By Nicole Seymour
A predicted natural gas crunch will likely create a 25 percent increase in heating bills this winter.
Meanwhile, Congress is looking to pass an energy bill that will approve land for gas wells in an attempt to alleviate the potential crisis.
U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham voiced concern about a natural gas shortage in a news conference on June 26.
'It is not just a problem for gas-intensive businesses and industries; it is a national concern that will touch virtually every American,' he said at the news conference.
Natural gas burns cleaner than many other fuels. Because most furnaces and fireplaces run on natural gas, it has become the second most used fuel next to petroleum.
'Some of the environmental regulations might seem to be pushing things toward natural gas and away from coal,' said David Lochefeld, an energy engineer at the Utah Energy Office. 'I don''t know if there really is a crisis.'
'If you look at Questar getting a rate increase of 25 percent, I think that they''re predicting that the supply is diminishing in the immediate future,' said John Baza, associate director of oil and gas for the Utah Department of Oil, Gas and Mining.
Because of environmental regulations and a switch to cleaner burning gasses, demand for natural gas is increasing while the supply is remaining constant.
At the same time, Congress is looking to make land available for more gas wells in order to increase supply.
'My own opinion is that there is gas out there, and the supply will last for many years,' Baza said. 'Granted, it may be a finite supply, and eventually it will dwindle, but I think that during our lifetimes, we''re probably looking at the supply being reflected in a price that we''ll have to pay to get it.'
Using a fossil fuel instead of solar, wind or hydropower energy is actually less costly.
'There is enough natural gas in the world, but it doesn''t transport easily,' said Glade Sewards, an energy engineer for fossil fuels for the Utah Department of Energy. 'It''s hard to transport overseas.'
For shipping, natural gas has to be liquefied, so the best alternative is to find other sources in the United States.
For this reason, the Energy Policy Act of 2003, which passed in the House and is now being debated in the Senate, is looking to find more wells to increase the United States'' supply of natural gas.
Along with Alabama, Florida, Montana, Alaska and Wyoming, Utah''s mountains are listed as a possible rich source for exploratory digging for natural gas.
This year, permits for gas wells are being petitioned at a higher rate. Already, two-thirds of last year''s total requests have been given at this mid-point in the year.
Baza said there is a lot of public opposition to the bill because of fear it will endanger lands that should be preserved for environmental reasons.
'It is my sense that we can regulate effectively, protect the environment and still get the wells drilled that we need drilled,' he said. 'So, it is probably a good thing that we allow companies to develop lands for oil and gas, but we will certainly try to keep them under regulatory controls so that they don''t step out of line.'