A "big deal." That's how Energy Secretary Steven Chu described shale gas at a conference this week, adding that "gas will be the transition fuel as we go to renewables." (NGI's Daily Gas Price Index)

Sec. Chu is just one of many observers who say that natural gas produced from U.S. shale formations could change America's energy landscape.

Daniel Yergin of IHS CERA calls it a "game changer." Philip Sharp, president of Resources for the Future, calls it a "tremendous boon" to the U.S. natural gas supply. (NGI's Daily Gas Price Index)

According to estimates, today's natural gas supplies could meet America's needs for 100 years, based on the current consumption rate.

In fact, natural gas supplies are so abundant, ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO James J. Mulva says it's much more than a bridge... more »

When energy consultant Daniel Yergin calls unconventional natural gas a "game changer," people listen. And in today's Wall Street Journal op-ed, Yergin and his colleague Robert Ineson of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA) say that the ability to produce natural gas from shale could "transform the debate over generating electricity."

As Yergin and Ineson explain, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have led to a dramatic rise in natural gas supplies in the United States. "At current levels of demand," they say, "the U.S. has about 90 years of proven and potential supply--a number that is bound to go up as more shale gas is found."

They also say that natural gas emits less carbon than other fuels, making it a very attractive power source in a carb... more »