1 February 2008
Taxing times in the Rockies
New pipeline capacity is urgently needed to bring gas from the US' Rocky Mountains to market, writes Anne Feltus
THE ROCKY Mountains has become the US' fastest-growing onshore source for natural gas. The US Department of Energy says it could eventually overtake the Gulf of Mexico as the country's largest gas-supply region. The Rockies' proved reserves have tripled in the last three decades, according to Wood Mackenzie, a consultancy. The US Minerals Management Service forecasts that natural gas production from the Rockies, which traverse Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, will grow from 3.7 trillion cubic feet (cf) in 2003 to 5.6 trillion cf in 2025. Low prices hit profits However, there is a dark side to this otherwise bright picture: local demand is seasonal and somewhat modest.
Also in this section
23 April 2026
The addition of an oil pipeline to the Power of Siberia 2 gas project could ensure deliveries of Russian oil to China, materially shorten logistics lines between West Siberia and final customers, and—amid disruption in the Strait of Hormuz—offer a land-based export route that reduces exposure to maritime chokepoints
23 April 2026
There is a clear push to bolster exports to Asia amid uncertainty around its North American neighbour, but there are limits to the benefits from the energy crisis
23 April 2026
Shell made the play-opening discovery in Namibia’s Orange basin back in 2022, but its next well could decide whether the project can actually be commercialised
22 April 2026
The failure of OMV Petrom’s keenly watched exploration campaign at Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh block highlights the Black Sea’s uneven track record, despite major successes like Neptun Deep and Sakarya
