Houston Chronicle: Natural gas gives conferees a warm feeling
The blue flame of natural gas glowed at a Houston energy gathering Wednesday, where producers touted the fuel's virtues, including low prices that present both a challenge to the industry and testament to its success.
A decade after technological advances in tapping the dense rock called shale made the United States the world's natural gas kingpin, the question of how to handle the bounty was the central topic on the third day of the IHS Energy CERAWeek conference.
"Gas will be the future of fuel," said CEO Claudio Descalzi of Italy's ENI energy company.
He and other natural gas proponents note that its combustion emits less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels coal and oil. But its main component, methane, is a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2, and climate change activists say increased natural gas production has meant more methane leaking into the atmosphere during processing and transportation. MORE