Shale Gas

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany — The sprawling chemical plant in this city along the Rhine River has been a jewel of Germany's manufacturing-led economy for more than a century. But the plunging price of natural gas in the United States has European companies setting sail across the Atlantic to stay competitive. German chemicals giant BASF, which operates the plant here, has announced plans for wide-ranging expansion in the United States, where natural gas prices have fallen to a quarter of those in Europe, largely...

The Energy Department gave a terminal near Freeport, Tex., permission Friday to ship liquefied natural gas to Japan, providing a new outlet for rising U.S. production of shale gas despite qualms of environmentalists and many domestic manufacturers. The permit marks another step in the sudden reversal of fortune in the natural gas business. Less than five years ago, anticipating a worsening shortfall in domestic supplies of natural gas, the Freeport terminal on Quintana Island began operations as an import facility.

WAGENFELD, Germany — Germany has one of the most robust green movements in the world, but economic pressures are tempting it to try something that critics say would harm the Earth: shale gas drilling. Motivated by a rapid-fire increase in natural gas production in the United States , business leaders and some politicians in Germany say they need to act quickly to prevent the country's industrial core from departing for places where energy costs just a fraction of the price.

I don't have a dog in the Senate fight in Massachusetts between 18-term Rep. Ed Markey (D) and Republican Gabriel Gomez, a former Navy SEAL. But if energy policy matters to voters up there, they should hold Markey accountable for not adapting to new realities that have emerged since he came to Congress in the 1970s. In particular, Markey has been one of Congress's most vocal advocates for the wrong-headed idea of limiting U.S. exports of natural gas. A decade ago, U.S. companies were preparing terminals to receive...

The Energy Department gave a terminal near Freeport, Tex., permission Friday to ship liquefied natural gas to Japan, providing a new outlet for rising U.S. production of shale gas despite qualms of environmentalists and many domestic manufacturers. The permit marks another step in the sudden reversal of fortune in the natural gas business. Less than five years ago, anticipating a worsening shortfall in domestic supplies of natural gas, the Freeport terminal on Quintana Island began operations as an import facility.

Staggering under high debt, Chesapeake Energy said Wednesday that it would sell $6.9 billion of gas fields and pipelines — another step in shrinking the company whose brash chief executive had made it a leader in the country's shale gas revolution. A combination of low natural gas prices and excessive borrowing has forced Chesapeake Energy chief executive Aubrey K. McClendon to move more of its focus away from gas and to sell off much of the vast holdings that had at one point...

BEIJING — In a remote corner of Sichuan with lush, terraced hillsides, oil exploration teams have been scaling cliffs to lay seismic charges and struggling to move heavy equipment along winding mountain roads. That is where China hopes to find vast stores of natural gas trapped in shale rock. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has estimated that China's technically recoverable shale gas resources could be 50 percent bigger than those in the United States, where shale has transformed the energy sector . ...

L et's not smother the shale-gas boom. It is the crown jewel of the disappointing economic recovery. Why tamper with success? Yet, there are those who argue that benefits of shale gas could be maximized if we restricted gas exports, mainly as liquefied natural gas (LNG). This would, it's argued, keep prices low for U.S. consumers and manufacturers, contributing powerfully to the revival of American industry. Sounds convincing. It isn't. Limiting LNG exports might initially cut prices, but the long-run consequences...

The help-wanted sign is out in Canton, Ohio, for Chesapeake Energy. The company that has led the charge in shale gas drilling is looking for truck drivers with licenses for hazardous materials, a purchasing coordinator for oil field equipment, a pipeline technician, a field safety coordinator, administrative assistants, troubleshooting electricians, a tax analyst and more. Chesapeake is mobilizing for a massive drilling and development campaign in the state. The company has spent $2.2 billion and amassed about...

The shale gas revolution is firing up an old-fashioned American industrial revival, breathing life into businesses such as petrochemicals and glass, steel and toys. Consider the rising fortunes of Ascension Parish, La. Methanex Corp. , which closed its last U.S. chemical plant in 1999, is spending more than half a billion dollars to dismantle a methanol plant in Chile and move it to the parish. Nearby, a petrochemical company, Williams , is spending $400 million to expand an...

