else can natural gas improve our nation’s agricultural economy? This success gives us all something to think about.

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Uncle Sam Wants You - So Does Natural Gas

Belkiss Rodriguez is a professional development director at Alamo Colleges who helps train and place students in jobs in and around San Antonio, TX. She works to match the needs of local industries with a skilled workforce. As a military veteran herself, she has first-hand experience with the safety-first training of those who serve, and understands the importance of placing these men and women in the growing natural gas industry. With several military bases in the San Antonio area, there is no shortage of skilled workers.

Recently, Alamo Colleges and the Eagle Ford Shale Consortium were awarded nearly $1.3 million from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to implement a training program for high-demand occupations in the Eagle Ford Shale area. This effort will assist an estimated 800 adult students find good-paying jobs in the local natural gas industry.

Outside Texas, in the Marcellus shale region, Westmoreland County Community College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, West Virginia Northern Community College, Eastern Gateway Community College in Ohio, and Broome Community College in New York came together and formed Marcellus ShaleNET - a recruitment, training, placement, and retention program for high priority occupations in the natural gas industry. In fact, Support our Troops recently announced a scholarship program to send Ohio veterans through this program. The scholarship will cover books, tuition and training for 40 veterans.

We need a large workforce to develop the resources necessary to fuel America’s expanding energy demands. With a growing number of training programs, a skilled workforce will be ready to develop it safely and responsibly.

Are you thinking about a job in the natural gas industry? Here are links to the Alamo Colleges and ShaleNET training programs:

• ShaleNET
  
• Alamo Colleges

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Cleaner Transportation, Powered with Natural Gas

All over the country, public transportation systems move hundreds of thousands of riders on a daily basis. These fleets represent a significant portion of public dollars, largely due to the unpredictable price of fuel. But now public transit systems can rely on a cleaner and more economical fuel – natural gas – thanks to our abundant domestic supply.

Los Angeles made the transition to natural gas buses, and has seen significant benefits as a result. In fact, LA Metro is a prime example of the positive change that can come from adding natural gas to a region’s transportation sector. LA Metro has the largest fleet of clean compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in the nation—approximately 2,200. After purchasing its first natural gas bus in 1995, the system retired its last diesel bus in 2011. Annually, LA Metro buses run about 1.5 billion miles a year and as of 2011, LA Metro estimates that its natural gas fleet has collectively driven more than one billion miles.

What was behind LA Metro’s decision to change to natural gas? Reducing emissions while saving on fuel costs. Since converting to natural gas, officials estimate that they have cut the release of particulates from the bus fleet by 80 percent and greenhouse gases by about 300,000 pounds each day. In what was one of America’s most smog-plagued areas, this is especially noteworthy. In addition to the savings for the environment, officials estimate that LA Metro is realizing a 10 to 20 percent operational cost savings on fuel alone. For taxpayers in California’s still struggling economy, every public dollar needs to be stretched for maximum value. Thanks to an abundance of supply at affordable prices, natural gas is delivering value for transit systems across the nation.

But are riders noticing the difference? Well if you ask Lizette, one regular LA Metro rider, she’ll tell you about the older buses, noting that “before you could see the smoke and the stuff coming out from the bus and they were louder. They are not as loud and you don't see the smoke which caused the smog in LA,” adding, “It's cleaner now here in LA.”

And Lizette should know: She has been a rider of LA’s buses for 20 years and has seen the visible changes thanks to the transition to natural gas.

Greater use in public transportation is just one example of how natural gas can power major fleets with real benefits. Plus the dual benefits of affordability and significantly lower emissions show that with natural gas, we do not have to choose between powering our growing transportation network and cleaning our environment. Natural gas has allowed Los Angeles to demonstrate that, in fact, even large metro areas can have both.

And that’s worth thinking about.

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ANGA Statement on Release of BLM’s Hydraulic Fracturing Proposal

Background: Following is a comment from Amy Farrell, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for America’s Natural Gas Alliance, on the release of hydraulic fracturing rules today by the Bureau of Land Management.

“We are reviewing the BLM rules to determine how they will affect our members’ ability to produce this clean, abundant and affordable natural gas resource.

“It is encouraging that the administration revisited its original proposal and appears to have made some favorable changes, including accounting for the expertise and work being done at the state level. We will reserve judgment on the proposal more broadly until we have had a chance to thoroughly evaluate it.

“Our view is that it is essential that the proposal account for the extensive regulatory structures in place in states across this country. Any federal rules should work in concert with substantial regulatory regimes established by the states. State regulators have shown that they best understand the unique geological conditions that exist within their borders, and they have the expertise needed to oversee natural gas development.

