Whats the biggest challenge facing the energy sector today?
We’ve got to ensure that we have sufficient natural gas supplies, both from domestic and imported sources. Since the second half of the ’90s, the prices for natural gas have doubled, placing a burden on the economy and portending a shortage. Over the last few years, there has been pessimism about the ability to continue to expand North American gas production. It’s a big challenge to simply keep production where it is or near where it is. At the same time, there has been a great deal of demand growth, driven mainly by the addition of 200,000 megawatts of new electric-power capacity — 90% of which is gas-fired — over about five years. How important will LNG become? Today, LNG supplies about 2% of U.S. natural gas needs. We anticipate that by the year 2020, LNG could be providing 25% to 30% of the country’s total natural gas needs. It is on track to become a very major factor in America’s energy picture. What role will LNG imports play in helping to alleviate the natural gas supply cru
