People are getting mighty excited about gas drilling. An article on the business website The Street yesterday urged its readers to jump on the natural-gas bandwagon before it, er, "explodes:"
2011 is going to be the year for natural gas. Stories keep crossing the wires, subtly pointing to the inevitable fact that natural gas is our guaranteed energy future, whether or not the industry or even Washington is ready for it. The only thing left for a savvy investor to do is get on board this train before it leaves the station and builds up too much speed ... 2011 looks like it will be the turning point. Already, natural gas is trading well over $4/mMbtu, on its way, I believe, to $7 sometime in the next year. If you could only invest in one sector in energy for 2011, I believe natural gas shows the greatest potential for profit.
The story points to two Marcellus Shale stories from this week to support its point that gas is growing: a $405 million purchase of Marcellus Shale acreage by gas company Newfield Exploration Co., and the opening of two new natural-gas fueling stations for natural-gas-powered cars in upstate New York.
Another sign that natural gas has "arrived" is its star-treatment on 60 Minutes last week, in a segment called "Shale Gas Drilling: Pros & Cons."
Energy in Depth, a pro-gas industry publication, dissected the 60 Minutes episode in a post this week and pronounced it "fairly balanced" overall.
Various anti-drilling groups are rallying their troops this week in anticipation of a meeting of the New York General Assembly on Monday, at which state legislators will choose whether or not to pass a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.
