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AP reports that falling natural gas prices in the US are making residential consumers happy for the time being, but notes that unconventional (shale) gas drilling has fallen off a cliff in recent months - Homes that use natural gas for heat could save big. The 60 million American homes that rely on natural gas for heat can expect substantially lower bills next winter thanks to a glut in supply and the weak economy. Just as distributors start to lock in contracts for the coming winter, natural gas prices have fallen almost 75 percent. Not all of that will show up as savings on the heating bill, but it should still mean noticeable savings. Utilities also generate about a fifth of the nation's electricity with gas, and many of their customers should notice price breaks as well.

Natural gas will provide an increasing share of America's energy needs over the next several decades, doubling its share of the energy market to 40 percent, from 20 percent, according to a report to be released Friday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The increase, the report concluded, will come largely at the expense of coal and will be driven both by abundant supplies of natural gas - made more available by shale drilling - and by measures to restrict the carbon dioxide emissions that are linked to climate change. In the long term, however, the future may be dimmer for natural gas if stricter regulations are put in place to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 - a goal set by President Obama. Although lower in carbon than coal, natural gas is still too carbon-intensive to be used under such a target absent some method of carbon capture, the authors of the report concluded.

Two interesting observations: 1. 50% of U.S. power generation (in MWh) comes from coal, while only 20% comes from natural gas. 2. 32% of total U.S. power generation capacity (in MW) is coal-fired, while 42% is gas-fired. When it runs, the natural gas fleet emits just 50% of the CO2 of the coal fleet, which raises a rather interesting question: what would we have to do to make it run harder? And how big a difference would that make in our national CO2 footprint? MW vs. MWh So why, if we have more natural gas generation capacity, do we get more of our power from coal?

Inhabitat has a report from Bulgaria on the continuing impasse between Russia and the Ukraine over Russian gas exports - Gazprom Crisis Engulfs Europe. Home heating price increases have certainly been a major concern for recession-strapped households in northern climates, but the possibility of having one's heat completely shut-off in this new era of natural resource 'muscle flexing' and bitter political show-downs is perhaps a whole new energy policy boiling point in Europe and beyond. Russia's decision this week to turn off the flow of gas from its Gazprom pipelines to the Ukraine, which in turn forced many European countries to rely on their (in some cases virtually nonexistent) gas reserves, demonstrates the dire need to identify alternatives to Siberia and the Middle East for our massive oil and gas dependencies. Given that my family and I are currently in Bulgaria for six weeks, we are experiencing the Gazprom gas cut-off crisis first-hand. This issue will not be going away any time soon, despite the band-aid patches that will crop up over the next few weeks and months.

Norma Fiorentino's drinking water well was a time bomb. For weeks, workers in her small northeastern Pennsylvania town had been plumbing natural gas deposits from a drilling rig a few hundred yards away. They cracked the earth and pumped in fluids to force the gas out. Somehow, stray gas worked into tiny crevasses in the rock, leaking upward into the aquifer and slipping quietly into Fiorentino's well. Then, according to the state's working theory, a motorized pump turned on in her well house, flicked a spark and caused a New Year's morning blast that tossed aside a concrete slab weighing several thousand pounds.

U.S. public lands estimated to hold 31 billion barrels of oil and 231 trillion cubic feet of natural gas WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With average national gas prices hovering around $4 per gallon, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management today released a study that shows vast untapped oil and natural gas resources exist on public lands in the United States. "America has abundant energy resources," said Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management C. Stephen Allred. "However, for a variety of reasons, many of these resources are not available for development. At a time when energy prices have reached record levels and Americans are feeling the impact, we must find ways to develop those key energy resources that are available to us right here at home, on our public lands."

Vote to pass a bill that expands offshore drilling leases and extends renewable energy tax credits. Official Title of Legislation: HR 6899: To advance the national security interests of the United States by reducing its dependency on oil through renewable and clean, alternative fuel technologies while building a bridge to the future through expanded access to Federal oil and natural gas resources, revising the relationship between the oil and gas industry and the consumers who own those resources and deserve a fair return from the development of publicly owned oil and gas, ending tax subsidies for large oil and gas companies, and facilitating energy efficiencies in the building, housing, and transportation sectors, and for other purposes. Highlights:

A joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Iraq's state-owned South Gas Co. could give Shell a 25-year monopoly on production and exports of natural gas in much of southern Iraq - the biggest foreign role in Iraq's oil and gas sector in four decades. The planned venture, spelled out in a 16-page document obtained by United Press International, goes well beyond descriptions provided by Iraqi and Shell officials on Sept. 22, when they held a public signing ceremony in Baghdad.

