According to an interview with the Business Insider, the editor of Powers Energy Investor, Bill Powers, says the importance of shale gas has been ‘grossly overstated.’

Powers’ new book, “Cold, Hungry and in the Dark: Exploding the Natural Gas Supply Myth” is coming out in the spring. The Energy Report’s interview touches on several topics that will be covered in the book.

Read it:

“In the book, I take a very hard look at the facts. And I conclude that the U.S. has between a five- to seven-year supply of shale gas, and not 100 years. That is far lower than the rosy estimates put out by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and others. In the real world, many companies are taking write-downs of their reserves.”

As the interview continues, Powers mentions a production decline in production in the Haynesville and Barnett shales. The Woodford Shale in Oklahoma is also experiencing a decline, according to Powers.

He eluded to the gas crunch of the 1970s:

“Interestingly, during the lead-up to that crisis, the gas industry mounted a significant advertising campaign trumpeting the theme, “There’s plenty of gas!” Now, it is true that there was a huge ramp-up for gas during the post-World War II period that lasted through the late 1960s as demand for gas for the U.S. manufacturing base grew rapidly. But we hit a production peak in the early 1970s during a time of rapidly growing demand. This led to a huge spike in prices that lasted until 1984.”

The remainder of the interview focuses on investment strategies and gas prices.

Though Powers’ case seems contrary to all of the industry hype, it will be interesting to see his research and sources for his conclusion.
» Via: The Business Insider › US Shale Gas Won’t Last Yen Years: Bill Powers