StatoilHydro Says Power Plant Gas Usage Offsets Industry Drop

Key excerpts:

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- StatoilHydro ASA, the world’s biggest offshore operator of oil and natural-gas fields, said a decline in gas prices is prompting power providers worldwide to switch from other fuels, leading to a recovery in demand.

Power station usage “certainly compensates for a lot of the reduction we’ve seen in the industrial consumption of natural gas,” ... “More and more power producers are converting to gas.”

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Stavanger, Norway-based StatoilHydro is betting the slump will reverse. The government-controlled company is searching for deposits of gas trapped in shale rocks with Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. to supply the U.S. and other markets.

Note: There is also a video tab to watch the interview, although the sound quality is poor.