Word: petroleum
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Imagine a fuel that is clean burning, easy to produce and sells for far less than petroleum. The U.S. has a generous supply of just such a fuel: natural gas, also known as methane. Neglected during the 1980s because of abundant supplies of cheap crude, gas has suddenly become an attractive alternative again. With the Middle East crisis pushing petroleum prices to $30 per bbl., energy experts and environmentalists have begun urging greater development of natural gas to wean the U.S. from its heavy dependency on crude...
...enough natural gas in the ground to last 60 years at the current rate of consumption. Right now the fuel supplies about 24% of daily U.S. energy use, vs. 42% for petroleum products. Only a modest increase in gas production would be needed to replace the 750,000 bbl. a day of interrupted oil supply from Iraq and Kuwait. Gas already has many applications: heating, cooking and generating electricity. But energy experts are working on new ways in which the fuel could replace oil and gasoline, most notably in powering vehicles. Predicts Michel Halbouty, a Houston wildcatter: "Gas will...
...short run, the U.S. would be foolish to count on a new Alaskan bonanza to fuel a gas-guzzling life-style. If oil is found on the refuge, major production could take 10 years to gear up. Even then, the contribution to U.S. petroleum needs would be relatively small compared with other means of reducing demand and finding alternative energy sources. One Senate proposal to boost auto fuel-efficiency standards 40% in the next decade could save 10 times as much oil as the refuge might produce. And while a new oil field would eventually run dry, the savings would...
...PACIFIC RIM. Japan justifiably claims credit for reducing its dependence on oil imports, down from 77% of total energy supplies in 1973 to 58% today. But ballooning petroleum prices risk sparking inflation. The official inflation rate of 2.5% is understated, since it does not reflect property values that have risen to unprecedented heights in the past five years. Moreover, with the country's rapidly aging population, Japanese companies face a severe labor shortage that threatens to drive up wages and, eventually, prices...
...petroleum producers of the Middle East, with the exception of Iraq and Kuwait, stand to gain the most. Even if the production level were not increased, Saudi Arabia should sweep in an extra $38 million a day if prices stabilize at $25 per bbl., while the United Arab Emirates should increase its take by about $18 million. The biggest winner may be Libya, which will collect an additional $9 million a day and, unlike the Saudis and other gulf states, will not pay part of any bill for keeping U.S. and other forces in the gulf...