While folks back in the U.S. were sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, I was making my way back to Frankfurt, Germany from Warsaw, Poland.
My discussions in the Polish capital were with the PGNiG, the national state-run gas company and the government's designated partner in all domestic drilling operations.
Unlike my German conversations, there is considerable optimism these days that the energy picture in Poland is about to change in a major way-thanks to shale gas.
Poland must overcome a serious of challenges, which, of course, were the reasons for our meetings. And despite the upbeat tenor of everybody involved, significant concerns have emerged.
On the positive side, Polish officials have committed to a rapid development of unconventional gas. In addition, no domestic opposition to drilling exists, at least not yet.
Unlike back in Germany, nascent environmental movements have neither the political clout nor the apparent interest in making this an issue.
Polish operations are currently in a very early stage, which may be the reason for the lack of opposition. Only a few test wells have been drilled (less than 15 in all), and none are near residential populations.
For that matter, PGNiG is preparing to start its first horizontal drilling operation. The test wells thus far have all been spud by foreign companies.
However, it is now clear that the "rapid" ramp up foreseen by the authorities in the central government is not working out as anticipated back at the well sites.
For one thing, the initial wells have either come in dry or produced disappointing gas flows. For another, the national gas company is under considerable pressure to produce positive results in what is becoming a very challenging technical environment.
The former result is hardly surprising. There remains insufficient geology and preliminary field prospecting. The locations of shale deposits are well known. The country has no less than five very promising basins. But Mother Nature has an irritating habit of indifferently placing hydrocarbons in those basins.
That requires initial evaluations before the expensive proposition of sinking exploratory wells commences. Thus far, the few wells attempted have been positioned with little more than rudimentary data and guesswork. The poor initial results, therefore, reflect such considerations more than anything else.
There seems little doubt that there are considerable reserves, but finding where they are remains a major undertaking.
Here challenges exist that are not a problem back in the United States.
But solving them could lead to huge breakthroughs for companies in the U.S. and energy investors alike.
advantages of natural gas
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The Brewing Shale Gas Energy Boom That Nobody is Talking About
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Natural Gas Game Changer: The U.S. Paves Way for Sabine Pass
Last week, natural gas prices fell below $2 per 1,000 cubic feet for the first time in a decade. Let's talk about what that means for you, as an investor. The oversupply of natural gas continues to swell thanks to breakthrough technologies in fracking and horizontal drilling that "unlocked" this huge swath of energy. Tack […]
How to Play Decade-Low Natural Gas Prices
Natural gas prices remain below $2 per million British thermal units, the lowest level in 10 years. Prices will likely remain depressed for a while, but cheap natural gas now means great opportunities for long-term profits. Money Morning Capital Waves Strategist Shah Gilani joined Fox Business' "Varney & Co." to share two of his favorite […]
How to Profit on the Natural Gas Surplus
The recent mild winter and the unparalleled potential in new shale gas production have combined to result in a depressed pricing market for natural gas.
The rise in demand for everything from electricity to petrochemical feeder stock, liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, and even usage in vehicle fuels, will start driving that price up over the next two years.
You already know that, of course.
We've talked about it many times before.
But now there's something else on the horizon that is likely to provide a boost to investor prospects even sooner.
Utilities, one of the main beneficiaries of the gas boom, are moving to capitalize on the accelerating transition in power generation.
And in the process, two important trends are emerging that will be of interest to retail investors.
First, the low current prices and the prospect of rapid increases in extraction rates, if the market warrants, are allowing electricity managers the opportunity to plan for multi-year cost projections.
That, in turn, is propelling the intensified replacement of aging capacity with new gas-fueled plants.
As Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE: PCG) CEO Tony Earley noted this week, infrastructure investment becomes a priority when projected fuel prices are low. The system has to be upgraded and replaced in any event, as large segments of it reach the point of "retirement."
Earley also has advanced the idea that the power industry needs to speak with one voice in its dealings with regulators and policy makers.
This need for solidarity has been reflected in comments from other leaders in the power industry as well.
As policymakers increase capital expenditure spending in infrastructure replacement and expansion, we are also likely to see a renewed interest in developing a consensus on where the next "generation of generators" is going to be moving.
And one of the drivers coming onto the scene moves right into familiar - and profitable -territory, at least for us.
The rise in demand for everything from electricity to petrochemical feeder stock, liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, and even usage in vehicle fuels, will start driving that price up over the next two years.
You already know that, of course.
We've talked about it many times before.
But now there's something else on the horizon that is likely to provide a boost to investor prospects even sooner.
Utilities, one of the main beneficiaries of the gas boom, are moving to capitalize on the accelerating transition in power generation.
And in the process, two important trends are emerging that will be of interest to retail investors.
First, the low current prices and the prospect of rapid increases in extraction rates, if the market warrants, are allowing electricity managers the opportunity to plan for multi-year cost projections.
