Natural Gas 1998: Issues and Trends

The Natural Gas 1998: Issues and Trends report on this site has been made available by the Energy Information Administration's Office of Oil and Gas to provide our customers with timely access to the report in an electronic format. The following is a list describing each of the chapters that appear in the report. Each, or the full report, may be viewed or downloaded in its entirety. A hardcopy of the full report may be attained from the EIA National Energy Information Center (NEIC) by calling 202-586-8800. Any questions or comments regarding this report may be addressed to Jim Tobin - (202) 586-4835.

Natural Gas 1998: Issues and Trends provides an overview of the current natural gas industry and a summary of relevant data and information relating to the various sectors that make up the industry. Topics such as natural gas production, transmission, consumption, prices, and financial aspects of the industry are covered. The report consists of seven chapters and appendices.

Note: Since publication a few errors have been found in the text and figures. See corrections.

Preface and Table of Contents.
Executive Summary.
Chapter 1. "Overview" presents a series of brief and concise discussions of current natural gas industry topics including trends in prices, production levels, exploration and development activities, imports, exports, storage, transportation, and consumption. It also examines several developing issues ranging from technological change to current State retail unbundling programs and proposals.
Chapter 2. "Natural Gas and the Environment"examines the environmental aspects of natural gas production, processing, and consumption, relative to other fuels, and analyzes how expansion of natural gas usage in various areas of the economy can address environmental concerns including improved air quality levels in the U.S.
Chapter 3. "Natural Gas Hydrates" looks at the growing interest in this form of natural gas and its future long-term development possibilities.
Chapter 4. "Offshore Development and Production" analyzes the current exploration and development activities occurring in the offshore areas of the U.S., primarily in the Gulf of Mexico with an emphasis on deep-water projects. The economics of such projects are examined relative to such factors as pervasive uncertainty and improving technology.
Chapter 5. "Natural Gas Pipeline Network: Changing and Growing" focuses upon the capabilities of the national natural gas pipeline network, examining how it has expanded during this decade and how it may expand further over the next several years. The discussion also includes a look at recent annual levels of capital investment in pipeline expansion and analyzes the potential need for capital investment to meet forecasted demand through 2020. (366 KB)
Chapter 6. "Changes in the Pipeline Transportation Market" examines the trends in the primary and secondary natural gas transportation markets, the potential for capacity turnback and estimates the associated stranded costs. The chapter identifies and tracts contracting behavior for various customer classes between 1996 and 1998 to forecast shippers’ reactions to upcoming contract expirations. The chapter also discusses recent developments in transportation market activities and regulations.
Chapter 7. "Mergers and Other Corporate Combinations in the Natural Gas Industry" examines the growing number and size of corporate combinations recently occurring in the natural gas and energy sectors of the economy. It also includes a discussion of what is driving companies to combine or form joint-ventures as a way of adapting to conditions brought on by deregulation.
Appendix A. Maps of Gulf of Mexico OCS Planning Areas
Appendix B. Offshore Oil and Gas Recovery Technology
Appendix C. Economic Analysis of a Representative Deep-Water Gas Production Project
Appendix D. Data Sources and Metholodgy for Contracting and Capacity Turnback Analysis
Appendix E. Recent Corporate Combinations in the Natural Gas Industry
Bibliography. For "Future Supply Potential of Natural Gas Hydrates" (Chapter 3 of the Natural Gas 1998: Issues and Trends)

File last modified: 8/27/1999
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