Category Archives: Natural Gas Utilization

How to Use Natural Gas: Methanol

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methanol-plant

One recent study, reported on by Marcellus Drilling News, suggests that building methanol plants would be an excellent use for the prolific natural gas production taking place in the Appalachian region.  The plants are comparatively quick to build, don’t need infrastructure such as pipelines, and use lots of natural gas to produce methanol, which is widely used.

The low price of natural gas is a concern.  Per BTU, it’s quite a lot cheaper than oil.  Finding ways to put natural gas to use should be a high priority for anyone interested in this region.  Building methanol plants sounds like one excellent solution.

Compressed Natural Gas for Your Home?

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A company called Compass Natural Gas Partners is trying to use pressurized containers to deliver natural gas to rural homes.  Instead of running pipelines to each location, a truck would deliver a tank to the location, and fill the tank up on location.  It’s exactly how propane works now, just cheaper.

This is great, as more natural gas use means more royalties for West Virginia mineral owners.  Once they have this available in Pennsylvania, maybe they’ll bring it here.

New CNG Station Opens in Washinton County, PA

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CNG StationExcellent news!  A company called Energy from US opened a new compressed natural gas station in Bentleyville, PA.  It’s open to the public, so it’s not just for fleet vehicles and the like.

We’d like to see a lot more of this kind of infrastructure being built.  Natural gas is cheaper than gasoline, cleaner that gasoline, and comes out of the ground ’round these parts.  The more people use compressed natural gas to fuel their cars, the more the price of natural gas will go up, and the more royalties we’ll get paid.

ASCENT Project to be Re-Evaluated, Again

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Cracker Plant

Odebrecht has been talking with major players in the state about the cracker plant that’s been planned for Parkersburg, West Virginia.  The current news is that the plant will be changed.  Our guess is that the plant will be made smaller, perhaps with an eye to expansion when oil prices rise again someday.  Here’s to hoping that they do get around to building it.  That plant would be great for our economy.

Ford F-150, Natural Gas Edition

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Ford F-150 CNG

The last generation of Ford F-150s offered a natural gas version of the six-cylinder engine.  The demand was higher for that engine than Ford anticipated, so they’re now offering a 5.0-liter V8 natural gas option.  Awesome!

You can check out a few more details over at Autoblog.  Ford’s website doesn’t make it easy to find information on the natural gas options, but I imagine if someone walked into a dealership and requested one that the salesmen would be happy to help.

The obvious drawback is refueling.  If there are no CNG stations in your area, this truck will be ridiculously impractical.  If you’re not going to be deterred, however, you could get a Phill home refilling station.  Be forewarned that refilling at home can have detrimental effects on your warranty.  Read it carefully before deciding.

UPS is Adding 60 LNG Trucks to its Fleet

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Liquid Natural GasThis is the kind of news we like to see!  UPS is adding more Liquid Natural Gas fueled trucks to its existing fleet.  The new trucks will be based in Harrisburg, PA, taking advantage of inexpensive natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales.

One of the main drivers behind low prices for bonuses and royalties in West Virginia right now is the fact that there just isn’t enough demand for the product.  Wells are being shut in because there isn’t enough pipeline capacity to handle all the production.  Local use of natural gas would help drive those prices up.  Let’s see more natural gas vehicles!

Cash for Clunkers Should Have Required You To Buy This Car

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Honda Civic CNGHonda has been selling a compressed natural gas Civic since 1998.  Who knew?  Apparently, availability was limited to four States until October of 2011, but it is now available in 37 States.  I can’t find a list of which States, but the website offers a dealer locator, and there’s probably a dealer near you.

The interesting thing to anybody in the market for this size car would be the price per mile.  To drive 25 miles, you can expect to pay $1.47 for natural gas, and $1.93 for the gasoline equivalent.  You also get to drive in HOV lanes in a lot of states.

The obvious drawback is refueling.  If there are no CNG stations in your area, this car will be ridiculously impractical.  If you’re not going to be deterred, however, you could get a Phill home refilling station.  Be forewarned that refilling at home can have detrimental effects on your warranty.  Read it carefully before deciding.

Natural Gas Prices Could Rally this Year

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According to this MarketWatch article, natural gas prices could go up in the near future.

There are a couple of key factors to look at.  First, gas storage is 11% lower than the five year average.  That number alone is not enough to drive prices up as it’s likely that continued production will fill the gap easily.  There are, after all, quite a few wells which have been drilled but haven’t been brought online, and I was reading some posts on Go Marcellus Shale by mineral owners who think that Chesapeake has been closing valves on wells just because it doesn’t want to produce lots of gas in a low market.

Second, drilling rig numbers have dropped off.  We’re down 46% from last year.  That’s a lot of drilling rigs idled in one year.  That means we’re not drilling as many new wells, regardless of increases in drilling efficiency.  As old wells’ production numbers drop, new wells will be brought online to replace them, but wells won’t be drilled to replace the wells that have been waiting to be brought online.

Natural gas demand is going up.  This is a long-term trend, not a short-term blip.  Coal fired power plants are being shuttered, and will be replaced by natural gas fired plants.  Pipelines are being built, and demand for natural gas to heat homes is going to increase.

Oil prices are also likely to start going up again, as a lot of the same factors are going to affect oil stockpiles and production in the U.S.

The future for natural gas prices may not be all shiny and rose-tinted yet, but it’s certainly not bleak.

 

Gas Power Plant Planned for Follansbee

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Brooke County, WV will hopefully be home to a gas powered electricity generator in a few years.  The City of Follansbee has approved a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement with Energy Solutions Consortium, the company which will build and run the plant.  A PILOT agreement says that the city will own the plant and the company will lease it from the city.  This cuts down on the tax burden for the company, making the plant financially possible.  This is just one step in many yet to come.

The article also talks about the Marshall County plant which is further along in the development process, and says it is expected to come on line in June of 2018.