The outstanding statistic in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s preview of its 2012 Annual Energy Outlook is the forecast for natural gas. EIA says that gas from shale and tight gas will account for 70 percent of the United States’ overall natural gas supply in 2035. Here’s their chart:

You can see that there’s been a surge in shale gas production since roughly 2005. That coincides with a surge in new hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques, unlocking vast shale gas formations in states including Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Texas. Similar development is dawning in Ohio and other states, bringing energy, jobs and economic boom times. EIA:

Much of the growth in natural gas production is a result of the application of recent technological advances and... more »

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the world’s demand for energy is going to increase by nearly 50 percent by 2035. Based on EIA projections, this graphic from API’s 2012 State of American Energy report shows that oil and natural gas is expected to supply 52 percent of that energy, only slightly less than today’s share (55 percent).

This means finding and producing oil and natural gas will remain critical to the global economy in the decades ahead. The International Energy Agency:

“Every advanced economy has required secure access to modern sources of energy to underpin its development and growing prosperity. … In developing countries, access to affordable and reliable energy services is fundamental to reducing poverty and improving health, increasin... more »

President Obama's Twitter town hall yesterday was pretty neat - the Tweeter-in-Chief fielding questions from the public on a range of issues, including some on energy. The president trumpeted renewable energies while saying America needs to reduce dependence on oil. More on that below. First, some interesting context on renewables, from a live chat held last week by the Energy Department. Dr. Arun Majumdar, director of the department's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, responded to the public's emails and Tweets for about 45 minutes. You can check out the video here. Key takeaways on renewables:

• Futuristic technologies, including biofuels, electrofuels and powerful car batteries, remain just that: in the future. "The technologies that are required to make us secure ... all of them... more »

Trying to figure out the administration's decision to drain 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) - when there's no current U.S. supply crisis and while the administration is continuing to fight increased access to domestic oil supplies. Trying, but not succeeding.

Remember that the 727 million-barrel reserve was created after the 1973 oil embargo to protect the U.S. from dire supply disruptions. So, is there a crisis? Actually, government figures show the United States is well supplied, with stocks at above-average levels.

The Energy Information Administration says U.S. stocks of crude oil (excluding the SPR) have risen steadily since the first of the year, standing at nearly 364 million barrels as of June 17 (up from about 347 million in January). Gasoline... more »

So, just how do we get to energy security - to the point where, by 2030, 92 percent of America's liquid fuel needs is supplied by a combination of U.S. and Canadian sources? Here's how.

Start with where we are now. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States uses slightly more than 19 million barrels per day (mb/d) in liquid fuels - including oil, heating oil, diesel and biofuels. Of that total, 8.5 mb/d (45 percent) comes from U.S. sources, 2.33 mb/d (12 percent) from Canada and 7.2 mb/d (38 percent) from the rest of the world. Biofuels account for about 1 mb/d (5 percent).

With the right policies, by 2030 the U.S. can account for 62 percent of its liquid fuel needs and Canada 16 percent. Add in the EIA's projection that biofuels will grow to 14 percent, a... more »