Alaska has enough natural gas trapped in ice formations beneath permanently frozen subsoil and offshore to heat more than 100 million homes for a decade, a U.S. report estimated. Hydrates, crystalline structures consisting of gas and water locked below the permafrost, contain 85.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the Interior Department's U.S. Geological Survey said in a report released today. "The hydrates have more potential for energy than all other fossil fuels combined," Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said in a news conference. "This is a huge resource for energy, and one cannot overstate that."

Federal regulators said Friday that Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP's (FCE.UN.T) proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in the Pacific Northwest could be built without significant environmental losses, paving the way for possible approval. In a final environmental impact statement, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said the Jordan Cove LNG import terminal proposed near the Oregon coast, plus a 234-mile natural gas pipeline that would ship imported gas from the terminal to nearby interstate pipelines, could be built in a way that minimizes the potential threat of earthquakes, accidents and a terrorist attack, as well as potential harm to soil, wetlands and water resources.

The natural gas industry refuses to reveal what is in the mixture of chemicals used to drill for the fossil fuel State regulators and Washington lawmakers though are increasingly impatient with voluntary measures and are seeking to toughen their oversight. In September U.S. Congresswoman Diana DeGette and Congressman John Salazar, from Colorado, and Congressman Maurice Hinchey, from New York, introduced a bill that would undo the exemptions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Wyoming, widely known for supporting energy development, has begun updating its regulations at a local level, as have parts of Texas. New Mexico has placed a one year moratorium on drilling around Santa Fe, after a survey found hundreds of cases of water contamination from unlined pits where fracking fluids and other drilling wastes are stored. "Every rule that we have improved . . . industry has taken us to court on," said Joanna Prukop, New Mexico's cabinet secretary for Energy Minerals and Natural Resources. "It's industry that is fighting us on every front as we try to improve our government enforcement, protection, and compliance… We wear Kevlar these days."

Robert Redford has come under fire from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). In what seems like a bizarre veering off-mandate for a movie star and the civil rights group who once coordinated the Washington march led by Martin Luther King Jr, they've come to verbal blows over oil and gas drilling. Roy Innis, national chairman of CORE said, "If Robert Redford succeeds in blocking natural gas production in Utah, it's going to hurt a lot of people on the other end of the pipeline-especially low-income families who are struggling to pay their heating bills." And apparently, the organisation is planning to protest against Redford at his own Sundance Festival. Has CORE sold out to gas and oil? Some critics say that CORE has moved away from its key activity because it is funded by the oil and gas industry: Exxon has provided over $250,000 to the group, but CORE says this is part of their role - or as their website says, "Under the banner of TRUTH! LOGIC! & COURAGE!, CORE continues to promote harmony and healing in all aspects of society; calling the shots straight-even when it hurts-and confronting the haters, race-baiters and racial racketeers bent on keeping us apart"

The bill will establish the core of a federal program to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions substantially enough between 2008 and 2050 to avert catastrophic global warming. It will accomplish that purpose without harming America's economy or imposing hardship on its citizens. The greenhouse-gas emissions cap in the Climate Security Act covers U.S. electric power, transportation, manufacturing, and natural gas sources that together account for 87% of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions.

"Russia is launching a new all-out offensive on the European energy market. President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have spent the past several days on individual tours through Europe, securing new natural-gas contracts and partners for Russian-built pipelines, clarifying Russian claims to oil and gas reserves in the Arctic, and searching for clients ready to pay for Russia's nuclear-plant technology. On April 27, Medvedev concluded a two-day trip to Oslo, where he and Norwegian leaders agreed on a plan to delimit their Arctic maritime border. The decision -- combined with recent melting of Arctic ice -- paves the way for the area to be opened for oil and gas exploration. The deal is a long-awaited achievement for Russia. In 2008, Medvedev called the Arctic "Russia's resource base of the 21st century." Some energy experts estimate that up to 25 percent of the planet's oil and gas reserves lie beneath the Arctic's Barents Sea. "

Advanced drilling techniques that blast millions of gallons of water into 400-million-year-old shale formations a mile underground are opening up "unconventional" gas fields touted as a key to the nation's energy future. These deposits, where natural gas is so tightly locked in deep rocks that it's costly and complicated to extract, include the Barnett shale in Texas, the Fayetteville of Arkansas, and the Haynesville of Louisiana. But the mother lode is the Marcellus shale underlying the Appalachians.

With coal being too dirty and wind farms and nuclear power plants arriving late, it seems the world is left with a stark choice: keep on polluting or turn out the lights. Unless, that is, someone comes up with an alternative. Energy executive Rune Bjornson thinks he has the answer. "Natural gas, more than any other fuel, is an option we have here and now," he tells the BBC in an interview. And, he adds, there is plenty of it around - unlike scarcer resources such as oil and coal.

With coal being too dirty and wind farms and nuclear power plants arriving late, it seems the world is left with a stark choice: keep on polluting or turn out the lights. Unless, that is, someone comes up with an alternative. Energy executive Rune Bjornson thinks he has the answer. "Natural gas, more than any other fuel, is an option we have here and now," he tells the BBC in an interview. And, he adds, there is plenty of it around - unlike scarcer resources such as oil and coal.

