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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on July 18, 2009 at 3:52

Link to complete article:

http://blogs.oilandgasinvestor.com/peggy/2009/07/09/natural-gas-pro...


And we wonder why politicians seem to be overlooking the opportunities inherent in shale gas.

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Permalink Reply by P.G. on July 18, 2009 at 4:16

"Never mind if the horse is blind, just keep loading the wagon!"

That sort of applies to the gas drilling industry thus far.
Without some leadership or organization,(not worrying where the industry is going) the drillers are just drilling themselves out of a job (keep loading the wagon)!

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on July 18, 2009 at 5:05

With apologies to those members who seem to think there are real differences in political parties, it is constituencies that drive policy. And the constituency for a national energy policy that focuses on the advantages of natural gas is pitiful.

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Permalink Reply by P.G. on July 18, 2009 at 7:04

Don't you find it amazing more politicians aren't trying to put the NG feather in their cap?
Seems like it would be a win win situation for everyone if they were promoting NG!
To starve citizens out of energy just so they can promote alternative energy like solar and wind is criminal when considering there is plenty of energy for everyone. Why aren't they promoting all forms of energy?

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Permalink Reply by BirdDawg, plain ole' idiot on July 18, 2009 at 7:27

Am I missing something, or are our Louisiana senators and representatives dropping the ball?
And please, I am not trying to turn this into a partisan debate.
Maybe Louisiana and Texas and a few other states should join in.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on July 18, 2009 at 7:28

Politicians are not being pressed to support NG as the key to national energy policy. They are being pressed by special interests not only supporting alternative energy but the coal industry and it's associated industries such as companies that generate electricity. The O&G Investor article makes the point that every interest at the table is fighting hard and earning concessions. The problem is proponents of NG are not at the table. That such is the case is astonishing and negligent. We wonder why politicians do not see the significant and logical advantages of shale gas and we tend to blame them. Unfortunately congressional politics is about raising money and lobbying. As much as we may deplore that reality, the absence of a well funded and dedicated lobby for natural gas is the reason we see little or no support for NG.

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Permalink Reply by LP on July 18, 2009 at 8:21

This is a serious problem. It's not a new problem concerning the natural gas industry.
What can be done? Who do we tap on the shoulder and say...wake up?
Recently I looked at the voting records of our state and local representatives. It looks like they are still clueless also.
We can talk among ourselves but what can we do to urge the NG industry to get into the race?

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on July 18, 2009 at 8:47

LP. I wish I had a good answer but the fact is "we" can do very little, IMHO. Those that wish to make an effort can contact their congressional representatives and senators. However the point of this article and my post is that the NG industry has done an extraordinarily poor job of lobbying congress. As most of the major shale players are "mid-majors" and "independents" in industry jargon, the don't have a history of cooperation when it comes to lobbying. And since they lobby so rarely, they are quite poor at it. Once NG producers become organized and committed to acting in concert, there may be more opportunities for "us" to add our 2 cents. At the moment about all we can do is watch an obvious opportunity pass our country by.

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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on July 18, 2009 at 11:46

We have the best politicians money can buy. Unfortunately, natgas isn't going to get the attention it deserves unless the natgas industry pays their bribes makes campaign contributions to deserving members of our government and makes public service announcements.

I wonder when/if the natgas industry will catch on and start spending on promoting gas. Boone seems to be the only one who gets it.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on July 18, 2009 at 11:55

Mac. Boone gets way more credit than he deserves. In fact his early reluctance to decouple natural gas from his private wind farm concept in his original energy plan set back political lobbying efforts significantly. It is tempting to make natural gas a component of a comprehensive and far reaching energy plan. Not a bad concept except it is not what a good lobby firm would suggest. I suspect they would design a campaign where natural gas was the focus. And the sole viable solution that exists right now. Today. Everything else is to some extent pie in the sky. And a much tougher political nut to crack. For those interested, spend a little time poking around on this website. Click on Industries in the left hand column. Search natural gas. And then coal.

http://www.opensecrets.org/influence/index.php

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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on July 18, 2009 at 17:10

Boone's no saint, but he at least knows enough to play the political game to get what he wants.

The rest of the natgas industry needs to learn to pay their bribes to Congress and court the public, too.

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Permalink Reply by sesport on July 18, 2009 at 15:35

I question why the largest consumers of ng - energy & industry - aren't making more "noise" and teaming up with producers being that ng is exempt from cap & trade until 2016, it is abundant & cleaner, and prices right now are favorable. Washington will listen when the big consumers, as well as voting citizens, demand ng.

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