Pipeline Benefits
Virtually all natural gas in the United States is moved via pipeline. The current domestic natural gas transmission capacity of approximately 23 trillion cubic feet (tcf) will be insufficient to meet the projected 50 percent increase in U.S. consumption projected for 2020.
Some parts of the country, such as California and New England, already face capacity shortages. Several pipeline operators have applied for permits to increase their delivery of natural gas to California, but right-of-way issues and local permitting delays have constrained the ability to transport natural gas to California, contributing to high prices. In addition, the natural gas pipeline connections from Canada are near capacity, so any greater U.S. reliance on Canadian natural gas will require increased pipeline capacity.
One of the largest known reserves of natural gas in the United States has been found in the Arctic, associated with the development of oil at Alaska's Prudhoe Bay. These known gas reserves, over 35 tcf, would make a significant long-term contribution to the nation's energy supplies if delivered to the lower 48 states. It is estimated there may be an additional 100 tcf on the North Slope of Alaska. Recently, as the energy supply situation has changed, interest has renewed in tapping into Alaska's natural gas supplies. Over the past year, the Alaska North Slope gas producers have been reviewing whether projected market conditions will make transportation of this natural gas economically feasible.
America needs the energy that Alaska's North Slope natural gas can provide. The Administration seeks to expedite the construction of a pipeline to deliver this natural gas to the lower 48 states.
In addition to shortfalls in capacity, sources of natural gas have shifted from the Southwest to the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, western Canada, and the Canadian Atlantic. At the same time, demand has shifted from the industrial Midwest to the growing population centers in the South and the West. An additional 263,000 miles of distribution pipelines and 38,000 miles of new transmission pipelines will be necessary to meet increased consumption and the new geographic realities of supply and demand.
Several factors complicate efforts to meet the need for increased pipeline capacity, including encroachment on existing rights-of-way and heightened community resistance to pipeline construction. Currently it takes an average of four years to obtain approvals to construct a new natural gas pipeline. In some cases it can take much longer.
The projected growth in energy demand has called into question whether regulatory actions and permitting processes can keep pace with the necessary construction of new facilities for storage and delivery. Consistent federal, state, and local government policies, and faster, more predictable regulatory decisions on permitting for oil and natural gas pipelines are needed to enable timely and cost-effective infrastructure development. The permitting process has a positive role in protecting the environment, public health, and safety by allowing all interested parties an opportunity to participate effectively and fully in the deliberations prior to the permit issuance.
Recent pipeline ruptures involving a natural gas pipeline near Carlsbad, New Mexico, and an underground natural gas storage facility near Hutchinson, Kansas, highlight the need to develop technologies and policies that protect people, environment, and the safety of the nation's energy infrastructure. The federal government has an important role in ensuring and improving the safety of these gas pipelines. New technologies need to be developed to improve monitoring and assessment of system integrity, improve data quality for system planning, extend the serviceability and life of the national natural gas transmission and distribution network, provide safer transport of energy products, and lessen the impacts of the energy infrastructure on the environment.