Natural Gas Dominates U.S. Energy Projections

Growth in its domestic production will cause natural gas to replace naphtha feedstocks in coming decades and will expand bulk chemical manufacturing, the Department of Energy predicts. Consumption of natural gas and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) is expected to increase by more than 50% from 2013 levels by 2040, according to the government’s most likely forecasts for the next quarter-century. U.S. production capacity for methanol and ammonia for fertilizers and in ethylene catalytic crackers will expand, the report says. “With sustained low HGL prices, the feedstock slate continues to favor HGL at unprecedented levels” over naphtha feedstocks, it adds. “DOE’s projection for continued growth in domestic natural gas production is terrific news for U.S. chemical industry investment,” says the American Chemistry Council, a trade association. DOE predicts that the U.S. will become a net exporter of natural gas as soon as 2017 and anticipates prices for electricity to grow 18% by 2040. CO₂ emissions are expected to remain below their 2005 level through 2040.