Seemingly out of concern that competitive renewable energy will damage Big Oil's bottom line, the Texas Railroad Commission wants to block transmission lines that would put affordable energy from west Texas wind farms on an even playing field with the historical titans of Texas energy - oil and gas companies. A new investment in these transmission lines would save ratepayers $2 billion a year, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16 percent and create more than $5 billion in economic development benefits for Texas. Ratepayers, companies and organizations with an interest in seeing the further development of renewable energy and green jobs should contact the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) and tell them to deny the Railroad Commission's request to intervene. The Texas Legislature authorized these transmission lines in 2008 to address the lack of available transmission lines to deliver wind energy from the panhandle and west Texas to the major metropolitan areas in central Texas where demand is higher. This renewable energy helps reduce costs for ratepayers by providing abundant and inexpensive clean energy that helps offset the volatile price of natural gas.

Seemingly out of concern that competitive renewable energy will damage Big Oil's bottom line, the Texas Railroad Commission wants to block transmission lines that would put affordable energy from west Texas wind farms on an even playing field with the historical titans of Texas energy - oil and gas companies. A new investment in these transmission lines would save ratepayers $2 billion a year, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16 percent and create more than $5 billion in economic development benefits for Texas. Ratepayers, companies and organizations with an interest in seeing the further development of renewable energy and green jobs should contact the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) and tell them to deny the Railroad Commission's request to intervene. The Texas Legislature authorized these transmission lines in 2008 to address the lack of available transmission lines to deliver wind energy from the panhandle and west Texas to the major metropolitan areas in central Texas where demand is higher. This renewable energy helps reduce costs for ratepayers by providing abundant and inexpensive clean energy that helps offset the volatile price of natural gas.

Back in September, the City of Houston agreed to buy all the solar power from a proposed NRG $40-million solar plant on a 25-year power purchase agreement, or PPA. The deal called for NRG to foot the bill for the plant, and the city to pay for the power at a rate of 8.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first year. What this meant, in real-world terms, was that NRG would supplant some of the solar output with power from other plants, giving the city an effective rate of 8.2 cents, though the agreement overall calls for Houston to pay 19.8 cents per kilowatt-hour. If built, the 10-megawatt solar plant would have been the biggest in the state, providing up to 1.5 percent of the city's electrical needs at a locked-in price on 90 percent of production - a fixed rate that would have served the city well if Reliant Energy raised its rates due to rising costs of oil, gas or coal. Reliant Energy's generation mix is 39.8 percent, followed by natural gas at 23 percent and coal at 22.5 percent - the former two prices likely to rise as the recession eases and tension over Middle East oil prices and production rises.

Back in September, the City of Houston agreed to buy all the solar power from a proposed NRG $40-million solar plant on a 25-year power purchase agreement, or PPA. The deal called for NRG to foot the bill for the plant, and the city to pay for the power at a rate of 8.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first year. What this meant, in real-world terms, was that NRG would supplant some of the solar output with power from other plants, giving the city an effective rate of 8.2 cents, though the agreement overall calls for Houston to pay 19.8 cents per kilowatt-hour. If built, the 10-megawatt solar plant would have been the biggest in the state, providing up to 1.5 percent of the city's electrical needs at a locked-in price on 90 percent of production - a fixed rate that would have served the city well if Reliant Energy raised its rates due to rising costs of oil, gas or coal. Reliant Energy's generation mix is 39.8 percent, followed by natural gas at 23 percent and coal at 22.5 percent - the former two prices likely to rise as the recession eases and tension over Middle East oil prices and production rises.

Fact Sheet: The United States and Caspian Energy Security * The U.S. continues to support multiple, independent and commercially-viable export routes to global markets for Caspian energy. * The U.S. government encourages Caspian countries to increase regional cooperation to develop energy solutions for the region. * Southern Corridor energy export routes will give Turkish and European consumers greater freedom of choice, increase competition and bring additional and diverse energy supplies to market, thus augmenting global energy security. * Since becoming independent in 1991, the former Soviet Republics of the Caspian region have attracted significant international investment in its oil and natural gas reserves, making it an important source of energy exports. * The Caspian region produces roughly 2.8 million barrels per day (bbl/d). * The Caspian region has significant natural gas resources, making it an ideal source for diversification of the European market. * Continued investment by international firms, bringing management expertise and technological advantages, is crucial to expanding energy production and increasing benefits to the host countries. * Diversity of supplies, suppliers and supply routes is a key component to enhancing global energy security.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), the trade organization for the oil and natural gas industry, has just begun running a feel-good commercial that argues "America's future" lies in drilling out domestic reserves of oil and natural gas off our coasts, in our western lands, and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Here's what the ad says: