The largest growth area for natural-gas development in the United States continues to be the Rocky Mountains. Some of the fastest-growing states in the nation also are in the Rocky Mountains. That's destined to set up some conflicts between those whose business it is to develop natural gas and those who prefer it not happen in sight of their homes.
DENVER — The largest growth area for natural-gas development in the United States continues to be the Rocky Mountains.
Some of the fastest-growing states in the nation also are in the Rocky Mountains.
That's destined to set up some conflicts between those whose business it is to develop natural gas and those who prefer it not happen in sight of their homes.
But if the projections developed by the federal government and private industry for energy supply and demand are on track, then neither side of the divide is destined to get what it wants. The message that emerged Tuesday from sessions and addresses at the Rocky Mountain Natural Gas Strategy Conference and Investment Forum is that the energy industry must step up and explain the role of energy in the nation's economy.
"Energy is the lifeblood of our economy and those of other countries," American Gas Association President and Chief Executive Officer David Parker said. "Without adequate supplies of affordable energy, our standard of living will suffer."
The American Gas Association represents the interests of 195 local energy utility companies that serve 56 million customers.
The biggest challenge, Parker said, is to educate consumers about how hard producing natural gas is. Most consumers live where energy development is not.
"Most production is in the red part of the country, while most of the consumption is in the blue part of the country," Parker said, referring to the political classification of states by color. The challenge, he said, is blending the two to achieve a purple result.
Keith Rattie, chairman, president and CEO of Questar Corp., which is a producer of unconventional natural gas in the Rockies as well as a pipeline company, said high energy prices are a sign that a supply problem exists -- there isn't enough to meet demand.
"We cannot reconcile our energy needs with our environmental ideals," he said. "We like to drive cars, we like to buy the biggest homes we can, we like to move around the country, we like cheap food, we like plastics and we like synthetic fabrics." All of those things require using energy and petrochemicals.
"But public attitudes show growing disdain for what we do," he said.
"When it comes to energy, people are confused."
Poe Leggatte, a former assistant solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior and now a partner at a Washington, D.C., law firm that represents energy producers, framed his piece of the debate by explaining the ethics of energy.
"For energy developers, it's ethical to spend money and make a profit from developing energy, but they also must accept that they are stewards of the land, and if they can't reclaim it, they must not disturb it, they must reclaim it as soon as possible, and they must protect in nature what we cannot replace," he said.
On the consumption side, Leggatte said, people cannot oppose energy development and continue to use it.
"Each side misunderstands the other," he said.
One of the points of contention is the role of renewable energy, like wind power. Leggatte said consumers should understand how much infrastructure that would require.
In 2003, 15 percent of the electricity generated came from natural gas.
To replace that with wind power, he said, would have required 16,300 wind turbines standing 420 feet tall at a spacing of just under a half-mile apart be erected in an area the size of eastern Massachusetts.
Another hot button issue in energy development is the development of resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which many environmentalists oppose.
"Opponents argue that it shouldn't be developed because it would meet only six months' worth of needs for the nation," he said. Using that argument, no oil would be produced in the lower 48 states, because what's developed there can't meet the same standard.
Some energy companies have been working to reduce the impact of development.
Joseph Jaggers, vice president of exploration and production for the Denver region of Williams Cos., said his company has undertaken a number of measures to lessen the impact of energy development, including directional drilling, reducing surface disturbance, reducing visual impact from drilling activity, reducing noise and using telemetry to cut down on visits to rigs.
Peter Dea, president, CEO and director of Western Gas Resources Inc., said he sees energy conservation and efficiency as a complement to natural gas.
"It's not the explorer and producers who make the market, it's the American people," he said. "Some of us are working on dampening the demand side." His company has put in place a program to cut energy use, and good ideas are rewarded, he said.
That may seem like a small thing, but the natural gas needed to meet growing demand in the next 20 years will come from wells that aren't yet drilled. Efficiencies and renewable energy can help bridge the difference between expected demand and expected supply.
The conference, put on by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, concludes today in Denver.
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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