“With our industry’s commitment to safe and responsible development and with strong state regulation that provides the public with confidence in our work, America can take full advantage of the many economic, environmental and energy security benefits this domestic energy resource offers.

“We look forward to working with the BLM and Interior Department as it moves toward finalizing these rules.”

ANGA Welcomes Committee Focus on Natural Gas Infrastructure

Background: Following is a comment by Marty Durbin, President and Chief Executive Officer for America’s Natural Gas Alliance on today’s natural gas roundtable before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“With the game changing opportunity provided by abundant, clean, American natural gas, we are pleased to see the committee exploring the infrastructure necessary to affordably meet our energy needs. This natural gas resource gives our nation tremendous economic, environmental and national security benefits through greater use in power generation, transportation and industrial applications, and we look forward to working with the committee as this important conversation continues.”

Study Finds Natural Gas to Boost Incomes if New York Allows Hydraulic Fracturing

This week, the Manhattan Institute released a study showing that the incomes of New York residents could be boosted substantially if the state were to allow hydraulic fracturing.

This amounts to leaving opportunities for jobs and economic growth on the sidelines, while neighboring Pennsylvania flourishes. As reported by the Post-Standard in Syracuse:

“Allowing hydrofracking to proceed in New York would be an economic boom that would bring $8 billion of income to Upstate New Yorkers, a new study concludes. If New York lifts its moratorium on hydrofracking, The Manhattan Institute says, income of residents in the 28 counties that lie above the gas-rich Marcellus Shale could rise by 15 percent.”

New York need not choose between economic prosperity and protecting its environment. New York, and the nation, can have both with safe and responsible natural gas development.

The Manhattan Institute’s executive summary can be found here and the full report here.

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NGVs of all sorts Head to Springfield, Illinois

A diverse line-up of NGVs were represented in Springfield, Illinois as ANGA hosted NGV Day to coincide with audiences who are prime fleet conversion prospects - members of the IL Manufactures Association and The IL Retail Merchants Association who were in the Capitol city for their annual Business Day.

ANGA was front and center at the lunch event encouraging people to take a look at the vehicles. We also met with the IL Environmental Protection Agency Team that oversees state sustainability initiatives and their counterparts at the IL Dept. of Transportation. Legislators viewed the vehicles that included a Ford F250, a Waste Management Garbage Truck, a cement truck from Ozinga, a fourth generation Illinois business, a Chrysler RAM and an NGV powered Springfield Municipal Bus that earlier in the day shuttled members from the conference center to the Capitol.

Lots of positive interest and many follow-up opportunities -- our team is excited about pursuing these! This momentum will continue next week as ANGA participates in Green Drives hosted by the Clean Cities Coalition of Chicago.

ANGA Comments on Departure of David Hayes from the Interior Department

Background: Following is a comment by Greg Pensabene, acting president and chief executive officer for America's Natural Gas Alliance on David Hayes' decision to step down as deputy secretary at the Interior Department.

"We applaud David Hayes for his public service to this country and for his understanding of the critical issues related to natural gas development. During a time when technological advances associated with natural gas production have created new opportunities for our country, David has emphasized the need for safe and responsible development, while recognizing the important role that this abundant, American fuel plays in improving national security, cleaning the air, and jumpstarting our economy. We wish David well in his future endeavors."

Greater Natural Gas Use Brings Down Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Today's Wall Street Journal highlighted an environmental achievement that, regardless of where one stands in the debate over climate change, is significant and positive for everyone. The Journal reports that carbon dioxide emissions have fallen dramatically in the U.S. in recent years thanks in large part to the increased use of natural gas to generate electricity.

The news comes from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), an independent, statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy. In its analysis, EIA found that that energy-related emissions have fallen by 12 percent between 2005 and 2012 – their lowest level since 1994.

This achievement is significant. It shows that using more of our domestic natural gas reserves to power our energy demands is yielding real rewards for our environment. It is also vital to government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which monitors greenhouse gas emissions as it relates to natural gas development.

To that end EPA has reduced assumptions about the amount of greenhouse gases from natural gas operations. The agency, which effectively dropped its assessment of emissions in 2010 by about a third used data from the ANGA-API study to lower its assumptions. Natural Gas Council, of which ANGA is a member, issued a press release praising EPA for cutting its estimates, and emphasizing that we still think EPA estimates are too high.

As the data shows, using more natural gas does not force us to choose between fueling our growing energy demand with protecting our environment. We can have both. With continued safe and responsible development ensuring abundant supplies of this resource, we can build on this progress to keep our air clean for future generations.