BEIJING — In a remote corner of Sichuan with lush, terraced hillsides, oil exploration teams have been scaling cliffs to lay seismic charges and struggling to move heavy equipment along winding mountain roads. That is where China hopes to find vast stores of natural gas trapped in shale rock. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has estimated that China's technically recoverable shale gas resources could be 50 percent bigger than those in the United States, where shale has transformed the energy sector . That has sparked...

WAGENFELD, Germany — Germany has one of the most robust green movements in the world, but economic pressures are tempting it to try something that critics say would harm the Earth: shale gas drilling. Motivated by a rapid-fire increase in natural gas production in the United States , business leaders and some politicians in Germany say they need to act quickly to prevent the country's industrial core from departing for places where energy costs just a fraction of...

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany — The sprawling chemical plant in this city along the Rhine River has been a jewel of Germany's manufacturing-led economy for more than a century. But the plunging price of natural gas in the United States has European companies setting sail across the Atlantic to stay competitive. German chemicals giant BASF, which operates the plant here, has announced plans for wide-ranging expansion in the United States, where natural gas prices have fallen to a quarter of those in...

Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that Martin Durbin is the nephew — not the brother — of Sen. Dick Durbin. Martin Durbin, executive vice president and chief lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, will become head of the American Natural Gas Alliance on May 1, according to an industry source and a note that went to ANGA members. Durbin moves over at an important time for the group , which represents 27 large independent natural gas exploration and production...

It's tempting to think that President Obama picked Ernest Moniz on Monday to be his next energy secretary because Moniz's long wavy mop of mostly-white hair might distract people who have been obsessed with Michelle Obama's bangs. But Moniz, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also lends Obama's Cabinet scientific heft and brings prior Washington experience. At MIT, he has directed the school's Energy Initiative, where he oversaw reports on almost every aspect of energy.

L et's not smother the shale-gas boom. It is the crown jewel of the disappointing economic recovery. Why tamper with success? Yet, there are those who argue that benefits of shale gas could be maximized if we restricted gas exports, mainly as liquefied natural gas (LNG). This would, it's argued, keep prices low for U.S. consumers and manufacturers, contributing powerfully to the revival of American industry. Sounds convincing. It isn't. Limiting LNG exports might initially cut prices, but the long-run consequences...

Since the high-profile bankruptcy of Solyndra , the solar company that received $535 million in federal loan guarantees, many have concluded that government efforts to promote energy technologies are doomed to fail. Critics cite the abandoned synthetic fuels program, attempts to capture carbon pollution from coal plants and next-generation nuclear reactors as further proof of this conclusion. Many often point to the shale gas revolution as evidence that the private sector, in response to market forces, is better than government...

The emergence of the North American shale-gas resource is the most positive event in the U.S. energy outlook in 50 years. But realizing this opportunity will require cooperation between industry and regulators on a new commitment to data-driven best practices that will lead to a continuous improvement in environmental outcomes. As big as the opportunity is, the emergence of shale gas has stirred opposition and uncertainty. The fundamental question is how to exploit this resource in an...

Phil Rinaldi looked out the window of a company car at the sprawling oil refinery that straddles the Schuykill River. The property covers an area nearly twice the size of New York City's Central Park, and it is home to clusters of pipes, processing towers and storage tanks along with big stretches of empty dirt. The site, situated next to a baseball field, is what Rinaldi calls his own "field of dreams" where he hopes to build a high-speed railroad terminal to unload shale oil and a...

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the location of an Exxon Mobil project to produce liquefied natural gas. It is in Papua New Guinea, not Sri Lanka. This version has been corrected. COVE POINT, Md. — A vast dock stands a mile offshore here, its concrete legs planted in the water and its steel tentacles poised to suck natural gas in a liquid state from special refrigerated tankers up to a thousand feet long. But on a recent clear fall afternoon, there wasn't a...