That, in turn, is propelling the intensified replacement of aging capacity with new gas-fueled plants.
As Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE: PCG) CEO Tony Earley noted this week, infrastructure investment becomes a priority when projected fuel prices are low. The system has to be upgraded and replaced in any event, as large segments of it reach the point of "retirement."
Earley also has advanced the idea that the power industry needs to speak with one voice in its dealings with regulators and policy makers.
This need for solidarity has been reflected in comments from other leaders in the power industry as well.
As policymakers increase capital expenditure spending in infrastructure replacement and expansion, we are also likely to see a renewed interest in developing a consensus on where the next "generation of generators" is going to be moving.
And one of the drivers coming onto the scene moves right into familiar - and profitable -territory, at least for us.
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The Natural Gas Act: Another Washington Boondoggle
With gasoline fast approaching $4 a gallon and heading toward $5 this summer, it's no surprise that politicians are panicking.
In Washington D.C., everything is an emergency. Legislation is always the antidote.
So now politicians are pushing the Natural Gas Act as a solution to high gas prices, rather than allowing the market to work.
Of course, none of them want to take the time to understand the true reasons why gas is going to $5 a gallon.
That would require a basic understanding of business or economics, something few in Congress seem to have.
Instead, what you can expect is the typical Washington response-a task force to investigate speculation in the oil futures markets.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced one last week without recognizing the futures markets actually improve liquidity and oil production certainty.
It's how Washington works. The Natural Gas Act is just more of the same.
In Washington D.C., everything is an emergency. Legislation is always the antidote.
So now politicians are pushing the Natural Gas Act as a solution to high gas prices, rather than allowing the market to work.
Of course, none of them want to take the time to understand the true reasons why gas is going to $5 a gallon.
That would require a basic understanding of business or economics, something few in Congress seem to have.
Instead, what you can expect is the typical Washington response-a task force to investigate speculation in the oil futures markets.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced one last week without recognizing the futures markets actually improve liquidity and oil production certainty.
It's how Washington works. The Natural Gas Act is just more of the same.
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Natural Gas Q&A: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
It has been a while since I responded to your many emails.
So, as we await the latest developments in the European debt mess, today seems like a good time to answer a few. This time around, I am addressing some of your questions and comments that deal with natural gas.
By the way, my staff and I read all of the input and feedback you send our way, and we're very grateful for it. Please email me at customerservice@oilandenergyinvestor.com. (I can't offer any personalized investment advice, but I can address your questions and comments in future broadcasts.)
Let's get started...
Q: I've just read recently several articles stating that the EIA has revised downward its estimate of our natural gas shale reserve potential by deciding to accept, unconditionally, the most recent U.S. Geological Survey stating that the Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Barnett, and other shale formations hold only 20% of the heretofore accepted reserves. This is an 80% reduction! This changes everything if true.
That's the question - is this bogus, or is there factual evidence to conclusively support this new estimate? ~ Howard B.
A: Howard, this reminds me of a famous statement from the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (though the comment is also variously ascribed to Mark Twain, Alfred Marshall, and many others): "There are three ways to hoodwink the masses - lies, damn lies, and statistics."
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) - a unit of the U.S. Department of Energy - continues to wrestle with the distinction between reserves and extractable reserves.
The first is the volume of gas indicated by field tests and analysis. The second is gas available for extraction at current methods. I would also stipulate as "extractable" reserves only the volume that market conditions allow.
When you equate the two, we are still in the same ballpark.
Current estimates put no more than 20% of known reserves as "extractable." As technologies improve, that figure could improve, too.
For now, the EIA estimate falls in line with most others.
So to answer your question, nothing much has changed here, aside from some government bureaucrats wanting their figures to be more accurate.
Q: Kent, your work appears to be expanding into areas of advisement that could affect the future profitability and wellbeing of nations and their business relationships with existing partners. A delicate balancing act if there ever was one! If such arrangements are not handled carefully, could sanctions and/or military skirmishes be the outcome? Are we facing the possibilities of "gas wars"? ~ Fred P.
So, as we await the latest developments in the European debt mess, today seems like a good time to answer a few. This time around, I am addressing some of your questions and comments that deal with natural gas.
By the way, my staff and I read all of the input and feedback you send our way, and we're very grateful for it. Please email me at customerservice@oilandenergyinvestor.com. (I can't offer any personalized investment advice, but I can address your questions and comments in future broadcasts.)
Let's get started...
Q: I've just read recently several articles stating that the EIA has revised downward its estimate of our natural gas shale reserve potential by deciding to accept, unconditionally, the most recent U.S. Geological Survey stating that the Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Barnett, and other shale formations hold only 20% of the heretofore accepted reserves. This is an 80% reduction! This changes everything if true.
