The future of natural gas

The Future of Natural Gas is the fourth in a series of MIT multidisciplinary reports examining the role of various energy sources that may be important for meeting future demand under carbon dioxide emissions constraints. In each case, we explore the steps needed to enable competitiveness in a future marketplace conditioned by a CO2 emissions price. Often overlooked in past debates about the future of energy in the U.S., natural gas is finding its place at the heart of the energy discussion. Natural gas is a major fuel for multiple end uses -- electricity, industry, heating -- and is increasingly discussed as a potential pathway to reduced oil dependence for transportation. In addition, the realization over the last few years that the producible unconventional gas resource in the U.S. is very large has intensified the discussion about natural gas as a "bridge" to a low-carbon future. The recent emergence of substantial new supplies of natural gas in the U.S., primarily as a result of the remarkable speed and scale of shale gas development, has heightened awareness of natural gas as a key component of indigenous energy supply and has lowered prices well below recent expectations. This study seeks to inform discussion about the future of natural gas, particularly in a carbonconstrained economy. There are abundant supplies of natural gas in the world, and many of these supplies can be developed and produced at relatively low cost. In North America, shale gas development over the past decade has substantially increased assessments of resources producible at modest cost. Consequently, the role of natural gas is likely to continue to expand, and its relative importance is likely to increase even further when greenhouse gas emissions are constrained. In a carbon-constrained world, a level playing field -- a carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions price for all fuels without subsidies or other preferential policy treatment -- maximizes the value to society of the large U.S. natural gas resource.