Finding local ties to this summer’s natural gas boom

The natural gas industry is sizzling these days, with the growth in shale gas production (the release of gas supplies trapped deep in the earth) adding to huge stockpiles and the reconsideration of natural gas as an alternative to coal and petroleum in applications from engines to electricity.

These men are working on an eco-friendly garden on Southern California Gas grounds. Photo: Pam Lane

And laying aside the controversy about fracking – the process of hydraulically fracturing underground rock formations to release gas supplies — the industry is fertile ground for a financial checkup vis a vis its effect on jobs and your region’s economy.

Add in a routine Energy Information Administration (EIA) report due on natural gas due out this week, and an EIA natural gas conference Thursday which you can attend online, and you have a prime opportunity to brush up on this energy sector ahead of the looming home heating season.

You may be surprised at the amount of methane, or natural gas, produced (or not) in your state.  This production map of the United States color codes states by output, from Texas with more than 7.6 million cubic feet in 2009 to moderate producers in the upper Midwest to states with little or no natural gas output of their own, like Washington, Idaho and Minnesota.  (I don’t know if the latter is due to lack of natural gas deposits or lack of firms to harvest the gas; you might want to check.)

But even if your region is not a big producer, it’s doubtless a consumer of natural gas and host to part of the immense pipeline network that transports the fuel around the country.  Many states also are home to underground storage facilities — usually natural caverns — and an explainer on how that works and what sort of jobs or suppliers these transport and storage operations afford a region would be a good introduction to the industry. 

Gas meters and a disused drying rack. Photo by Grant Hutchinson

This federal Bureau of Labor Statistics portal on natural gas industry distribution jobs is a good primer; as you can see, the industry employs an array of skills from architects and engineers to IT managers, administrative staff and scientists.

Industry groups like the American Gas Association and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (which represents pipeline operators) may be able to provide state-level jobs figures or direct you to regional members and associations.

OTHER ANGLES:

Investing.  Utility companies long were considered a safe and steady haven for average investors’ nest eggs because of the relatively stable demand for their services and their typical status as monopoly players.  As in other market sectors, conventional wisdom may have shifted, but you might want to poll some local certified financial planners about the market performance of local gas utilities, and about the performance of utility funds available to 401(k) and IRA investors.

Transportation.  Natural gas increasingly is touted as a cleaner fuel for cars and trucks. But, as this PBS report on the attempts by parcel carrier UPS to transform some of its fleet shows, obstacles remain — among them the dearth of fueling stations.  Still, the trend is catching on –
Waste Management just launched a natural gas fleet in Kentucky, and some gas companies I checked at random appear to have fleet sales departments.  You can explore that avenue to find companies trying the innovation in your area.