The Age Of Natural Gas Is Here -- GE's Immelt

Updates

March 7, 2014: this is the age of natural gas. Natural gas will become Australia's #2 export, overtaking coal.

March 3, 2014: natural gas set new records in 2013 for both supply and demand. Forbes is reporting.

The heavily-hyped golden age of natural gas appears to have begun in earnest – at least in the United States – last year, according to new data released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Original Post

SeekingAlpha link here.

The most compelling part of Immelt's presentation were the facts he presented with respect to the impact abundant, clean and cheap natural gas is having here in the US. Natural gas has had a dramatic and unpredicted impact on electric power generation. As an example, when GE bought its wind energy business 10 years ago, electricity was $0.25 kw-hr versus $0.05 kw-hr today.

Over the past 10 years, leadership in environmental innovation has transitioned from Europe to the US and China. As a company with a ~$50 billion dollar energy business, GE can attest to the fact that this natural gas revolution is having a positive economic impact to its worldwide energy business. Immelt said GE now has a 50% market share of the heavy duty gas turbine business. And this is very much a global business: Immelt said GE will sell more natural gas turbines in Algeria over the next 3 years than it will in the US.

Bottom line: Natural gas has increased flexibility, availability, is cheaper and has a more diverse supply. Because of these advantages, nat gas is increasingly being used as a cleaner solution to worldwide economic and environmental issues. As a result, natural gas has moved from being viewed as a transition or "bridge fuel" to being viewed as a "baseline fuel" of the future.