Natural Gas: From Shortages to Abundance in the United States

The recent dramatic and largely unanticipated growth in the current and expected future production of domestic shale gas, and the related developments in the production of shale oil, have dramatically changed the energy future of the United States and potentially of the world. These changes would not have been realized as quickly and efficiently absent deregulation of the wellhead price of natural gas, unbundling of gas supplies from pipeline transportation ser vices, the associated development of efficient liquid markets for natural gas, and reforms to the licensing and regulation of prices gas pipelines charge to move gas from where it is produced to where it is consumed. This economic platform supported the economical development of vast shale gas resources and the technological innovations and expansions of pipeline infrastructure that have made this possible. While there are some potentially significant environmental issues, they can and likely will be mitigated through better regulation, adoption of best practices and greater transparency by industry.