Fourteen years ago, as the head of a U.S. delegation at a time of sky-high energy prices, I met with a Middle Eastern oil minister in an effort to convince his nation to increase production. I have a distinct memory of him listening to my pitch, pausing for a few seconds and then looking me straight in the eye and saying, “I hear you, but what is your country doing to help the situation?” With U.S. energy prices on the rise, and with U.S. officials scrambling to cobble together gas supplies for Europe in case of a Russian attack on Ukraine, that question is just as relevant today.
Unfortunately, the answer is, not much. However you feel about natural gas (and oil), the reality is that it is a critical component of our energy system, and that it is here to stay for many years. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that U.S. consumption of natural gas will remain roughly unchanged in 2022 and 2023.
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