"The jump will come as the costs of unlocking the dense formations decline and demand for clean-burning natural gas rises over time, analysts with U.K.-based consultant Wood Mackenzie said said in a briefing with reporters.

But natural gas prices could remain low during the next few years as a spate of new coal-fired electricity plants open, reducing the overall amount of the fuel needed in the U.S. for power generation.

Once the plants are completed, however, natural gas demand could rise sharply as older coal-fired plants are retired and government policies show a greater preference for cleaner energy sources, said Jen Snyder, a North American gas analyst with Wood Mackenzie.

Prices could even spike to $10 per million British Thermal Units in the 2013-2014 timeframe as producers struggle to keep up, before falling back to the $6.50 range after that period, she said."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/6733061.html