That's the question - is this bogus, or is there factual evidence to conclusively support this new estimate? ~ Howard B.
A: Howard, this reminds me of a famous statement from the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (though the comment is also variously ascribed to Mark Twain, Alfred Marshall, and many others): "There are three ways to hoodwink the masses - lies, damn lies, and statistics."
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) - a unit of the U.S. Department of Energy - continues to wrestle with the distinction between reserves and extractable reserves.
The first is the volume of gas indicated by field tests and analysis. The second is gas available for extraction at current methods. I would also stipulate as "extractable" reserves only the volume that market conditions allow.
When you equate the two, we are still in the same ballpark.
Current estimates put no more than 20% of known reserves as "extractable." As technologies improve, that figure could improve, too.
For now, the EIA estimate falls in line with most others.
So to answer your question, nothing much has changed here, aside from some government bureaucrats wanting their figures to be more accurate.
Q: Kent, your work appears to be expanding into areas of advisement that could affect the future profitability and wellbeing of nations and their business relationships with existing partners. A delicate balancing act if there ever was one! If such arrangements are not handled carefully, could sanctions and/or military skirmishes be the outcome? Are we facing the possibilities of "gas wars"? ~ Fred P.
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Double Your Profits in the New Age of Natural Gas
I recently got an e-mail from one of my Oil & Energy Investor subscribers, who posed a very interesting question. Take a look:
I bought a nice position in Cheniere Energy Partners LP (AMEX: CQP). It is not clear to me if they are in a position to benefit earnings-wise from future expansions of the business. Is a future dividend increase in the cards?
- Harry M.
The broadening initiative to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. to Europe and Asia has put a few companies in the spotlight.
Cheniere is certainly one of them.
Actually, we are dealing here with two tradable securities - Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX: LNG) and Cheniere Energy Partners LP (AMEX: CQP).
With Cheniere, we have both the company pioneering the LNG exports (Cheniere Energy), and the partnership controlling the company's Sabine Pass terminal on the Gulf of Mexico at the border between Louisiana and Texas (Cheniere Partners).
As my Energy Advantage advisory service subscribers will tell you, we're always discussing the new age of natural gas. This includes the impact LNG trade will have on profitability, and the position of Cheniere in this process. And Cheniere Partners is just one of the high dividend/high return stocks I have identified for them.
Exporting the gas, on the other hand, taps into widening international demand and carries the prospect of actually improving profitability for gas producers in North America, even while the domestic need for the energy does not keep pace with rising supply.
In so doing, U.S. and Canadian producers are simply paralleling developments already in place in Australia, New Guinea, Russia, and above all Qatar - the first dominant gas producer in the world to commit all of its exports to LNG shipping.
This worldwide trend has transformed the LNG trade from import to export.
As recently as five years ago, we were still talking about importing more LNG into the United States, as conventional production declined.
Now with shale gas (along with coal bed methane and tight gas), the unconventional sources provide more available gas than we ever imagined.
The issue now is how to export the surplus gas.
Enter Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal.
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I bought a nice position in Cheniere Energy Partners LP (AMEX: CQP). It is not clear to me if they are in a position to benefit earnings-wise from future expansions of the business. Is a future dividend increase in the cards?
- Harry M.
The broadening initiative to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. to Europe and Asia has put a few companies in the spotlight.
Cheniere is certainly one of them.
Actually, we are dealing here with two tradable securities - Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX: LNG) and Cheniere Energy Partners LP (AMEX: CQP).
With Cheniere, we have both the company pioneering the LNG exports (Cheniere Energy), and the partnership controlling the company's Sabine Pass terminal on the Gulf of Mexico at the border between Louisiana and Texas (Cheniere Partners).
As my Energy Advantage advisory service subscribers will tell you, we're always discussing the new age of natural gas. This includes the impact LNG trade will have on profitability, and the position of Cheniere in this process. And Cheniere Partners is just one of the high dividend/high return stocks I have identified for them.
Lucrative LNG
As you probably already know, LNG is a major remedy for the accelerating glut of American and Canadian unconventional natural gas production, which runs the risk of oversaturating the market and depressing prices.Exporting the gas, on the other hand, taps into widening international demand and carries the prospect of actually improving profitability for gas producers in North America, even while the domestic need for the energy does not keep pace with rising supply.
In so doing, U.S. and Canadian producers are simply paralleling developments already in place in Australia, New Guinea, Russia, and above all Qatar - the first dominant gas producer in the world to commit all of its exports to LNG shipping.
This worldwide trend has transformed the LNG trade from import to export.
As recently as five years ago, we were still talking about importing more LNG into the United States, as conventional production declined.
Now with shale gas (along with coal bed methane and tight gas), the unconventional sources provide more available gas than we ever imagined.
The issue now is how to export the surplus gas.
Enter Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal.
To continue reading, please click here...
To continue reading, please click here...
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