Steel,
Your father's reaction was completely justified. Two or three decades ago there was an over-abundance of NG supply in North America. Now, that is much less the case, and already domestic sourced supply (much of it from Canada) is already realizing that it will run into possible scarcities.
At the same time, NG has evolved into the staple fuel for home heating (and for some electricity generation) in practically the whole of Europe which is becoming increasingly dependent for procuring it from abroad, namely Russia (source for roughly 30% and increasing).
It is little wonder that the EU is committing huge sums and political capital to try to decrease this dependency on Russian gas - transported from fields in the Western Urals which are slated to start running dry in about 20 years - and supporting alternative pipeline routes such as Nabucco from Azerbaijan (and thereafter probably Iran/Turkmenistan)or the TSGP across the Sahara from Nigeria/West Africa. And this in part as a defensive response to the pincer and salami movements being put in operation by Gazprom with the massive Nordstream build to flood gas into Northern Europe bypassing Ukraine, and the equally ambitious Southstream project to do the same in the South and Southeast via Italy and beyond.
But that is only half the story....even less than half. For China (in addition the other two major East Asian states, Korea and Japan), have all grown voracious appetites for NG.
Appetites which must be met from tapping into where ever NG sources can be found. Principally for now, the Gulf states and in the seas surrounding China, but increasingly in Central Asia (especially Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) and lately Eastern Siberia. Gas pipeline routing here is also witnessing huge outlays in capex, (both within Russia east of the Urals) and outside it....and major geopolitical tussles as well.
And you may just have noticed (lol) that Chinese firms (but also Korean and Japanese companies...and yes even Gazprom) are now actively engaged in hydrocarbon exploration pursuits in Africa as well, West Africa in particular. And they are not particularly choosy whether they find oil or gas. It is of equal significance to them.
Moreover, I just cannot comprehend where all this gas is going to come from when Indian peasants start to trek to the cities in even larger droves than today, when and if heavy Indian industrialisation begins to really take off, just as their Chinese peers have been doing during the fast industrialisation of China over the last decade.......probably search for oil and gas in the Arctic and Antartica!
So yeah, things are changing with respect to that palatable disappointment on your father's face when his company stuck gas rather oil...
He would probably be equally happy today in finding either. Just as long as something was found, and after logging and analysis, found to be commercial.
So should we.
regards,
spp119
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